Building a REAL FAQ

[JimGo]

OK, I'm still a novice pen turner, so I don't feel like I'm able to contribute a whole heck of a lot of NEW information. However, I asked a LOT of questions when I first started (still do!), and tried to be a "sponge" of information, so when people ask some of the basic questions, I can usually remember that I asked the same question and can find the answer pretty easily. The down-side to this site is that there is a LOT of information here, and it isn't always easy to find, so I think we need an honest-to-goodness FAQ to which we can point people. Since most of our good info is, ironically, in either the Casual Conversation or the Pen Turning forums, I hope we can make a "sticky" and "locked" thread at the top of this forum.

Below is my list of Frequently Asked Questions; please contribute more (I'm tired, but will add more later)! I'm happy to dig around and find the answers, and will consolidate everything into something that will (hopefully) be useful, especially to novices like myself. Also, if you're willing to read through what I write before I post it (i.e. if you don't mind being an editor), I'd love to get someone else's feedback before it goes "live".

Here is a proposed general outline for the FAQ, along with my list of frequently asked questions:

Chapter Outline:
1. The IAP and PenTurners.com
2. Tools
3. Pen Kits
4. Pen Turning Basics
5. Finishing
6. Selling Your Pens
7. Advanced Techniques
8. Casting Pens using Polyester Resin
9. What wood is this?

FAQs:
1. The IAP and PenTurners.com
1.1 - Where did the IAP come from?
1.2 - Who is this mythical "Jeff" guy?
1.3 - What are the rules for posting here?
1.4 - Who picked the moderators?
1.5 - What about instituting a certification/ratings program?
1.6 - What the heck do BLO, CA, BB, IMHO, and all those other acronyms mean?

2. Tools
2.1 - What tools do I need to start making pens?
2.2 - Where does everybody buy their tools?
2.3 - What type of lathe should I get?
2.4 - What type of drill press should I get?
2.5 - What type of bandsaw should I get?
2.6 - What type of tablesaw should I get?
2.7 - What type of sharpener/grinder should I get?
2.8 - Who makes the best turning chisels?
2.9 - Who makes the best sandpaper?
2.10 - What do you use to press your components into the finished barrels?

3. Pen Kits
3.1 - What is the best pen kit for a beginner?
3.2 - Who makes the best pen kits?
3.3 - What is the most popular pen kit?
3.4 - Is Titanium Nitride really THAT much better?

4. Pen Turning Basics
4.1 - How often do I need to sharpen my tools?
4.1.1 - What is the best way to sharpen my tools?
4.2 - What is the best way to cut my blanks?
4.2.1 - Should I cut the blanks to the EXACT size of the tube?
4.2.2 - How much longer than the tube does the blank need to be?
4.3 - What is the best way to drill my blanks?
4.3.1 - What are the best drill bits to use?
4.3.2 - My drill bit keeps coming out the side of the blank; please help!
4.3.3 - How do I stop the blank from "blowing out" when the drill bit comes through the end?
4.3.4 - What size hole should I drill for the _____ pen kit?
4.3.5 - Do I have to use the EXACT drill bit size?
4.4 - What kind of glue should I use?
4.4.1 - What procedure works best for gluing the tubes inside the blanks?
4.5 - Why do I need to square the ends of the barrels?
4.5.1 - What is the best way to square the ends?
4.6 - What is the mandrel for?
4.6.1 - How can I tell if my mandrel is straight?
4.6.2 - How can I straighten my mandrel?
4.7 - What are bushings, and why do I need them?
4.7.1 - What is the bushing size for the _____ pen kit?
4.8 - What is the proper shape for the _____ pen kit?
4.9 - Why does my pen look so "oval"?

5. Finishing
5.1 - What is the best finish for a pen?
5.2 - What finishing technique does everyone in the IAP recommend?
5.3 - How do I get a high gloss finish on a pen?
5.4 - What is the purpose of waxes?

6. Selling Your Pens
6.1 - How much should I sell my pen for?

7. Advanced Techniques
7.1 - How do I make a solid body pen using a slimline kit?

8. Casting Pens using Polyester Resin

9. What wood is this?

 

[its_virgil]

Who is BB?
What is: AS, WC, HF, CA, BLO, DNA, PR, TSW, RW, PSI, CS, USA, CS UK,
MM,

Don

 

[PenWorks]

Man Jim, what do you do in your spare time []
If I have to know all that to make pens, I'm going back to pottery []

Oh forgot, keep up the good work []

 

[JimGo]

Originally posted by its_virgil
<br />Who is BB?
What is: AS, WC, HF, CA, BLO, DNA, PR, TSW, RW, PSI, CS, USA, CS UK,
MM,

Don

Don,
See the link in my footer for the answer to THESE questions! [] Thanks, I'll add them to the FAQ.

 

[scubaman]

What's penturners.com??? You must indeed be tired ;-)

 

[JimGo]

Originally posted by PenWorks
<br />Man Jim, what do you do in your spare time []

Now that I'm officially done with law school and the related studying, I have some free time! The area where I live places a 9:00 PM restriction on making loud noises - since I live in a townhouse, and have no clue how loud my pen turning is for my neighbors, I try to knock off by 9:00, just so I don't get them angry. SO, I'll need SOMETHING to keep me busy at night, at least 'till the baby comes, and I thought this might help keep me out of my wife's way! []

 

[PenWorks]

Congrats on finishing law school Jim, that'a great ! But I would think if your neighbors complained about your noise, which I can't believe is that loud, (compared to a baby crying at 1 AM) I would think you could threaten to sue them, that should quiet them down [] and be good practice for what you just learned []

 

[JimGo]

Thanks Anthony! It feels weird not HAVING to do stuff when I get home, so I'm trying to find stuff to keep me occupied just so I don't drive my wife nuts. Pen turning will come in VERY handy! [] As for filing suit against my neighbors, well, considering that 1) that would probably aggrivate them more than my pen turning and 2) I'm a Patent/Trademark/Copyright kind of guy, I don't think that would be wise! [] Now, on the other hand, if they were to try to steal one of my proprietary designs (if I had any!)...[B)][:0]