Thank you I am now making things

[Karin Voorhis]

Ok the drill press has been solved. I checked table for level and it was the floor base that needed to be shimed a bit.... Thank you all!!!!

I know that I have a long way to go but here is some pens I started off with.... Any tips I would love.

[Tom Sherman]

Karen, it looks like you're on the way those are some nice looking pens. Keep at it they get easier, it won't be long you'll be turning bowls and hollow forms.

[Greg Just]

Karen:

Nice looking pens - what kind of wood did you use?

[Ben Gastfriend]

They all look great!

I don't know if this is so, but I always get a better result with the burned lines if I wait till after I put an on-the-the lathe finish on, so the lines don't get gunked up with wax or shellac residue.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking pens Karin. Keep'em coming.

[Dean Thomas]

Tips? I can do tips!

A couple come to mind. One is a followup to Ben's about burn lines. I saw the nice little, teeny cove on the one and thought maybe your intent was indeed to do a burn line. I actually think that a burn line would have been more striking visually than a plain wood cove in this case. Coves are an okay feature, but on pens, I personally think they're best when you have a striking grain so that the grain pattern becomes even more enhanced.

Second tip has to do with finishing diameter on the business end of the pen. For me, I really want the wood to fade seamlessly into the metal tip. No bump caused by the diameter being too small or too large. It's a baby bear thing...JUUUUUUUUUST right!

I've talked to a number of pen turners and many have the same issue with the wood at the tip end. One of the ways of helping that to be closer is to turn your pen so that the tip end is closest to the headstock. That helps eliminate as many variables as possible. If you've purchased a mandrel that doesn't really fit the Morse taper hole in your spindle, it's a PAIN! Turning the tip at the headstock at least reduces the odds of getting a severely whacked out wood-to-tip joint,

Last one for the moment is another personal issue, and one that I've had comments on from people who've received or purchased turned pens: Don't make the knob on the bottom so large that it causes a bump in the pocket. This was brought home to me by a military man who had received a pen (GO FPP!!) while serving in Afghanistan. The lump in the pocket distracts officers and non-coms during inspections! Common sense, but not unless you've undergone a military inspection in the last few years. Large enough to be comfortable in the hand, but not so large that it won't fit in an organizer or leave lumps in shirt or suit.

There was another thread on tips for pen makers last month, I believe. You might want to research. It had to do with, "If I could tell a new penmaker just one thing..."

[Joe Delfino]

They look great! What kind of wood is that? Also what is that finish?

[Steve Campbell]

Karin great looking pens. Glad to hear you got the drill press issue figured out. Now just keep on turning. Post what you make.

Steve

[robert hainstock]

I'm so happy you got things going finally. The pens look freat. always remember your eye is the best judge of yout art. We can all comment, but only you know what it took to produce the piece. Turn On!
Bob

[Karin Voorhis]

Thank you all so much! The wood I used was some Rose Wood and some Paduke. I am additcted but got a bad cold to slow me down.... errr..... Hopefully better soon....... I will be looking in and taking all the advice. Thanks.