Bloggy Christmas and a Bloggy New Year

It has been quite a while since I blogged, I was busy ok.  The lead up to Christmas is always busy at Quackadoo, so I spent many days in hotel rooms, chasing lost passengers and the setting sun.  Luckily this year I was rostered of for Christmas so got to spend it with my loved ones, but I did spare a thought for all those out there working.  Funny, when I was younger I thought only firemen and policemen worked Xmas, how wrong I was, for many it is just another working day.
Not only was the aviation game busy leading up to the big day but so was my workshop.  It was my youngest' last year at pre-school, so we wanted some good presents for her fantastic teachers.  Last year my wife led the way with mug rugs and coffee cups, this year was my turn and pens.  My daughter picked the acrylic colours and my son helped to drill the blanks.

The pens were well received by all the teachers, especially as they had my daughters input.  I also had some pens to knock out for a great project run on the woodwork forums sight called “pens for the troops”.  A couple of times a year pens are sent to service personnel overseas as a gift from home.  This is the second time I have participated and am sure I will be back for more.

Finally was my pen swap for the IAP Fall PITH.  This is always fun, swapping pens with people overseas. Here was that I sent, rosewood and she oak Polaris. Pens swaps are great and if you want to be involved the woodwork forum is holding one here.

Now that the silly season is over what does this year hold?  Hopefully a few more blog posts, hopefully a new house to talk about and maybe I will get around to some more reviews including this bad boy .

Until then sit back, relax and enjoy the journey.

A Quick Quartet

 

Having set up the new work shed today it was time to test it out.  Here was a quick quartet of acrylics.  Two Rifle Bullet pens in Australian camouflage, and green and gold Cigar and what I like to call the purple haze click. 

The purple haze was bought from a bargain bin for about $1, it was brittle and nasty to work with. Every time the tool touched the blank it seemed to chip, but a sharp tool, slow speed, some sanding and patience paid off. I think it looks great.

Christmas is coming and some of these pens are available at my etsy store, get in quick or contact me direct.

A useful mistake

A while ago I made a pen, not that unusual I guess.  I had bought a black acrylic with gold glitter in it from Gary Pye Woodturning Supplies and thought it would look great as a Cigar style pen with gold fittings.

All had gone well with the drilling and gluing of the blank.  I was ready to turn what I thought would be a great pen.  Unfortunately the fickled finger of fate hang in the shed that day and disaster struck.  A moments lapse in concentration?  A tool not sharp enough? A weak part in the blank? I don't know what it was, but I put a deep chip in one end.  It was not the life ending drama I had thought but enough to produce a few curse words and to kick the waste bin across the shed.  However I decided not to give in.  I took the blank of and re-squared the end with a pen mill and returned.

I knew that the pen would be too short for the cartridge, but had my fingers crossed I could modify it, or that by some miracle the pen nib would still retract enough.  I was wrong.

pen retracted

When the pen was fully assembled it did not retract all the way, not by a long shot, not even if I modified the transmission (something I have done before).  However I loved this pen.  It looked smart, had great balance of colour (something I haven't captured in the photo) and is extremely comfy to hold.

It may not have turned in to a sell able pen, or a display pen but it is my favourite everyday pen.  I use it when studying, writing lists and just leaving it lying around on the bench.  It may have been a mistake, but it has certainly been a useful one.  It also meant the pen got the use it deserved, not just sitting in the box with the rest of the pens.

Have you every made a mistake that worked out well?

Mystery Box

It's Mystery Box time of the year, a fun time for us pen makers on the woodwork forum.  Yes we are a crazy wacky bunch that live on the edge.  Contrary to popular belief we are not all old, glasses wearing, appron wielding wood lovers (some of us are actually young glasses wearing, apron wielding wood lovers).

Yes once a year we send a cardboard box from state to state full of wonderful pen making goodies.  A few days I got an email from the last recipient saying it was my turn.  I was excited waiting for the box of wonders.  What cool things would be inside?  What would I take and what would I leave for the next person?  The rules are simple, take out whatever you want and replace it with other things pen makers would like.  It could be wood pen blanks, acrylics, pen kits, something for casting, the choice is yours. The only rule is the box should way under three kilos and be posted on to the next on the list as soon as possible.

Now I can't show you what dark secrets lie within, that would spoil it for everyone. However I can show what I took out.

Having taken my goodies the box has been topped up and is ready to continue its cosmic journey.

Stylus Streamline for fathers day

It's fathers day tomorrow in Australia, but as usual it's the question of what to get a Dad who has everything.  Both my Father and Father-in-law love their IPads, so I thought why not knock up a stylus.  Now the stylus kits are Slimlines, but I wanted something a little more, what's the word, refined maybe.  So I decided to make a one piece Streamline, and a One piece Slim, both are essentially the same.

While I am showing the off, here is the quick tutorial! Firstly select a long enough blank, as there is no centre band this needs to taken into account when cutting.  I cut the blank to about 118mm and trim to 113mm when I stick in the tube.

You need a long drill bit (7mm).  As it is a long blank you can drill it on the lathe or drill press.  With the whole drilled we need to glue in one of the two brass tubes that are found in the standard kit.

Put the blank aside, let the glue dry and then trim the ends with the barrel trimmer.  Now it's time to turn!  Using the pen mandrel use the Streamline/Slimline bushing at one end, slide on the blank from the glued tube end.  Then slide on the spare brass tube and insert it into the blank on the mandrel.  Fix the other end bushing and secure the blank with the brass nut or mandrel saver. 

Turn the blank to the required shape. I like to leave a little curve in mine.  Once turned wet sand the acrylic from 150 wet and dry paper through to 800, then micro mesh.  For a real shine I then give it a rub with Brasso and then car polish.

