Rogflys

I recently got a wood lathe. I think the last time I had used a lathe was when I was about 12. I have been enjoying playing around with it making a few pens. Well, as with most of my projects, Reed wanted to make a pen. I figured it would be a fun project for father and son.

The pen kits come in a bag full of parts, and you get to choose the type of wood or acrylic to use. Here Reed is getting the brass tubes out of the bag.
First the wood blank is cut in half, then holes are drilled lengthwise that the tubes will go in. The tubes hold the ink cartridge and twist mechanism in the pen.

The blanks are then put on a mandrel to hold it in the lathe.

Safety glasses on an gouge in hand, ready to begin turning the pen.

After the corners are taken off, we switch to a skew and speed up the RPM of the lathe. There are bushings of specific diameters that match the tip, middle band, and end of the pen. Using the skew the blank is turned to the desired shape.

After shaping is sanding and polishing. Starting with 150 grit sandpaper and working to 600, leaves a pretty smooth glossy surface. This is followed by a friction polish that leaves the surface with a glass look.

The tip and twist mechanism are pressure fit. We use a clamp to squeeze the parts together.

And then the finished pen.

Reed did a great job. He followed directions and listened as we talked about shop safety. He was very proud of it too. He wears it clipped to his collar, and showed it off to his teacher at church.

Posted by Roger at 9:42 PM