Here you’ll find information that will help you to create a beautiful writing instrument with inlaid wood accents. Handmade pens make beautiful gifts, and do a nice job of showing off the unique style of figured wood, not to mention your own skills as a craftsman. Making a spindle-turned pen from a wood pen blank requires a minimum of tools, and the finished product can be reached without spending more than an afternoon, with much less effort than would be necessary for a larger piece of art or furniture.
You might think that wood projects will take up a lot of space, time and equipment, like if you were making coffee tables, tables and chairs, etc. But, by creating objects using a lathe to “turn” wood blocks, you can produce works of art in just a few hours. These small objects are easy to work with and require only a compact lathe and a few small tools to complete.
After choosing your pen hardware, the next step will be to select your wood material. However, most typical cuts of wood tend to be unremarkable, and do not show enough contrast as you might be wish for your handmade pen body. You’ll need to use figured wood, which emphasises a knotty and whorled grain pattern with rich colors, for a truly stunning piece. Of course, these materials are much less commonly available and are more costly than regular wood blocks, but the strong, contrasting grain pattern and spalting that you can see in figured wood is more than worth the expense. You’ll discover a broad selection of pen turning blanks at online stores like North Woods, or at your local brick-and-mortar woodworking and craft outlets.
Next, you’ll need to bore a hole in the block of wood you’re using to cover the pen’s body, and glue the tube (included with your hardware set) securely in place. The placement of this tube establishes the dimensional center of the piece, around which you will shape the wood. After then attaching this piece to the headstock of your lathe using a pen mandrel, you’ll be ready to begin turning. Because of the tiny wood particles that are inevitably scattered about during woodturning, I always employ an air hose to keep the mess in my work space more controlled. When shaping your pen, feel free to experiment! Various woodworking tools can be used to add ornamentation and decoration to the pen blank, and after the pen surface has taken the form you intended, you’ll have to sand it down to remove the rough edges. This can be done easily while the pen blank is still mounted on your lathe.
You can use these details to begin your first woodcraft project! You should be ready to get started choosing the perfect wood blank for your project, and get started with your own projects.
Figured wood from North Woods, LLC, will make any woodworking project more aesthetically appealing due to its textured appearance.