Pen63

Now that we have drilled, glued, and trimmed the ends of the pen blanks and made the mandrel; we are ready to turn the "Long-Line" pen. All of the turning techniques that were used for the other pens will apply to this one also. It is most similar to the "Fat-Line" pen, the only difference being how the mandrel is used and that it is longer.

Orient the flat blade on the end of the mandrel so that is ACROSS the wood grain.

Seat the mandrel with a couple light hammer blows. We are seating the mandrel through the glue in the bottom of the hole and into solid wood, NOT splitting the wood.

Put the end of the mandrel in the Jacobs Chuck, and tighten the chuck to only "hand tight".

Bring up the tail-center with just enough pressure to hold everything in place.

Use the Chuck Key to tighten the jaws, using all 3 of the key positions.

Now tighten the tail center with enough pressure that all of the pieces are tight on the mandrel.

Slip the same "Father Sing" bushing that we used for the "Russ-Line" pen on the mandrel, followed by the short pen blank and then (2) two "Slim-Line" bushings.

Turn the wood to round, and then turn it down to the center bushing. The turning is the same as described in "The Slim-Line Pen - Turning"

It isn't necessary to leave extra wood because the center bushing will be removed for sanding

Cut the relief in the bottom pen barrel, the same as for the "Fat-Line" pen. Refer to "The Fat-Line Pen - Turning (Page 1 of 3)"

Cut and fit the plastic (or wood) for the center band as described in "The Fat-Line Pen - Turning (Part 2 of 3)

Put everything back together again, without the center bushing, on the mandrel in the Jacobs Chuck. Use less pressure from the tail-center to hold everything together. Too much pressure may break the wood when we turn it to the point at the top of the pen.

Turn down the plastic center-band to the diameter of the wood as described in, "The Fat-Line Pen - Turning (Part 3 of 3)"

Add a little more pressure from the Tail Center if necessary.

Use either a skew or spindle gouge to turn the tip end down to where it is 1/64" larger than the bushing.

Start to work the long taper on the cap end towards a point at the end. We can use a spindle gouge with a blunt tip as shown to make a smooth planing type cut on the wood.

This cut may require some practice on another piece of wood.

Vibration in the wood and tool chatter will become a problem as the wood gets smaller.

Relax the pressure from the Tail Center to just enough to hold everything together without slipping on the mandrel rod.

Use the forefinger as a "steady rest" to dampen vibration in the wood. The other fingers are curled around the wood and held against the face of the tool rest to guide the gouge.

The same cut is shown with a skew at the tool angle for making a planing cut and using the forefinger as a "steady rest" to dampen vibration in the wood.

The skew is the better tool, but it will take some practice on other wood before using it to turn a pen. A "catch" here will be a ruined pen.

Apply a drop or two of "Thin" CA glue to the pointed end of the pen as it gets smaller.

Apply addition glue as it is turned away with each pass of the tool.

Add another drop of the same glue after all of the turning has been completed. This will prevent the tip from breaking while we are sanding and finishing the pen.