Autumn is upon us, bring cooler temperatures and vibrant colors to Northwest Ohio. I only have a month or so of "good" weather before it will be time to pack up the garage for the winter, so I am trying to make the most of it. Being completely preoccupied with putting an Amateur Radio antenna tower in last weekend, and shorter daylight hours has cut back on the amount of time I've spent woodworking. Today was all mine though. From left to right, the first is a set or pens I am donating to the "Turn for the Troops" project. I have a set of five pens to donate this year, which is a small token of thanks for the efforts our armed services put forth. The pens are both slimline ballpoint twist mechanisms with Gunmetal plating and dressed in Padauk. The next image is of a ballpoint pen and pencil set in Kingwood. The plating is black enamel matte finish. The pen is a twist mechanism while the pencil is a click style. The stlye is called "comfort" since the body is slightly wider then the typical slimline, and features a rubber grip near the nib. The last image is a set of holiday ornaments I've been working on. If you can't tell, the are acorn style mini bird houses. Never intended to be used for that purpose though as they are only around 4 inches high and 1-2 inches in diameter.

After being knocked senseless for over a week by the cold from hell (I'm blaming my office co-workers), I finally had a weekend where I did not have any major scheduled events and I felt healthy to play out in the shop. I have a few new kits I've been wanting to try lately, and one special project I needed to get done this weekend. The pens from left to right include: A Slimline Pro gel-writer pen and pencil set dressed in Redheart. The metal finish is silver satin and the mechanism for both instruments is a click style. The Slimline Pro design is similar to the standard slimline with a slightly wider body and clean straight line design in the clip. The wider body allows for a gel-writer cartridge versus standard ballpoint. The pencil features a .7mm mechanism with an eraser behind the click cap. The finish is BLO/CA with high speed three wheel buffing. The second pen was a request from my wife. She wanted a turned pen small enough to fir comfortably in her pocket. There are several different kits available in a shortened format, I opted to try the Credit Card Ballpoint style.

Here are a few turnings from Labor Day weekend. From left to right, The first is an Atlas/Polaris style ballpoint twist pen with platinum plated hardware and Ebony dressing. The second pen is a Wall Street II Stain/Chrome plated ballpoint twist pen also with Ebony. The Ebony actually has quite a bit of depth to it, but it's very subtle and my light box setup tends to drown out the hints of brown grain that run through it. The next is a pen and pencil set. The style is called Executive and the hardware is 24k gold plated. Th e wood is called Tamboti, a South African hardwood with distinctive dark veining. Both pen and pencil are twist mechanisms. The last set is a Comfort Style black enamel plated twist ballpoint pen and click pencil set. The wood is Argentina Osage which polishes to a very nice glow.

I have turned lots of pens in the past few years, some of which are promptly confiscated by my wife for her collection. It's all good though, I'm always delighted that I can make something that she will like and get some use out of. This year I decided to try a high end kit for her birthday. The kit I went with was a Majestic Black Titanium rollerball dressed in a stabilized non-dyed buckeye burl. The buckeye burl was 7/8 inches square and that did not leave a whole lot of room for errors. Being a stabilized blank, it turned a lot like a typical acrylic, which also meant I could finish it using micro-mesh. Some of the features of the pen are: A rhodium-plated clip that includes a sparkling Swarovski clear crystal; All exposed accent rings, bands and caps include elegant custom hand-carved 3 dimensional designs; Components are cast, polished then plated with extremely durable Black Titanium plating. The rollerball assembly includes a rhodium-plated pen nib with a premium Schmidt steel cartridge refill with a ceramic point. This is a massive pen. The overall length with cap is 6 inches, 5 inches with the cap removed. The width of the pen itself is about 5/8 inch with the cap at a very large 3/4 inch. The cap is non-postable, but that works out pretty well given the total weight of the pen.

