Getting ready for Christmas - Making pens

Thanks to the workshop Steve put on I decided to start on my gift making with some pens.

First I took my material cut it to length and drilled some holes in the middle. I ended up drilling them on our lathe only because our drill press has something to be desired, it’s just not big enough to drill though the length of the wood. With these jaws drilling was simple.

With the holes drilled I inserted the brass tubes from the pen kit. These are coated with super glue to stay in place. Using a pen mill and a drill to make it flush on the end.

Both sides installed on the mandril ready to be turned

Starting to get round now

After some more turning, sanding and a little finishing a pen is ready to be assembled

Repeat the process and after a few hours and I’m set with 8 pens and one pencil to start putting in stockings.

And that’s it. If anyone wants to give it a try at the space let me know, I have all the parts required to get things going at VHS. Pen kits cost around $4-$5 at KMS Tools, pre cut wood is $2 or you can slice up some hardwood you have laying around.

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Those pens are really nice! Is there a writeup on how to make them anywhere? I’ve been trying to buy some from laserbits but the shipping cost is just so high :frowning:

Those look really nice.

I have a sort of writeup on my website: Making Pens and a gallery of the pens I’ve made: Wooden Pens

Lee Valley offers a course from time-to-time as well.

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@Stevemopolis is an accomplished woodworker and did a course on the pens a little while back. I’m sure a few good bottles of cider would be a good start towards bribing him to run another class when you get here

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Got a class on pen making via IRC from garthomite :smiley: Just ordered 50 pen kits from aliexpress for $1 each and found a local place to get the mandrel and drills!

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I’ve been offline for the past couple of weeks so my apologies for not chiming in sooner.

My plan was to run multiple pen making workshops before Xmas however I put that plan on hold due to the impending teardown and move. I also found that hauling 2 lathes, sharpening grinder, tools, etc. down to the Bunker to be a bit onerous and inconvenient.

I have run a few more pen making workshops in the past couple of weeks for non-VHS people at my home workshop where I have 3 lathes. I’ve been limiting the workshops to 3 people at a time to avoid having to share lathes and keep the length of the workshop down to about 3 hours.

I’m willing to run more of these workshops from my home and if I borrowed the VHS mini-lathe I could increase the workshops to 4 people which would be the maximum number of people that could fit comfortably in my woodshop without bumping into each other. The downside is that I’m located in SE Richmond near Steveston Hwy and #4 Rd. which is far from Skytrain but is serviced by buses from the end of the Canada Line in downtown Richmond. I would likely charge $25 for the course including all materials to make one pen.

If enough people are interested I’ll schedule more workshops during weeknights or on weekends.

Steve

Sounds interesting, and I'm in your hood.

I am interested.

Sounds reasonable to me. Is the mini-lathe VHS’s or @JohnC
,

Plus one, I am very interested!

If anyone is looking for more “exotic materials”

Would not recommend Ebony or Rosewood for a beginner; based on past experience due to the hardness of the material.

or for a more colorful approach

Actually, ebony and rosewood turn pretty easily although both are hugely expensive, especially ebony. Softer woods like cedar, pine, hemlock, spruce or spalted woods of any species are more difficult to turn and often tear out when you turn them thin as is required for pens. Generally speaking, harder woods turn most easily although some extremely hard woods are quite splintery and can crack or break when being drilled out.

For those that have indicated an interest in attending my pen making workshop, I’ve posted an announcement in the Events & Announcements category where I’ve included a registration link. Class takes place this coming Sunday and is limited to 4 participants so register early if you would like to attend.