360° Herringbone Pen

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KenB259

KenB259

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Joined
Dec 24, 2017
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Location
Michigan
Finally a finished pen. I started this 360° herringbone pen blank intimidated by the complexity of the blank. After the initial learning curve of that, the real difficulty came forward , that being the actual turning of it. Hands down, this was the most difficult pen I've ever made. I was suffering through major tear out. I tried regular carbide and regular HSS tools, but the tear out continued, I also flooded it regularly with thin CA. Finally I decided to try a negative rake cutter and that made all the difference in the world. The blank came out flawless, no tear out, no gaps. The woods are bloodwood and Canarywood with black dyed vaneer. It's hard to photograph but the chatoyance of the bloodwood is amazing. The pen is a Liberty click from McKenzie Penworks.
 

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Very nice. Maybe that is the answer to turning these. May have to pick one up now. Not quite sure why a negative rake scraper would be any different than a standard scraper in this instance. But if it works that is what counts. OH boy another tool, yea. Can you tell us the dimentions of the woods used to get an idea what you worked with. Also do you see any improvements in the future to either materials used or approach? Thanks
 
jttheclockman said:
Very nice. Maybe that is the answer to turning these. May have to pick one up now. Not quite sure why a negative rake scraper would be any different than a standard scraper in this instance. But if it works that is what counts. OH boy another tool, yea. Can you tell us the dimentions of the woods used to get an idea what you worked with. Also do you see any improvements in the future to either materials used or approach? Thanks
Click to expand...
The only thing I can think of is the negative rake cutters less aggressive, like you said, it works. The little squares I cut were whatever the thickness of my boards were, approximately .875. The thickness with the vaneer on them was approximately .215. After you get 6 of them glued together, 18 layers yields you a 6 inch pen blank. That will vary based on the thickness of your squares. I don't think there's anything I'd change on how I make them. It certainly would be easier if end grain could be avoided. I am going to make another with the cuts against the grain to see if it matters. I should say I started with two pieces of wood each 2.5 x 6. There is a lot of waste with these.
 
Last edited:
KenB259 said:
The only thing I can think of is the negative rake cutters less aggressive, like you said, it works. The little squares I cut were whatever the thickness of my boards were, approximately .875. The thickness with the vaneer on them was approximately .215. After you get 6 of them glued together, 18 layers yields you a 6 inch pen blank. That will vary based on the thickness of your squares. I don't think there's anything I'd change on how I make them. It certainly would be easier if end grain could be avoided. I am going to make another with the cuts against the grain to see if it matters. I should say I started with two pieces of wood each 2.5 x 6. There is a lot of waste with these.
Click to expand...
Excellent.. nice precision ... like the wood choices. Lots of work but you nailed it.
 
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