Next step is to remove the barrel from the mandrel.  Now remove the lose brass tube.  Get the pen kit and squeeze the nib and mechanism into the lose brass tube with care.  

Fix the stylus and clip to the clip end where the brass tube is glued in.  Screw in the pen refil to the mechanism and push it into the barrel.  The glued brass tube will grab the end of the refil, to extend and retract the pen just twist the nib end.

Now the pen is ready to give dad

What gift are you giving dad?

Candy Cane Stylus

As we may remember I recently had a great prize pack from Timberbits.  In this pack I choose some of their newly stocked Slimline Stylus pen kits.  These are basic Slimline pen kits with a Stylus tip at the clip end for use with Ipad/Smartphones etc.  

I was very keen to turn one of these kits so I teamed it up with a Candy Cane Acrylic that I had picked up in a sale ages ago.

Being a slimline it was a quick kit to turn.  Just drill with a 7mm drill bit, cut in half and glue in the two tubes and trim.  Let the glue dry overnight and turn.

I love acrylics, so much colour and so quick to turn and no CA finish to take up time at the end (or stuff up!)

Acrylics polish up so well.  I usually work through 150 grit wet dry paper to 800 and then bring out the micro mesh pads.  That should have made it nice and smooth and removed any hairline scratches.  Now time to make it shine!  I give an over kill with some Brasso and then car polish, though the car polish is enough.  Then assembly time.

The finished article is great, and the fantastic thing about these kits (found here) is that because the stylus tip fits a 7mm tube it creates many more great possibilities (stay tuned).

Timberbits!

OK, so I love playing with wood, and one of my favourite items to make are pens.  Whenever I am in need of pen kits my first port of call is always the Timberbits website.  If I'm honest, I look at this site weekly to see what new stock or specials are on, its always a good time to buy more stuff!  Anyway recently the crew at Timberbits had a Facebook competition, just like their page for a chance to win a $200 gift pack.  Already a follower I made sure I was entered, and then completely forgot about it.  Luckily they did not forget and guess who won?  Yes I was as happy as a wood turner in a forest!

Now the hard part, choosing.  With $200 to play with and Timberbits always low prices you can get a lot of bang for your buck (in this case their buck!).  I only placed my order yesterday but by this morning this was waiting at the post office.  I shouldn't have been surprised, the people their are fantastic and the delivery is always prompt, in fact fantastic service all the time!

I was very keen to get home and see my goodies, as you can see I did manage to squeeze it quite a bit for the money.

Included were Sierra, Streamline, Slimline with stylus nib, Executive clicks and European pen kits.  Add in some new bushes, glue, some great acrylics and a new stand to show off the finished pens and it was a full box.

Now I guess a few of you will look at this and say I'm getting a kick back to write this but no, until I post this they will have no idea.  In this day and age of poor people relations its good to be able to plug a small family business.  I can't wait to go and play with some of these acrylics.  If you are into pen making and wood turning check out the web site www.timberbits.com The service is always great, the prices low (I don't know how he gets them so low) and the postage rate fantastic even overseas. 

Where do you get great service?

Sydney timber and working with wood show

I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning today, why?  Yes it was the Sydney Timber and Working with Wood Show.  So much possibility lay ahead.  I have been looking forward to this event since my first visit last year, and hiding some cash away too.

This was the first year in a new venue at Sydney Olympic Park. There was great parking and a large cue to get in, but after the wait it was great to get it.  If you are into timber and tools, this is the place to be.

My first port of call was to look at the exhibitions of the fantastic and far too talented work of the wood turners out there.  I am blown away at how clever they are, and how much I have to learn.

One piece of equipment that really caught my were the lathes of the ornamental turns group.  They are something I had never seen before but something I will need to set my father upon.

After checking out the displays it was time to flex the cash and if need be the credit card (and yes, it was needed!).  There were of course stands from the leading wood shops, tool makers, and suppliers.  I was especially keen to check out the Arbortech stand and look at the carving tools.

There was also a great stand from Timberbits with some fantastic examples of Davids pens.

And of course there was plenty of wood in all shapes, sizes and varieties.

Some of the Red Mallee burls even managed to find their way home with me.  Luckily a new toy jumped into my bag to use on them (and I will review that soon).

If you have an interest in wood, get down to the Dome at Sydney Olympic Park this weekend (27th-29th August) and check it all out for yourselves.

Sydney Timber and Working with Wood Show

The Tiger Moth Project

It started as an advert on a woodwork forum. Somebody was selling a piece of wood from a Tiger Moth wing spar. Now I am a Tiger Moth fan, I love them. I was lucky enough to spend a few hundred hours of flying these vintage aircraft and have very fond memories of them. I quickly replied to the advert but he had sold the wood, but he had more. the wood had been reclaimed during an overhaul of an aircraft and few fine cracks meant it was not air worthy. In fact the wood was the original spar from a machine built in the early 1940's as a trainer for the RAF. A few days later the wood arrived and I was excited, but how to combine my hobby with a past love. I wanted a pen, so that's what I made, one pen, for me, to keep. The wood is spruce and not inheritantly featured, so I thought why not get it laser engraved? If I was going to the bother of that I thought why not get some more done to sell, if they sell?

Sell they did! They guys at work were keen to own part of aviation History. In the end I made several batches and sold twenty pens. I was quite a happy little chappy. The pens are called Sierras though I also made some nice fountain pens for a friend too.

With so many pens out there mine was no longer unique so with some leg overwood I made a quick clock. The wood had some holes which were from how it was held within the frame. I madva quick decision to leaves these unfurled as it is part of the woods story. I can't wait now for a new desk to put my clock on.

I do still have a little wood left and am thinking what else to do to keep this wood alive.