Pen Making Made Easy #4

Pen Making Made Easy #3

This video didn't turn out as well as I wanted. 

But hey, you'll get the idea. The little camera

just didn't have the quality with the video or

the sound. Except for that ... it's perfect !

New Things ...

New things are here and coming. If you look to 

the top right you will see "PAGES (our work)".

This is a new feature from blogger. It allows me

to add pages to this blog. I have chosen to display

our work there.

Also, the next installment of pen making will be

a video of the actual lathe turning. I'm very excited

to be able to do this ... stay tuned.

Pen Making Made Easy # 2

After the glue is allowed to sit all night, it’s time to “square up” the blank. The tool you see in the top photo is used for this. The thin part towards the bottom is inserted into the brass tube. The thicker part is then turned in the drill and cuts the wood square to the brass tube. This is why the wood blank was cut to a 1/16” longer than the brass tube. In the photo below, you can see the cutting portion riding on the blank.

 

Pen Making Made Easy

Pictured in the last entry are the style of roller ball pens I make. The next couple of entries here will be dedicated to the construction of these pens. You never know, maybe some of you will want to follow in my foot steps. Pen making is by far the most relaxing woodworking activity I’m involved in. When you come home from work, turning a pen is as good as that cocktail ... honest.

Pictured above is a 3/4” square piece of Zebra Wood. It is held in place so a 10 millimeter hole can be drilled through it length wise. The piece of wood is cut 1/16” longer than the 10 millimeter brass tube supplied with the pen kit. There are two of these brass tubes with each kit. After the drilling is complete, the tube is epoxied inside of the hole. I let this sit over night before I work with it. 

 

What's Odie Up To Now

 

Hello boys and girls it's the guy that

posts this blog. I was going to phase

this blog out, but there are one or two

of you still looking. 

So, coming soon (I'm working on them

now) is a how to on making these

Roller Ball pens. If you have ever

thought you might like to tackle

wood turning, pens are the easiest

turning there is. 

Coming soon to a blog near you.

also at : http://www.dustnlint.com

Finished Wooden Banks

Hello there, this is the final part to the

construction of my banks. We last left

off gluing the four sides together. I 

believe I discussed the sanding process

to make the corners smooth. Well that

isn't done until the top is glued on and

the bottom is screwed into place.

Pictured here is a top having the slot milled

into it. This I do before I glue it to the four

sides. If you look at the fence pictured here

you'll see the two stop blocks on either side

of the top. They determine how long the slot

will be. An 1/8 inch router bit is used.

Here are all the banks all put together and

ready for sanding. I do this on my belt

sander that is six inches wide.

OK, here are a couple of finished

banks. They have a few coats of

lacquer on them. 

After the Wood is Milled

I use this little contraption called an Incra Jig

to make the box joint corners. As you can see

I create these joints on two sides of 5 boxes

at the same time. Most methods used can only

make one half of one corner at a time. Using

this method, I can do 10 half corners at a time.

Time is money .... it helps keep my prices

down.

Three passes of the sides have been completed here.

The cuts are made when the sides pushed at that

green router bit. The whole thing rides on the fence

to the left. The fence is ready to be moved again

for the next cut.

Here is another view of the same process

as in the photo above.

Here are all of the sides of 4 banks.

Here are the four sides glued together. They

are left a little long on purpose. When all

six sides are put together, they will be

sanded smooth.

Milling The Wood For Banks

So many of my boxes, and in this case banks,

require 3/8" and 1/4" thick stock. I could

buy these dimensioned woods at a very high

price, or mill them to size myself. To keep my

costs down, I do it myself.

The wood I start with is called, in the trade,

4/4 (pronounced four quarter) or 1 inch before

it's milled down to 13/16". If I'm careful, I can

get two pieces out of this. 1 at 3/8" (plus 1/16")

and 1 at 1/4" (plus 1/16"). The band saw blade

eats up 1/16" also. Add them all up and you

get 13/16". I then put them through a planner

to get the final thickness.

This is the band saw with the dust collection behind.

This piece is about 2/3 the way through the band saw.

This is called resawing.

This is the thickness planner with the dust collector.

Thickness planner with a piece going into the feed end.

Custom Thank You Gift - Humidor

Someone showed our family a lot of generosity and kindness in a very big time of need. We had a very personal family tragedy strike us and this individual showed he was made of a lot of class. So in return I've put a lot of love in the construction of this humidor. I actually started my designs with humidors. The fad died down and I switched to Jewelry Boxes.

This humidor is larger than my jewelry boxes.
It is constructed of Cherry and Peruvian Walnut
and it measures 16"x11"x5".