Where do you get your materials? How would I start?

obama nice. this is where I started. http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Pen_Making?Args=

I spent quite a bit of time at The Pen Shop. I got so much out of that site that I now own it and am using it to give back to the pen making community. Newbies and accomplished folks alike.

There is a Harbor Freight intown and I always look at the little lathes and figure some day I might expand my hobby.

now I just look.

Kurt

i just went to this site for the first time the other day and it seems really cool. i read "the worthless wood tutorial" and got really excited about all the wood i have that seemed like rubbish.

after my last post i went to the pen shop site again to check out the other tutorials and i think my brain is overloading which isn't hard to do but for real it's awesome to see a site that is actually helpful and full of good ideas!!!

Mic! I am a big fan of The Pen Shop! But let me make it worse for you - visit www.penturners.org which is the home of the International Association of Penturners. A lot of penturners are members at both sites.

JD - Good luck on getting started! It is fun, and very rewarding!

Scott.

So what's the quality of the actual pen that comes with some of these kits?
thanks
-jon

i have been real happy with everything i have bought from them. the finish on the hardware is always good and once assembled the pen is solid. they are fast to if you phone an order in you will get it within a few days. maybe i should go work for them with all this gushing.

matt.

Ok so thats where I can buy materials. You obviously need to cut the material. How would you do that?

The cheapest would be a handsaw and a vice.

But you can use anything, really....tablesaw, bandsaw, scrollsaw, mitersaw, etc....

How would you get the shape you want.....and how do you create the threads to close the cap?

Could someone post pictures of your process?

Hello,

I have pictures, but the exceed the allowable size limit. Basically the process is as follows:

1. Buy a pen kit. The pen kit typically includes 2 brass tubes, a pocket clip, cap, tip for writing end of pen, center band and mechanism for advancing/retracting the lead.
2. Buya wood/acrylic/ebonite/ivory/.... blank - usually about 3/4 square by 5.5 inches long
3. Cut the blank to the correct size for the brass tubes
4. Drill a hole to fit the brass tubes into, and glue the tubes into the blank.
5. trim the blanks to match the tube size
6. mount the blanks on the lathe using a mandrel
7. turn the pen down to the desired shape and size
8. sand the pen from 100 grit to 12,000 grit
9. apply a finish to the wood or polish the acrylic
10. Pres the cap and pocket clip in place, press the bottom tip in, press the drive mechanism in, slip the center band over the middle, and press the 2 peices together.

I hope this helps.

Dan

If you'd like, you can watch me on the webcam.

http://edisonpen.com/page.cfm/Edison-Pen-Webcam

I'm usually in the shop every morning around 9:00 making pens.

Thanks for the link -- very interesting.
After watching for a while (you were cutting threads) I pretty much decided on a machinist lathe vs. a woodworking lathe.
-jon

If you want to make non-kit pens, then approach it as a machinist. Not a woodworker. My humble two cents.

It's not easy, but once you learn to cut threads (single and multi-lead), then you are limited by nothing.