Cigar pens

Here's a new style pen I made called cigar pens.  They look a lot more professional than the cheaper slimline version I've been making.  These are for a few employees at work.

Bolt action pen

I'm expanding my pen line a bit with these bolt action pens.  I didn't do my usual finish on the darker one to leave it looking more like a gun stock.  I did glossy on the second.  $30 a piece if interested.

More pens

A co-worker is traveling to India this week so I made a bunch of pens for the guys/gals over there.  It's the least I could do as they bust it every day and make me look good.

New pen type and bottle stopper

I've been making quite a few things for Christmas but don't want to post them here yet.  In the mean time, I'm sure everyone is just itching to see more pens and bottle stoppers.  Well, here ya go.

There is no finish on this stopper.  It's just polished Rosewood.

Custom pen order

Mom, let me know if the buyer likes these.  I can make others if not.

First go at Olive wood

I bought a small chunk of Olive wood a while back.  I've seen more interesting pieces but I really like the dark streaks in the grain.  I was kind of hard to work with.  Tools had to be very sharp and you had to go slow.

Rotting sycamore branch

I stumbled across a rotting sycamore branch laying in stream while hiking with the girls.  It had a few cool knots and growths so I cut off a chunk and took it to the shop.  It smelled like raw sewage while turning it so in the future I'll probably stay away from the stuff laying in a stream.

Teacher's pen

I plan on making these for gifts at Christmas time.  It's called a teachers pen and one end has black ink while the other has red.  Hopefully Avery doesn't get any of the red ink.  It's made with Mesquite dark (I think), curly Maple and Blood wood.

Spalted walnut credit card pen

This pen is probably more super glue than wood.  The walnut sapwood was so flaky you could crumble it with your fingers.  I liked the look of the grain so much I did whatever I could to preserve it.  While the pen was still in rectangle blank form I soaked it with super glue.  It sucked it up like water in a sponge.  After a few moments of sizzling and smoking I added another dose of super glue which again was soaked up in a hurry.  I had a big chunk fly off while turning and was very lucky to find it in a huge pile of shavings.  This was by far the hardest pen I have made so far, but it looks very cool.  Miranda snatched it up in a hurry.

Credit card pen

I see this little guy causing many kid fights in the near future.  Definitely need to make more.

Pens for mom's craft sale

These are made from oak, chakte viga (orange wood from mexico) and mesquite (I think).  The chakte viga is very cool wood.  Some of the grain looks like a cats eye marble.

Worlds most interesting wood pen?

Yeah, I think so too.  I cut a chunk of walnut off of a downed tree.  The log was very wet, full of bugs, and quite ugly, but I was hoping for some quality walnut in the middle.  I started turning it into a bowl but it was just too messy.  I cut off a small chunk and tried for a pen.  It's not perfect, but it is definitely an interesting grain pattern.  The top part is polka dotted while the bottom part looks like marble.  I'm going to try and get a couple more out of this log.

Cherry burl pen

This is probably the last project I'll be able to get out of ye old cherry log I pulled from the wood pile.

2nd bentwood ring sale

Happy Birthday Casey!  Hope you like it.

My First Pen

I've wanted to try a pen since I got my lathe.  I got a kit and made this beauty in less than an hour.  This was pretty easy to make but I think there's an art in making them comfortable to use.  This one is definately too fat at the tip and its not very nice to write with, but it looks ok.  I guess that's what matters when posting pictures.