osage orange pens and pencils

[gsdoby]

I have posted a picture of some of the latest pens and pencils I made out of a piece of osage orange a friend gave me. They are in my GSDoby photo gallery. Any comments would be appreciated. I know I need to work on a way to take pictures without such a bright flash.

 

[D L Ames]

Gary, those are some nice looking pens. I am posting the pic from your gallery here to save folks the time of looking for them.

gsdoby's pens

 

[clowman]

Nice pens! I love that knot on the upper one. What did you finish them with? I'm just starting out pens myself a couple of months ago.

 

[DaveO]

WOW, that wood has beautiful color. You would think that it would be Orange though:slap: NIce looking pens, how was it to turn?


Dave

 

[Travis Porter]

One day when I retire I will learn how to turn. They are very very nice.

 

[JohnsonMBrandon]

Great looking pens there. Wish I had time to turn a few right now. Clay and I both learned at the same time.

 

[cskipper]

Brandon do you need wood or time?

 

[woodguy1975]

The shape of the lower barrel is nice. Very similar the the shape my wife turns on her pens. I agree with Clay I too like the knot. It added some character.

Definitely get away from the flash. Try to learn the CA finishing. It appears that these ones have the friction polish. I prefer a more durable finish. Lacquer and CA give a nice polished surface build. A 3 step finish that consists of 3 coats of sanding sealer, 3 coats of friction polish, 3 coats of carnuba wax. A single coat of friction polish isn't enough for me.

Watch the pressure you apply with the nut on the mandrel and the tailstock to the mandrel. It apprears to me that they are slightly eccentric in the middle. That is something that can be tough to avoid on some woods. CA glue in the tubes can also cause it. I use a razor blade and chamfer the ends of the tubes after barrel trimming to ensure the tube runs true on the mandrel.

I hope I'm not being too critical. Being a pen turning instructor I tend to try to point out issues and solutions to help folks learn an improve their pens. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Good Luck,

John

 

[Greybeard]

Hi John,
I am new to the forum and just learning how to turn. I have made several pens and used the friction polish and have not been impressed. I have heard about the CA finishing but have not been able to find any info on it. Any ideas where I might find an article on how to do it?

Thanks for your time!

 

[DaveO]

Clay posted a great tutorial on CA finishing here:

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1840

I have one of his pens done that way and it is incredible. I did my first pen with a friction polish and it has since worn off. The CA finish is as smoth, shiny and durable as the day he gave it to me, and I use it daily (and often show it off to folks 'cause it's so cool!)
Dave

 

[Greybeard]

Thanks for the info!

 

[clowman]

That one turned out pretty nice. If you don't succeed at first ( and you may, but likely won't) don't give up, it's a hard finish to master. I still mess it up.

 

[DaveO]

"pretty nice" :lol: Clay you're to modest. Everyone that touches it is amazed that the finish is done with super glue, it's slicker than gorilla snot.
Dave

 

[cskipper]

Gee, maybe I don't want to learn that finish - gorilla snot?!? :lol: