sorcerertd
Member
Just some basics here. A co-worker wanted one of these for her husband as a Christmas gift. I made a few for her to choose from. From the right, Bog oak, Bacote, figured Walnut, Olive, Box Elder burl. Not surprisingly, she went with the olive. Hard to go wrong there. They are all finished with GluBoost, though I left the surface a little rougher on the bog oak and walnut. I don't know why, but I prefer not to have too glossy of a finish on the more rugged, outdoorsy looking pens or the EDC type pens unless I really want chatoyance to pop on them. Kinda wishing now that I had done that on the Walnut. In any case, I like the bog oak on gunmetal for the somewhat tactical look. Interestingly, you can see the difference in the color of the gold plating from the older kit on the right vs. the newer ones.
I think these are pretty good kits for beginners. With only one barrel, and a relatively short one at that, they are pretty quick and easy to make. They give a good sense of accomplishment since the end result is a cool looking pen. They offer some quick lessons, one being carving straight vs. curved barrels and how a slight bow on the lathe becomes a large bulge on the finished product.
A more expensive lesson that I did get a reminder of on one of these is why you shouldn't press on the threads, which broke off completely. Oops. Rookie mistake. It probably would have worked if I had thoroughly cleaned out the tube, but still, I knew better. Fortunately, I had a couple more kits to steal a part from.
I think these are pretty good kits for beginners. With only one barrel, and a relatively short one at that, they are pretty quick and easy to make. They give a good sense of accomplishment since the end result is a cool looking pen. They offer some quick lessons, one being carving straight vs. curved barrels and how a slight bow on the lathe becomes a large bulge on the finished product.
A more expensive lesson that I did get a reminder of on one of these is why you shouldn't press on the threads, which broke off completely. Oops. Rookie mistake. It probably would have worked if I had thoroughly cleaned out the tube, but still, I knew better. Fortunately, I had a couple more kits to steal a part from.
