bfiedler

Eventually I want to have to build another building to store all of my lathe tools... But I figured I would start small first.

Yeah, I might be going over board on the designs of a few of them. I figured why not practice different techniques! But yes, that is the most comfortable one.

I have stuck to mainly slimline pen/pencil kits. Two of those are the bolt action pen kits, and I have ordered a few tec 7 pens. I don't like bulky pens, which kinda limits you. But I am gonna try as much as I can!

Whoops! Accidentally posted the same picture twice, and left out the one with the scoops!

I am talking about the replaceable carbide tipped tools. I have the grinder, and I have the tools, but I don't have any reference to go off of what "feels right" and what doesn't.

Whole process including drilling, and cutting the blanks, probably about 20-30 minutes. 15 of that is spent at the lathe probably.

Here are a bunch of pen's, coffee scoops, and a letter opener I have turned recently. Give me your thoughts. Lots of different species. Bloodwood, Red Heart, Paduk, among others. Wax finish, I haven't had much luck with other finishes, going to try a few things on the next batch. Let me know what you think!

Awww shucks! Thanks!

I am new to turning. I have made maybe 20 pens, a few coffee scoops, and a few pieces of excellent exotic firewood. I am realizing the issue I have is sharpening. I don't have the budget to purchase a sharpening jig, and I was a fool and bought cheep chisels (8 chisels for $40). I was looking at getting replaceable carbide tools, specifically Rocklers. My question is, if you had to choose a chisel, that would do the most of your work, which tip would you choose? I plan to make pens, and small gifts, as well as move into larger projects, like bowls, and spindles. Eventually I will expand the tool collection, but would like to start with 1 that will do most of the work for now. Any help would be great! Attached is a photo of a few pens I made... just for attention. Cause thats what we all want.

Thanks for the input on WHERE to buy the wood.... I was looking for info on which of the listed to buy though........

I am following Marc's plan for the WFC toy chest build. I ended up buying the mahogany. It was actually quite nice, straight, no cupping. It ended up costing me about $8 bd/ft for mahogany, pre milled. Seemed like a good deal for me. Double check my math 1x4x8 (3/4 in x 3.5 in x 96in)= 1.75 bd feet. $15 a stick. $15/1.75= $8.57bd/ft. Plus it comes in the exact dimensions Marc provided. (His plan is using off the shelf lumber)

What do you suggest as far as staining? I like the look of hickory too, so I would be hesitant to stain it, but I think birch is pretty boring unstained.

For the majority of the projects I have built I have used either cedar, or exclusively birch plywood. I am looking at trying to use something more "exotic" for the toy chest. My local Menards stocks the following lumber in the appropriate sizes: Mahogany $15 for 1x4x8 Hickory $16 for 1x4x8 Maple for $17 for 1x4x8 Poplar for $12 for 1x4x8 As you can see the price jump to mahogany or hickory isn't that steep, so I was thinking about using on of those two. Here are my questions: Which would be the easiest for somebody that hasn't used "exotics" before? I am not going to paint this, so which would look best with the plywood sides? (I can get oak, or birch plywood). Obviously the second question is a very big personal choice. I haven't used good wood before, so I would like suggestions as far as "leave the solid wood natural, but stain the plywood light" or something like that. Let me know what you think!

I can always count on you to reply, even when its me being dumb! HA! My work is weird, and I can have 2 weeks straight at home, so I figured I could make some extra cash easily, making projects like these. I can't say that they are a shining example of fine woodworking, but they are nice, and at a decent price point. Thanks for the reply!

So at first is as upset I didn't get a reply... Then I actually dug around, and realized three posts down was my exact question... So I change my question. Now it is; what is the best tool to remove a foot from a mouth? Ha!