I completed this Funline pen today. This is an Aquabright Light and Dark Green blank. I liked the first blank turned more but I forgot to true the blank and chipped the end when I tightened up the tailstock. There is a slight eccentricity on the nib end of the pen. I believe this is due to the mandrel being too short. The mandrel saver is resting on the threaded portion of the mandrel when two blanks are on installed. I did do the majority of shaping this time with only a single blank at a time. That the blank is still eccentric means i’ll have to do some research and measurement to make sure the lathe and mandrel are in good working order.
I drilled the blanks from the center out as suggested by RJB Woodturner. This makes sure that the center, or focal point, of the pen has the best continuity of resin or grain across the center band.
Squaring the blank with the pen mill went better this time. I ran the mill through the tube by hand until it turned freely within the tube. This cleared away some CA glue and resulted in considerable less barrel damage when I used the drill press the true up the blank.
When I got the to buffing stage I noticed radial scratches in one of the blank. I had to return to 600 grit and re-sand. By the time I reached 12000 again it was smooth as glass.
Assembly was a breeze and I think overall the pen turned out quite handsome.
Finished pen
Lessons Learned
- Leave transmission short of line and just inch it home until the cartridge extension is where you want it.
- Final shaping should be done with sandpaper.
- Run barrel trimmer through blank by hand to remove glue then use drill press to face the blanks. Running through with hand drill was causing damage to barrels.