Well, this week could have gone better but I tell you what, I have learned a hell of a lot. I have learned that polyester is shit and I hate it. It’s dusty and it’s horrible and it’s brittle as anything. I only got the one stick of it, thank god. I have attached a picture of the body count for this week, yes I utterly smashed a stick of the green and it sucks. The turquoise was supposed to be a pen for my wife, it wasn’t to be unfortunately.

I have learned that plastic tubing is only just passable to make a collett for the square blanks. I have learned that if you move your tool quickly down the length of the blank when you are turning it then you get a very rough finish, if you move it slowly then you get a relativly smooth finish. Good to know, well I thought so. I have learned that turning the second half of the square blank to a round you need to be careful or you risk snapping the blank, this is what happened when I was turning the turquoise. On that note, I have learned that when turning the second half it is best to not shave off too much or it will catch and snap the blank. I have learned that when you are turning keep an eye on the centre, if it starts to deviate from the centre you are pushing the tool too firmly into the blank. Heat is the enemy especially when drilling, when you pull the drill out of the blank if the swarfe expands you are probably getting too hot as plastic expands when it is hot.

I have also discovered what I like to think of a cardinal rule of turning pens. Lube is your friend. When you think you are using enough lube, you are not, add more.

I had a go at sanding the end of the week. Went from 120 grit up to 12,000 grit and it made the pen look wonderfully shiny. I love it. So I did it, I almost made a pen, I am just waiting for the last tap and die to turn up so that I can do the thread on the cap and the end and it will be done. Wooo Hoo! I am now working on my wife’s pen while I wait for the threading tools to arrive. Let me know what you think of the pen:

here it is.