It's really fun to make lathe-turned pens and pencils! Look soon for a you-tube video of us turning pens - the instructions below look really complicated, but in fact they're pretty easy once you see them in use.
This page shows how, in general, we make pens and pencils. Each one is a little unique, so the process is a little different for each one, but these are the general steps.
Our shop is very small...as a matter of fact, the entire production facility fits within a 6-foot by 6-foot space in a corner of our garage!
The downside to such a small facility is there is little storage, and with so many sharp tools within a few inches of you all the time, you really have to be careful to not get hurt (if you stop by, I'll show you my scar!). The upside is you don't have to waste any time moving from tool to tool - you just have to twist a little bit and you're there!
The entire set of tools you need to make custom-turned pens and pencils is relatively affordable. You can buy cheaper tools, and of course much more expensive tools, but we wouldn't recommend buying the cheaper tools. And unless you're going to go into heavy production, the more expensive tools are probably overkill.
A lot of the tools we use we purchased from WoodCraft in Raleigh NC. These guys are great, they will tell you when things are going on sale, and will generally recommend less-expensive options for you and will hook you up with everything you need, and not oversell you. If you go to WoodCraft in Raleigh, be sure to see Ray - old man who knows everything about everything in the store. Being somewhat crotchity is his trademark, just have fun with it!
Here are the tools we use:
POWER TOOLS:
Rikon 12" X 16" Lathe: About $350, another $195 for the stand (highly recommended), non-digital, variable speed lathe (speed is governed by a pulley / belt system). Also need a 7mm pen mandrel and cone-shaped live center (about another $100). Available from Woodcraft.
Rikon combination belt / pad Bench Sander: About $100, not completely necessary but makes things a lot easier for some materials. Available from Woodcraft.
SKIL 19" Band Saw: Integral part of the shop - necessary for cutting blanks to size. About $130 with blade. Available from Lowes or Home Depot.
SKIL Drill Press: Integral part of the shop - you can use a regular drill, but this will save you hours of frustration (although you will get frustrated getting it centered and flush). About $130 with chuck but no bits. Available from Lowes or Home Depot.
Rikon Rotary Polisher: Dual-wheel polyester polisher - good for acrylic work, general polishing, totally optional - you can do very well work using other mean, costs less than $100 on sale. Available from Woodcraft.
Rikon Low-Speed Dual-Wheel Grinder: Great for sharpening tools, and grinding some materials - nice to have, but not very necessary. Generally less than $100. Available from Woodcraft.
HAND TOOLS:
Easy Wood Turning Tools: Ci3 Scraper - most important tool in the shop - you can do almost 100% of all turning operations with this tool. Comes with one round razor-sharp blade that will last for about 70 pens / pencils. Cost is about $90, available from Woodcraft. Replacement blades are $16, available from Woodcraft. Note: blade attaches with an allen screw, be careful to not strip it out.
Wood River Pen Turning Kit: Set of three special wood turning tools, including a general cutting tool, a parting tool (cutting two pieces apart) and a concave scraper (to carve hollow shapes - not very useful for pen turning but nice to have) - about $50, available from Woodcraft.
Sanding Pads: Standard sanding pads, 5" X 5", non-loading (this is important), less then $1.00 each, grits from 150 to 600. You'll want about 12 different sizes, and two pieces each, for a total of about $24. Available from Woodcraft, Lowes, Hope Depot.
Micro-Mesh Pads: Sanding sticks (look like popsicle sticks) in grits from 1,500 to 12,000. Not used on wood, mainly for acrylics. Have to be used at a low spin rate to avoid burning. Used for final super-glossy polishing / finishing. Available from Woodcraft. Cost is about $12 for a pack. You can also get a larger set (about a 4" round circle) for about $25.
Pen Press: Can purchase a pen press from Woodcraft for about $100, or can purchase a small general bench press from Lowes or Home Depot for less than $30. The cheap ones work just fine. This is used to push the parts together, you'll definitely need something like this, but you don't need a specific "pen press". I got mine from Lowes for $19 and it works perfectly, just make sure it has an open jaw length of at least 4", and preferably 6".
Self-Centering Drill Press Holder: Can use a wood-block clamp, but for $89 this makes life much easier. Kind of a pain to get set up and leveled / centered, but once it's done it's a time-saver. Available from Woodcraft.
Self-finding Square: Unbelievably useful - this is a small template that helps you mark the center of either square or round pen blanks. You may think you don't need this if you're using the self-centering drill press holder, but yes, you need it. There are several different types, they're about $5 or less, available from Woodcraft.
Drill Bits: You absolutely need these, and they're specific to each pen model. Sizes range from 7mm - 11mm and from 3/8" to 13/64" to 27/64". You'll want to have a way to arrange these, you'll typically need about 15 different sizes and they can be hard to keep track of, I use DeWalt bit organizers, about $5 each from Lowes, each one holds about 10 bits. The bits range from $2 - $3 each to over $25 each depending on quality. The higher the price, the longer they'll keep their edge. Unless you're making hundreds of pens each week, go with the cheaper ones. Available from Woodcraft, Lowes, Hope Depot, etc. Be sure to get the self-starting bits (with a small sharp point at the end).
Squaring Bits: These are used to "square off" the top and bottom of the blanks just before turning them on the lathe. You can also use the belt / pad sander, but these frequently provide a better product. However, as they are generally just a router bit with a square cutter attached, they can easily destroy the piece if they're turned too fast so you have to be careful with them. They are available from Woodcraft, for about $30 for a set of 5,which will cover most applications.
Pen Turning Mandrel: Mentioned earlier, when turning pen blanks with the tube installed, you can't use the standard lathe mandrel - you need to have a mandrel that will go through the pen tube and lock on both ends, otherwise you will crush or split the tube. The mandel costs about $20, and is available from Woodcraft. You'll probably destroy one after every 40 pens or so, but they're pretty cheap to replace. Be sure to get the mandrel with threads on the tailstock end so you can use a nut to secure the work piece.
Bushings: These are specific to each pen type, they hold the mandrel tight against the pen tube, and are absolutely necessary. They are very inexpensive, about $4 for each type of pen.
Step One: Selecting a Blank:
The first step is selecting a "blank". The "Blank" is simply the small piece of wood or acrylic that will become a pen body. In this case, we are looking at two blanks - a wood blank and an acrylic blank.
We've decided to select the acrylic blank, one for UNC fans...
The next step is to roughly measure and mark the blank for the size of pen we want to make...the size is determined by the size of the central tube for the particular type of pen.
The next step is to cut the blank on the bandsaw to the approximate size of the pen tube. We typically leave 1/8 or 1/4 inch of overhang.
Now, we drill the blank on the drill press, creating a hole in the blank in which to insert the brass pen tube...
Now we prepare the brass pen tube, by roughing up the outside so the CA (cyano-acrylite glue - basically superglue - will stick)
Now we can install the brass pen tube into the pen blank using CA glue and an awl.
Now we prepare the Lathe. We're going to install the mandrel and install the bushings...the bushings are specific to each pen, and help adhere the turning piece to the lathe.
Now we're going to start shaping the piece
And more tools....
And now shaping with sandpaper and MicroMesh...
And more...
And more....
Laying out the Hardware...
Finishing the Pen!