The first thing off my lathe

[RodN]

Encouraged by Pete & Kevin to post a photo....
Here is the very first thing that came off my new CCL lathe. I haven't ever done any turning before, and this is my first attempt.

A simple slimline pen in English Yew. One of my most favourite woods.

I presented it to my wife as a gift in one of those Chinese maple boxes. She thought I had bought the pen and made the box. "Oh no", I said, "I bought the box and made the pen for you".

"What? You did that? Impossible".
She thinks that it is too nice to use. :?

I suppose that is a good enough complement.

Rod

 

[Daven]

Yew made a good job of it Rod :wink:

Well done

Dave

 

[The Shark]

Nice job, Rod.
I too am a big fan of yew, and this pen looks to have come out really well.

Malc

 

[PowerTool]

Very nice,timber looks beautiful;would never have guessed it was a first attempt at turning,as it looks faultless

Andrew (same as Pete - don't turn pens personally,but do like to see anything someone has made,so please keep posting!)

Andrew

 

[Anonymous]

What a combination... a job well done and you've got the boss on your side already... priceless :wink:

....more :!:

 

[Mark Hancock]

Very impressive for your first piece.

Yew is very prone to heat checking especially when sanded heavily and you seem to have avoided this. Well done =D>

 

[CHJ]

Well done Rod, here's to many more little gems off the new toy.
As others have said in many threads, don't worry too much about shape and form until you have built the confidence and developed a personal feeling for what you prefer to turn, just concentrate on the finish, if you get that right across a variety of woods it's 80% of the battle.

 

[Bodrighy]

Very nice looking pen. From what I know they aren't the easiest things to turn as a newbie and as said I wouldn't have guessed it was a first turning.

Pete

 

[RodN]

Thanks for the encouragement folks.

I am pretty proud of that little thing. Can you remember the first time you made a turning? The lady of the house didn't even raise an eyebrow when this old eccentric fella set up a big yellow piece of machinery, so I thought I would cement the feel good factor by making her a little gift with the CCL as the first thing off it.

Thanks for the note about yew and heat checking. I didn't know that. But I suppose I went pretty gingerly with the sanding down through the grades, as I was being careful for my fingers. :wink:

I can see that there is a long learning process coming up now as I try new things.

Cheers
Rod

 

[NickWelford]

Looks very good, especially for a first item. I can forsee many a piece coming off there now!

 

[Jenx]

Hi Rod !
Fabulous Effort... this is the first thing you've turned ? - Great Job !

I'm another one ( and still very much a learner ) that doesn't do pens - I don't know why - just seemed to gravitate towards bowls and goblets, that may be a natural result of the equipment that I have at my disposal perhaps...

But I'd echo what's been mentioned -- still really enjoy seeing the work of others that do make the pens, and very much appreciate the skill and techniques involved.

For sure - Keep them coming !

"Mrs Rod " must be absolutely delighted with that one...
and there's something very special and sentimental about your 'first one' that gives it that little extra 'something'.

Congratulations on a first class job.
Look forward to seeing Number 2 !
Well done.

 

[Paul.J]

Yes Rod you have made a very good job of that especilly for yur first and it is something to keep and be proud of
Yew is a lovely wood but will darken with time,and be careful of the dust.

 

[user 5053]

A very nice piece of work, interesting wild grain, simple elegant design. The finish is kept to a minimum keeping the beauty and essence of the wood.

 

[RodN]

The finish is Tru-oil, "knocked back" just a little to take off the high shine, and give the wood a more natural look.

Rod

 

[PAC]

That's really nice Rod. Great choice of wood too! 8)

 

[Woodmagnet]

Well done Rod, i only hope my first pen looks half as good. :wink:

 

[Vulthoom]

Looks superb!

How can you turn something so tiny?
Admit it - you're an elf really aren't you?

Seriously though, what lathe are you using?

 

[RodN]

Sorry for not replying sooner.... I have been away in darkest Africa for a couple of weeks...

How can you turn something so tiny?

Easy... I just haven't learned to turn anything larger yet. :lol:

The lathe that I am using is a CCL from Axminster. Sure, it seems huge for this job of making pens, but it isn't really.

These are the latest efforts, made during the last couple of days now I am back home...

Yew, with some nice little pin knots and figure

Yew, this time fairly "plain" grain, but a lovely rich colour

Spalted maple

and finally, one of burr oak, and the first one where I tried a slight "bulge" in the centre of each section of the body. This one was the most challenging for me as a beginner, because of the nature of the wood. There are plenty of voids in the burr, which I filled with medium CA glue and sanded (while the glue was wet) in the lathe so that the dust and glue mixture would fill in the holes. That worked perfectly.

All are finished with Danish oil, and then Tru-Oil, but not made too glossy.

Rod

 

[Woodmagnet]

Nice work Rod, i like the spalted maple best. If you
post it now i should get it for x-mas. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[RodN]

Thanks for the kind words, Kevin.

My wife has now suggested that I make a bunch of them for Christmas presents this year..... and then proceeded to snaffle the burr oak pen. So I made another for myself this evening.

I'm at the stage where (only having made 6 now) I don't want to part with a single one of them.

Cheers
Rod