AllenN
Fellow
Hello everyone. Just to introduce myself on this forum. I am based in the NW of England on the edge of the Forest of Bowland near Lancaster. I am a newby to the art of pen turning having only made a couple of dozen so far. I am pretty much self taught in pen turning courtesy of the 'inter web' and the advice I have found there. I have been a keen diy er for years but now I have largely retired and have more time I have moved over to more creative woodwork and turning.
So far I have mainly concentrated on wood 7mm standard pens but I have also made a few Baron rollerballs. I have tended to stick to more traditional finishes of sanding sealer, waxes and turners polish but I might give the CA methods a go shortly. As a chemist I have a healthy respect for the damage that stuff can do if not handled appropriately, and I do not mean just to ones fingers!
Coming new to this activity I have been quite surprised at the lack of standardisation or maybe I have been unlucky. Bushes that do not fit some mandrel rods but do fit others, rods that are nominally the same size but sure are not when one puts a mic on them. I have also found some difficulty in getting reliable information on the quality of kits too. Fortunately I found Turners Retreat and they have been very helpful on the kit front, but even their bushes seem to vary in internal diameter. I am not surprised to see forum post discussing reamers, I have had to resort to the steel rod and emery method quite a lot in my infancy. I only note this incase anyone else just starting out finds the same thing and imagines it just happens to them. It seems just to be part of life's rich tapestry.
Anyway I look forward to learning from all the skills that are on display on this forum.
Best Wishes
Allen
So far I have mainly concentrated on wood 7mm standard pens but I have also made a few Baron rollerballs. I have tended to stick to more traditional finishes of sanding sealer, waxes and turners polish but I might give the CA methods a go shortly. As a chemist I have a healthy respect for the damage that stuff can do if not handled appropriately, and I do not mean just to ones fingers!
Coming new to this activity I have been quite surprised at the lack of standardisation or maybe I have been unlucky. Bushes that do not fit some mandrel rods but do fit others, rods that are nominally the same size but sure are not when one puts a mic on them. I have also found some difficulty in getting reliable information on the quality of kits too. Fortunately I found Turners Retreat and they have been very helpful on the kit front, but even their bushes seem to vary in internal diameter. I am not surprised to see forum post discussing reamers, I have had to resort to the steel rod and emery method quite a lot in my infancy. I only note this incase anyone else just starting out finds the same thing and imagines it just happens to them. It seems just to be part of life's rich tapestry.
Anyway I look forward to learning from all the skills that are on display on this forum.
Best Wishes
Allen