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OK- I know I've had a lot of Q's about Pen turning but I'm hooked and eager to know. I made several pens using the Woodcraft Premium Cigar Pen kits. It seems that in trimming the short/ top brass blank that I took a bit too much off of the tube. So now, there is a gap between a few of the parts and the blank. I'd like to fill that gap with a ring, but I'm not sure if Woodcraft carries it (it seems unlikely). Is there a good source that has the individual parts for cheap?
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The tubes and bulk material are pretty cheap, I'd start over with a new tube. -
The tubes are cheap, but acrylic blanks are $4 each and I'm on my third b/c it keeps exploding on me! I'm making it for a friend, and she really likes the plastic.
That so far has been the bane of me turning. My first 3 pens turn no problem, and last night I messed up no less than 5 or 6 blanks....Comment
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Take it easy on acrylics, light touches and keep the tool sharp. Heat and lateral stress will make them come apart.
You may want to consider making your own acrylic blanks. There are links on penturners.org on how to mix the stuff and where to buy. If I'm remembering right, the price comes down to around $1-$1.25 and less per blank.
It's not difficult to do. Here's an example of the first batch Tina and I mixed:
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Wow, that looks sharp!
the problem I have with acrylics is that if I don't cut just the absolutely smoothest cut, the tool chatters and I get a pot-marked surface on the pen. And you can only go over it again so many times until you're past the bushings and it's a wash.Comment
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You could try to fill it back with a colored epoxy or some other mixable hard material. Liquid steel, bondo, fiberglas resin etc...
Brass washer may also be a good choice, but may be hard to get just like you need. I haven't seen the pen parts that would fill in a gap that was too large. Now I rarely look for such things even though I often need them when I do turn pens.
My solution is a metal lathe. You may want to keep your eyes open for such a beast. Turning brass as a filler has sometimes made a wreck in something of fairly good quality. Something you want to touch.
I have seen fiber washers of different colors that might be used for such a thing.
I think they were at Woodcraft.
Good luck with it and post some pics if you can.
Nice looking pen, Ken.Last edited by Stytooner; 05-07-2007, 03:46 PM.LeeComment
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Going past the bushings is where your opps designer personality should be stepping in. How do I hide that mistake? Playing around with expensive acrylics isn't the way I would suggest you learn that, but a little creativity may just make something to look at. I have even hit brass tube before and filled it like I mentioned above with epoxy and brass shavings. It turned out well. I would not suggest getting into the inner bushing, but anything around that is design material and within tolerances. Its only the ends near the pen parts that require the bushings size.
Ain't that a good thing. Half of my pens would be scrap if I hadn't learned that part. 
LeeComment
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I generally don't like turning the plastic stuff since the smell makes me sick, but I do get orders for pens for it (and, to be honest, they do come out really nice).
For the chattering I've found that, for me, it works out better that I make sure that the tool is REALLY sharp and taking very light cuts when doing final shaping. In addition, I always make sure that the tailstock is adjusted *just* right so that the mandrel doesn't vibrate. YMMV.Comment
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Here's my solution
I got the idea from someone else's project. They used brass rings and another section of wood to create a more custom look.
What I did was cut a brass tube in half and use a couple of ends on blanks to attach them to. Then, I turned the tiny blank portion into a ring to the correct size using the bushing. The result turned out pretty well, I think. It was difficult, but I may try it again with a contrasting color next time to get a more custom look.Attached FilesComment
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