Turning the blanks on the lathe is always fun part of the project. It is a time to bring out the beauty of the timber or acrylic or add small embellishments to make the pens unique.

Firstly, the blanks are then placed on a mandrel on the lathe, between bushes. The bushes or bushings are metal pieces that help the blank fit snugly ont the mandrel.

The headstock of the lathe drives the mandrel in a clockwise direction when looking from the headstock to the tailstock. The mandrel is held in the tailstock by a mandrel saver. The mandrel saver is a hollow chuck that allows the horizontal transfer of pressure from the tailstock to the headstock of the lathe without bending the mandrel.

I have several lathes in the past. The first lathe that I used was a Durden L500 which is of 1970s vintage. It is one of the first "hobby" lathes on the market in Australia. It has a ½ Hp motor and after many years of faithful service is now my backup lathe used mainly for sanding and light work. Later I used one of the Carbotec pen lathes - a three speed 1/5th Hp small lathe. It too has seen many years of service. My current lathe is a Nova Comet II which I am very happy with the slightly larger motor, a variable speed option and a reversing option.

Starting with a spindle roughing gouge on harder woods, such as dead finish, "gidgee", or "hairy oak" I turn the pen blank to a round shape. Then taking a skew chisel, I turn the final shape. When turning softer woods, like camphor laurel, silky oak, and red cedar I only use a skew chisel. For acrylics, I use the first method, however, tungsten carbide bits do prove handy. After the final shape, I may add some decorations, particularly the longer barrel pens. Most of the turning is carried out at speeds in excess of 3,000 RPM, although with some acrylics, I slow the lathe to half the speed to avoid heating of the blank if I am using a scraping action rather than a cutting action.

The turning step is one of the shortest steps as far as time is concerned. Usually, I turn pens in batches of like pens, rather than one type at a time.

The turning process is the most difficult in pen turning and after making 100s of pens I still treat the lathe with respect!

The passion for wood turning can manifest itself in many ways. Making wooden pens is a great way to be creative. For more information on handcrafted wooden pens and other items, see https://aussiepensnthings.com.au/

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/David_Nivala/111921

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10246823