Mindsigh

Turning pens – how to make your own pen

Posted by Jerry on September 11th, 2007 — Posted in DIY, Journal, Woodwork

This is an easy project for the beginner, and shows you how to make your own pens using a lathe. The technique is the same whether for wood or acrylic pens.

Here’s what you need:
A lathe – can be a small cheap one, but should have a Morse #1 or #2 taper on the headstock (the part that spins your work).
I use just one chisel – a half-inch spindle gouge

A dust mask and safety visor or glasses

A saw – a hacksaw will do
A pen mandrel – to hold the pen parts while you turn them

A pen kit and A pen blank – this one is pre-drilled and has the brass tubes already fitted inside

A pencil – for marking where to cut and for lining up the grain if you are turning wood
Sandpaper – various grades (360,600,1500 grit)
Automotive cutting polish – for acrylic, or a wood finish of your choice

Method
First take the pen blank and cut it roughly in half – I do this on a hobby bandsaw by holding it against the square set at 90 degrees and just advance it into the blade about one quarter, then rotate the pen blank in place until it separates – the two cut ends should be square to each other. You may need to sand it square if you cut it at a slight angle.

Insert the pen mandrel into the headstock – the taper should just slide in and hold. Now take the two parts and mount them on the mandrel – there should be three spacers and a brass screw.

Load a spacer, then a pen blank part, then a spacer, then the second pen blank part, then a spacer and the brass screw to tighten it – not too tight or you could distort the mandrel.

Now bring the tailstock up and lock it gently and accurately against the end of the mandrel.

Then set up the tool rest close to the centre of the work and rotate the headstock wheel by hand to ensure that nothing touches the tool rest.

For any turning it is a good idea to have a dust extractor of some kind, but whether you do or not it is important to wear a dust mask and something to protect your eyes from flying chips – a visor or safety glasses. You do not want to breathe acrylic dust or fine sawdust, and you don’t want anything to hit your eyes or to irritate them.

Making sure your chisel is sharp – use whatever you prefer – some people do the whole thing with a skew chisel, but I prefer a half-inch spindle gouge – on small square stock it can also double as a roughing gouge – so you can use one chisel for the whole operation.

Set the lathe on about 3000rpm for timber or about 1500rpm for acrylic.

And turn to shape – The spacers on the mandrel are the same as the diameters of the internal parts, so I first shave the four ends of the pen blank down to just shy of the spacers – you can creep up on the final diameter in a moment.

I wouldn’t get too fancy with the shape – aim for slender consistent cylinders with just a nice rounded shoulder down to the spacers, stopping regularly to check the profile and to clear out the strands of acrylic that wrap around the work and the mandrel.

It’s a good idea to hold a white piece of paper behind each time you stop so you can better see the profile. When you have a nice smooth cylinder and you’ve eliminated any bumps or uneven parts, it’s time for the finishing.

Leave the blank on the lathe, but remove the tool rest. Now switch on the lathe again and sand gently – moving quickly from one end to the other – to prevent overheating of any one section. Do not wrap the sandpaper around your finger! Start with the coarser grit an move to progressively finer grits until the blank feels quite smooth and silky.

If you are using acrylic, now is the time for polish – load a little automotive cutting polish onto a rag and again, without wrapping it round your finger, apply the polish to the piece while the lathe is spinning. And then buff it with a clean piece of rag until it shines with a high gloss.

Now you are ready for assembly. Unscrew the brass keeper from the mandrel and slide the two components off, remembering to keep them the same way round.

Take what will be the writing end and press the cone-shaped piece onto the end using a vice, drill press, clamp, or even the cheapest pen press of the lot – a grout press – about $1.50 from your hardware store!

It’s crude but effective! That said, a vice is more progressive and has more ‘feel’.

Next insert the riser mechanism into the writing end – this way round

But just ease the bronze bit in and go no further until you insert the refill and ensure that it extends beyond the point, but also retracts beneath the point when you rotate the silver part.

Now for the upper part. insert the small brass cap through the loop of the clip and press this into the upper blank. Now slide a spacer ring over the refill and slide the upper over the silver part of the riser and press it snugly home against the brass spacer.

And there you have the completed pen

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