On Mon, 4 Sep 2006 18:09:30 -0400, "Mike Mac" wrote:

I finally got the lathe spinning this weekend.. after looking into much of
the advice offered both here and in rec.crafts.woodturning

I've been knocking out some pens.. (European Roundtops, just to start) and I
have to say, alot of fun to make. will try some mech. pencils tomorrow, make
some pairs to box up and sell as stocking stuffers, etc, if the market
allows.

My favorite is the one in Bloodwood.. with the maple being my first one..
(didn't want to risk ruining an EXPENSIVE piece of wood!)

http://ottawawood.com/pens/lathe.jpg
http://ottawawood.com/pens/4pens.jpg

Mike
www.ottawawood.com



Nice stuff, Mike!

Keep a couple of those, for nostalgia and so that you can see how much you've
progressed after a few (hundred?) more pens...
They're like popcorn... fast and easy and VERY addictive...

Seems like the average for me is about 5 or 10 minutes turning and an hour
sanding... I didn't even KNOW that there was 2,500 grit paper before I did
pens.. *g*

BTW: I did spindle stuff and bowls for years before trying pens, and I would
recommend that folks start with them, as you're doing...
I learned SO much about skew work, sanding, PATIENCE, finishing, etc....

With so little surface area and (hopefully) no flat surfaces to reflect light,
sanding and finishing is so much more critical on a pen than on a bowl... and on
a bowl you can always go back and shave off tool marks, where on a pen you may
only have enough wood to cover the tubes...

Give corian a shot if you can get some, it's a lot of fun and makes great pens..
Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm