First Turning 2020

I really needed to tidy my shed. It has been used mainly for cutting timber (and mdf) for the house, so rubbish has accumulated on the floor, and I didn’t tidy it away. The garden incinerator has been busy, mainly because I wouldn’t put that muck anywhere near the log stove.
My lathe bed was covered in surface rust, due to the high moisture content in the metal shed. First off, was a going over with the random orbit sander to polish the rust off, followed by a coat of paste wax. The lathe bed got a coat of wax at the end of the Summer however, so I’m not holding my breath.
I now have a dehumidifier running 24/7, which takes about a litre of water out of the atmosphere in a week. Once the worst of the wet weather is past, I plan to insulate the roof, and install a vapour barrier.

Turn it up!

When we were out walking the dog last year we happened across a barrel stave outside the cooperage we walk past. It actually looks like a dog has been chewing on it.

It is a sorry sight on the outside, but once cut into, the beauty of the oak is revealed.

I’ve cut a few pen blanks from the stave, and marked them for later. Amazingly, the sharpie pen barely penetrates the fibres.

Turned to just slightly bigger than the brass tubes. I like a slim pen. I’ve done comfort fit pens in the past to suit individuals on request, but tend to do plain and slim for stock.

I bought these gunmetal pen parts online, and over-all I do like the finish. The supplied refills however are crap. One in three actually work. I’m assuming they are old stock and have dried up.
I need to buy some refills for pens I make. Nothing worse than buying a pen that doesn’t work properly.

I’m working on another project which will hopefully be finished next week – if the remaining parts arrive. This is not a turning project however, and is completely useless.