Carved Pen With No Lathe

Watch more hand tool fun here http://vid.io/xoYa Not another pen! that is right! Here is one more pen made by hand without a lathe. all hand tools in under 20 minutes. this is one woodworking project that anyone can do. This is my entry into The One Car Workshop's no lathe pen challenge.

WHAT!!! ANOTHER PEN!!

This is not just any pen, it is MY pen, and few out there have one like it. For Christmas, I made a bunch and gave them out as gifts, but I wanted one for myself and thought it would be a good time to experiment with a bit of carving in the shaft. So this is kind of an experiment for me.

Tools needed

#4 Hand plane setup for smoothing: http://amzn.to/2hc6LQZ

Combination Square: http://amzn.to/2klehHq

Brace: http://amzn.to/2hPEs9Y

Drill Bit Set: http://amzn.to/2hZVT5T

File set: http://amzn.to/2l0czdB

Digital Calipers: http://amzn.to/2l03DVt

Supplies Needed

Pen Kit: http://amzn.to/2kOBqoD

Pen Blank: http://amzn.to/2jZDR3O

Shellac: http://amzn.to/2kl4rFC

Super Glue: http://amzn.to/2kw9gh4

Drill out Blank

First, use the calipers to measure the brass tube in your pen kit and find a drill bit with that exact size. Mine was 13/32." Next, drill out your blank as straight as possible from end to end. The brass tube should be a tight fit in the hole. Some people like to roughen up the tube before inserting it and adding a bit of super glue to make sure it does not move.

Shape the Blank

I love a hexagon on the pen shank as it feels fantastic in the fingers. To mark it out, I find a bolt that fits nicely in the tube, then use the head to mark out the shape of the bolt head on both ends. Next, I can clamp it into the vise and plane down each face one by one down to the line. With a sharp #4 this takes no time at all. Lastly, I will round over the ends until they match up with the head of the pen.

Carve the Shank

I wanted a simple spiral wrapping up the shank so I used a combination square to draw 45-degree lines that wrapped up the shank. Then, with a fine file, I follow those lines to carve in a bit with the file.

FINISH IT!!

I like to keep the corners sharp so I use a file to do a final smoothing on the faces. To apply the shellac, I put it on a bolt in the vise so it can spin. I apply 2lb cut shellac in 6 thin coats. I sand between coats 2, and 3, then between 5, and 6 with 400 grit sand paper. Lastly, I use the bench vise to press the parts together. And there you have it, a personally carved pen.