Hello From the Dallas, TX Suburbs

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MyopicTopics

MyopicTopics

Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2023
Messages
9
Location
Dallas Fort Worth, TX
Hello Everyone!

I was given a free Harbor Freight lathe and a set of Chinese carbide turning tools two weeks ago by a friend, and have now made 4 pens. My first three were standard slimlines, and my last was a modified slimline. I am afraid I may have caught the pen making bug! I really enjoy how you can go from a blank to a finished pen in a couple of hours, but if you have the time you can get as technical and intricate as you want. I often found myself getting frustrated on other woodworking projects because it took weeks to get to the finished product, and I hated getting pulled away before I could finish. I would love to progress into making custom/bespoke/kit less pens at some point as well.

i have learned a lot from the forums on this site, so figured I would join up and see if some day I could meaningfully contribute.

Great to virtually meet everyone!

Andy

Below are my creations so far:

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Welcome from west TX (Abilene area). There are at least 4 woodturning clubs in the Metroplex. If you can't find one, let me know and I'll find the one closest to you.

Steve
 
Welcome aboard, Andy.

I have lots of family in the DFW area.

Spent a ton of time there over the years.
 
Greetings from Nebraska and welcome to the IAP community. I started with a HF lathe too and it served me very well for several years before I decided it was time to upgrade.

It looks like you have a very strong skill set already with how the fit and finish looks on your first pens - congratulations. Slimline is usually the first style we all start with (because of the kit price), but in my opinion it is not the easiest nor the most pleasing pen style. I'm not trying to offend anyone that prefers slimlines -- I still make them too along with various slimline relatives - it's just not one of my favorites. WoodTurningz sells "Comfort" center bands which are basically fat centerbands that fit on the slimline kit, so usually when I make a slimline it is really more of a slim-comfort style.

Of course, my favorites tends to shift around and change occasionally, but as of today my favorites are the venerable cigar style, the Zen/Magnetic style, and the Diamond Knurl Rollerball (a Junior Gent style from Exotic Blanks).

Once again, Welcome to the IAP community. - Dave
 
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

I am sorry I haven't been online for a bit, I was busy in the shop making a couple of Slimline Pencils! Thank you for the kind words regarding my pens so far. I am learning valuable lessons with each pen I make. My lesson this session was, don't sand your blank with water and then apply CA or the CA will cloud in places. The first pencil which has small CA clouds, is a black palm blank, I was too far off my bushings but love the look of the palm and it was interesting to turn. The second was just a purple acrylic, but this was my best fit and finish so far, the transitions are all smooth and I added Novus2 as the final step after micro sanding and it really made it pop.

Thanks again everyone!

Andy
 

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egnald said:
Greetings from Nebraska and welcome to the IAP community. I started with a HF lathe too and it served me very well for several years before I decided it was time to upgrade.

It looks like you have a very strong skill set already with how the fit and finish looks on your first pens - congratulations. Slimline is usually the first style we all start with (because of the kit price), but in my opinion it is not the easiest nor the most pleasing pen style. I'm not trying to offend anyone that prefers slimlines -- I still make them too along with various slimline relatives - it's just not one of my favorites. WoodTurningz sells "Comfort" center bands which are basically fat centerbands that fit on the slimline kit, so usually when I make a slimline it is really more of a slim-comfort style.

Of course, my favorites tends to shift around and change occasionally, but as of today my favorites are the venerable cigar style, the Zen/Magnetic style, and the Diamond Knurl Rollerball (a Junior Gent style from Exotic Blanks).

Once again, Welcome to the IAP community. - Dave
Click to expand...
Dave,

I agree, the HF lathe is an excellent entry point. I am quickly growing tired of changing the belt to different pulleys, so I could see an upgrade to a variable speed in my future. The tail stock is also very sloppy until you lock it in, so for drilling blanks I need to be very careful to lock the tailstock and use the quill travel only. Other than that, I think it is a great first lathe.

Thanks again for the kind words,

Andy
 
MyopicTopics said:
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

I am sorry I haven't been online for a bit, I was busy in the shop making a couple of Slimline Pencils! Thank you for the kind words regarding my pens so far. I am learning valuable lessons with each pen I make. My lesson this session was, don't sand your blank with water and then apply CA or the CA will cloud in places. The first pencil which has small CA clouds, is a black palm blank, I was too far off my bushings but love the look of the palm and it was interesting to turn. The second was just a purple acrylic, but this was my best fit and finish so far, the transitions are all smooth and I added Novus2 as the final step after micro sanding and it really made it pop.

Thanks again everyone!

Andy
Click to expand...
Black palm is beautiful and a real bear to work. Congratulations! Novus 2 as the final step on both acrylics and CA is the way to go!
 
I also love turning Black Palm, I always soak it with Thin CA to stabilize and then stop short of final dimensions and sand to final fit so I don't get one of the dark fibers catching out just as I sneak up on the right diameter.
 
MyopicTopics said:
Dave,

I agree, the HF lathe is an excellent entry point. I am quickly growing tired of changing the belt to different pulleys, so I could see an upgrade to a variable speed in my future. The tail stock is also very sloppy until you lock it in, so for drilling blanks I need to be very careful to lock the tailstock and use the quill travel only. Other than that, I think it is a great first lathe.

Thanks again for the kind words,

Andy
Click to expand...
The problematic areas you cited are exactly the same ones that I experienced. I did the variable speed upgrade from PSI and it worked well with a little modification I had to make to keep the HF pulley/gear for the motor. A tighter tailstock is what eventually coaxed me to buy a JET variable speed lathe and even after that I bought an improved banjo clamp from Rick Herrell. There is still a lot that can be done with the HF though- with a little patience and practice. - Dave
 
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