RunnerVince
Member
So I've been working with the boys from my church's youth group for the past few weeks to make pens. It's a slow process because they're all completely new, and I have only the one lathe. The last two should be finishing their pens today. I chose the Sierra because it's a single-barrel kit, and the cap end is rounded where the cap end meets the blank, so at least on one side, it's not as important to get that perfect fit. I've only done one Sierra before, and didn't remember the assembly steps at all.
Last week, the first boy turned and finished his blank, and then we went to assemble. When I went to show him how to assemble the Sierra kit, the nib end slid right into the tube. No friction, not even contact with the tube.
I immediately thought I'd made a mistake somewhere, like used the wrong drill bit or something. In hindsight, that doesn't make sense, but I was in panic mode. So of course, rather than be smart and pull up the directions (which I had already downloaded to my phone just in case), I thought "we'll just have to glue it in." So we did. Then of course the pen didn't work when it was all together.
We figured out the issue (it was me) for the next boy, and after they'd left I spent a good 45 minutes getting the blank separated from the kit, which was of course ruined in the process. But I was able to preserve the boy's blank and had bought an extra kit, so I got him his pen the next day.
Just goes to show how important it can be to stop, take a breath, and consult the directions, even if you "know what you are doing."
It's been a fun activity, and it's nice to introduce these boys to something they haven't seen before and get them thinking about things they can make with their own hands.
Last week, the first boy turned and finished his blank, and then we went to assemble. When I went to show him how to assemble the Sierra kit, the nib end slid right into the tube. No friction, not even contact with the tube.
I immediately thought I'd made a mistake somewhere, like used the wrong drill bit or something. In hindsight, that doesn't make sense, but I was in panic mode. So of course, rather than be smart and pull up the directions (which I had already downloaded to my phone just in case), I thought "we'll just have to glue it in." So we did. Then of course the pen didn't work when it was all together.
We figured out the issue (it was me) for the next boy, and after they'd left I spent a good 45 minutes getting the blank separated from the kit, which was of course ruined in the process. But I was able to preserve the boy's blank and had bought an extra kit, so I got him his pen the next day.
Just goes to show how important it can be to stop, take a breath, and consult the directions, even if you "know what you are doing."
It's been a fun activity, and it's nice to introduce these boys to something they haven't seen before and get them thinking about things they can make with their own hands.
