The ideal project for a woodturner of any level is to create a beautiful writing instrument with inlaid wood accents. Handmade pens make beautiful gifts, and do a great job of showing off the unique style of figured wood. Creating a woodturned pen from a wood pen blank requires a minimum of tools, and the finished product can be reached without spending more than an afternoon, requiring much less time and experience than a larger piece of art or furniture.
The standard style of pen kit represents a conventional pen-like feel with a "rollerball", or ballpoint, design. These standard hardware kits are readily available. An alternative to this is a fountain pen kit, and other, more specialty, pen hardware is available. Many hardware options feature a detachable cap for the pen, which you'll prepare using your woodturning skills on its own, independently of the pen's body. Other choices represent "click-style" retractable pens, with a single body unit. The pen hardware you select may or may not include a rubber grip or additional decorations, but will require a pen blank to show off as the primary material featured in the pen's body.
After choosing your pen hardware, the next step will be to select your wood material. However, most typical cuts of wood will generally not make for an exciting or eye-catching pen body. In order to create a really eye-catching piece of art, you should be working with highly figured wood, where the grain is not completely straight, but interrupted by whorls and vivid patterns that are revealed when the wood is cut. Of course, these materials are much less commonly available and are more costly than regular wood blocks, but the strong, contrasting grain pattern and spalting that you can see in figured wood is more than worth the expense. You'll discover a broad selection of pen blanks available from mail-order, Internet, and retail hobby stores.
A crucial step in building a pen is to cover the wood surface with a polished finish, to give it a nice appearance and protect it from dirt and grime. Over years of use, a pen will naturally get beaten around a bit, so a sturdy finish is important.
With all this information in hand, you should be well prepared to select the perfect wood blank for your project, and begin turning your own wood creations!
The standard style of pen kit represents a conventional pen-like feel with a "rollerball", or ballpoint, design. These standard hardware kits are readily available. An alternative to this is a fountain pen kit, and other, more specialty, pen hardware is available. Many hardware options feature a detachable cap for the pen, which you'll prepare using your woodturning skills on its own, independently of the pen's body. Other choices represent "click-style" retractable pens, with a single body unit. The pen hardware you select may or may not include a rubber grip or additional decorations, but will require a pen blank to show off as the primary material featured in the pen's body.
After choosing your pen hardware, the next step will be to select your wood material. However, most typical cuts of wood will generally not make for an exciting or eye-catching pen body. In order to create a really eye-catching piece of art, you should be working with highly figured wood, where the grain is not completely straight, but interrupted by whorls and vivid patterns that are revealed when the wood is cut. Of course, these materials are much less commonly available and are more costly than regular wood blocks, but the strong, contrasting grain pattern and spalting that you can see in figured wood is more than worth the expense. You'll discover a broad selection of pen blanks available from mail-order, Internet, and retail hobby stores.
A crucial step in building a pen is to cover the wood surface with a polished finish, to give it a nice appearance and protect it from dirt and grime. Over years of use, a pen will naturally get beaten around a bit, so a sturdy finish is important.
With all this information in hand, you should be well prepared to select the perfect wood blank for your project, and begin turning your own wood creations!
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