Welcome everyone! This is a blog I am creating with the hopes of it being a journal of sorts for myself, but also to be a place to share ideas and techniques for creating homemade wooden pens. I've only created about 20 pens so far, although the number of pens I've attempted to make is a bigger number. As part of this blog I will be posting pictures of the pens I make, the steps I took to create them, and describing and reflecting on failed attempts.
I am 22 years old and currently finishing my last semester of college. Right now I am living at home and making these pens in my dads workshop.
My interest in making pens began with my dad. Around when I started high school he started making pens and clip boards as presents for his friends at work. My brother and I took part in making some pens, but we only worked on the lathe, we didn't do any of the prep work or finishing. The pens were nice but I didn't have a strong interest in pursuing the craft further. But now a few years later, for reasons I haven't quite narrowed done, my interest was sparked in making pens again.
So I asked my dad if he would take my through the process of putting together a pen. He had a few kits left over and a few different blanks from a variety pack he had ordered years ago. He took me through the process and said whatever he had as far as leftover kits and blanks was mine to use. So I began to create pens using just the leftover blanks my dad had, but soon I ran out of materials. The initial pens were made using one type of wood throughout, although I'm having trouble identifying the wood because the blanks in the variety pack were not labeled.
After I depleted my dads supply I began to quiz him on were I could order more blanks and kits from. He said he had ordered from Rockler in the past and also Penn State Industries, I company I would personally recommend. So I ordered more kits but I elected to use some of the scrap Cherry and Maple my dad had in his shop to practice further on before I moved into the more exotic woods.
I started to do research on pen blank designs. I found that through Rockler or Penn State Industries you can order blanks that include multiple woods glues together in different patterns, but I wanted to create the blanks myself, I just needed some inspiration. I have discovered that coming up with designs for blanks and creating the blanks is just about as enjoyable as working on the lathe, for me at least.
All of the pens that I post on this blog have been cut, glued, drilled, turned, assembled and finished by hand, by me. The lathe my dad has is fairly worn and old. It is a tabletop lathe that needs an exterior motor, which can cause a lot of vibration. So I am looking in to getting a better lathe soon (hopefully as a Christmas present. Keeping fingers crossed.)
