A couple firsts for me (more pens)

[Russianwolf]

From left to right

Chrome Cigar in Cocobolo
Chrome Cigar in Birdseye Maple
Chrome Cigar in Red Cedar (unfinished by request)
Chrome Baron Rollerball in Russian-Olive Burl. First Baron and my new daily writer.
Gold Titanium Sedona Rollerball in Red Mallee Burl. First Sedona, although it is the same as turning the Baron.

[DonHo]

Those are beautiful. Is the burl hard to turn? I've stayed away from it for bowls and pens because I somehow got the idea it's hard to work with. It sure is nice looking though.

DonHo

[lrogers]

Your pens just keep getting better and better.

[ragswl4]

Beautiful pens. Are the larger ones more difficult to turn than the smaller pens? What finish did you use and any problems with turning the burl? I have some burl on the way and want to avoid any disasters if possible.

[Whaler]

Beautiful work Mike. I have some Cigar kits but haven't turned one yet, I've been stuck on turning Atlas/Polaris pens.

[Russianwolf]

Depends on the burl. The red mallee is a nice tight burl so you don't have to do much in the way of filling pores. The Russian-Olive is stablized (got it from Arizona Sihloettes) so it turns beautifully. Both of these are very easy in my opinion. Just keep your tools sharp and give it a go.

I have some Jarrah Burl that has lots of voids. I haven't tried one of those yet, but it's on my to do list (maybe this weekend).

I like turning the large pens more than the slimlines. I don't feel like I'm wasting as much wood (even though you have to drill out more). The cigar is nice and heavy and easy to grip for big hands and people with Arthrytis love it too. The Baron/Sedona may be a little lighter than the cigar in realty, but something about a screwtop pen says "elite" to me.

I personally find turning the slimlines more of a challenge. Nearly every exploded pen I have had was a slimline. I will be doing more of them soon, but they will be a modified design. Bushing to bushing is where I seem to goof on those.

The finish for most of them is pretty straight forward. After turning, 400 grit sandpaper, them micromesh paper from 1200-12000 grit. polish with EEE-paste, then PPP waxes to seal it all.

I also do a spray laquer on some pens, but haven't done one lately. I have tried to avoid CA finish as I think it feels too plasticy, and I want it to feel like wood.

[footprintsinconc]

they look cool! with all these pens lately, now i am wanting to get a lathe

[John Hunter]

Very nice.

[crokett]

Very very nice. I gotta stop looking at your threads. I've said it before but my dad has a lathe waiting for somebody to come over and tune it up. As if I didn't have enough to do.

[ragswl4]

I personally find turning the slimlines more of a challenge. Nearly every exploded pen I have had was a slimline. I will be doing more of them soon, but they will be a modified design. Bushing to bushing is where I seem to goof on those.

Thanks for the info. Instead of the slimlines you might want to try the Comfort Pens. They are a little larger than the slimlines and I have found them very easy to turn. You need a different bushing set but the cost is minimal. Also the Comfort pen has that hokey rubber thing on the end but I just toss those and make them all in wood. I use a slimline bushing on both ends and the comfort size bushing between the two pieces. Works great. I have not had any blowouts in 20 pens so far and I like the feel of the size of the pen. I get the penkits from woodturningz.com at $2.90 per kit when you buy 10 or more. (I am not affiliated with them in any way).

I may be breaking a lot of rules but I have found that turning the pens on the next to the highest speed on my Rikon works very well and is very fast. I also keep the tools sharp. I started with the HF set of chisels but against the advice of some I purchased the pen turning set (Benjamin's Best) from PSI and I love those chisels. I feel I have much more control with the smaller tools. I have read where some think those chisels are a waste of money but I won't go back to the big tools until I start to turn larger projects (bowls).