After consolidating our home offices, I wanted to have a cabinet I could keep personal treasures in. I wanted to not only display items and woodworking projects, I also did not want to have to dust them. Since we have a rabbit, fur tends to get on everything, and living out in the country does not help either. I considered a couple of different designs like swing out doors, and sliding glass doors, but ultimately decided on a barrister-style hinged door. The base for the project was a standard multi-position, heavy duty shelf system bolted right to the wall studs. I decided to build off of one of the 48in x 12in shelves. The material for the build was 3/4in aspen planks and 1/4in clear birch plywood. Aspen provides a nice clean face, cleaner then most pine on the market, it's cheaply priced, but requires a heck of a lot of post cleanup. It's not only a soft wood, but also very "wooly". Most of the joinery is routed tongue and groove, and the front door is fitted with some salvaged plexiglass temporarily (until I get single pane glass cut at the local hardware store). The pictures listed are obviously raw/unfinished wood. I am going to try to stain to match the laminated base which is American Cherry.

So what does one do with a chunk of dried common maple already starting to check? You get in some bowl turning practice. The chunk of maple had some very nice bark still in tact, so I though it would be nice to preserve some on the rim as much as possible. I made a small cove near the bottom as well which was really a "design opportunity". The height is approximately 4.5 inches and the outer diameter around 7 inches. The finish is a Danish Oil followed by a high speed buffing with tripoli and white diamond. Turning speed was fairly slow, only around 500 rpm. Total time around 6 hours to complete.

Summer has finally arrived in Northwest Ohio. We have seen humidity and temps on the rise for the past couple of weeks, and this weekend was no exception. I can do a little woodworking in short bursts, before it gets a bit too miserable to stand in the garage in 90+ degree heat. I started a small turning a week ago from a chunk of maple a co-worker gave me last year. Never having turned common maple, I did not know what to expect. This particular species is a bit more loose grained with a tendency to splinter quite easily. I spent 20 minutes sharpening and honing my skews, any sharper and they probably would have cut a hole into a separate reality (see Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife), but it still fought being turned every step. Thank goodness for sandpaper. Even after buffing, it still has some flaws from tear-out. But then (as the website says) flaws add character, and this one has a whole lot of character. The cannister pictured is about 4 inches in diameter, and about 5 inches high.

Among other accomplishments from this weekend include installing a Comet GP-6 dual-band VHF/UHF external antenna. I am using this with my Yaesu VX-7R, which is only a 5 watt radio, but still can drive a signal west to Bryan, OH, and East to Oregon, OH. Finally having an external antenna is a good thing!

Here are some examples of practice work I've been doing with turned lidded containers. Most of the work involves raw lumber, some of which is still a bit green, but it's only practice anyhow, right? From left to right, we have a Japanese Cherry tree trunk which had a matching lid. As I previously stated, I turned green wood which can have some unexpected results. In this case, the lid split on the edge after about 24 hours and was non repairable. I salvaged the container by using some purpleheart stock I had lying around. I then bevel cut a silhouette to add a little character. The container is about 3.5 inches in diameter and about 3 inches high. The finish is boiled linseed oil with a high speed buffing. The next container is also Japanese Cherry, but the lid stayed intact for this one. I also did a bit of scroll saw work on this lid, relief cutting a simple pentagram. The finish technique and dimensions are similar to the other Japanese Cherry container. The last container is an applewood species (exact species is unknown) and still has a bit of the bark on a small portion. The finish is a coat of Danish Oil and it measures around 2 inches in diameter and about 5 inches high.

This project started out a few weeks ago after I acquired my Kenwood HF Transceiver. With an HF rig, you not only have the radio itself, but usually an external power supply, and more then often, an antenna tuner. I have a small desk to put all of this gear on, and rather then have it scattered around "unorganized", I figured I would build a shelf to contain it all. I wanted to keep it low cost by reusing as much scrap wood and materials that I had in the garage. I also thought this would be a good exercise in some basic carcase construction, as well as cabinet building skills. The problem with a cabinet is that tend to not be very well ventilated, and that could prove to be a problem if I want to operate the rig for more then an hour. I decided to make a hybrid instead. The cabinet sides are a wainscoting material that slides in groves which have been routed in the shelf supports. This makes the sides and back very easy to slide out to provide better ventilation and access for extended operating. The front is an attempt at a cabinet door. The stiles and rails are oak that I routed using a cabinet making bit set I've had for a few years now. I made an adjustment to the hinges by popping the manufacturer installed pins and using a length of coat hanger wire which allows me to take the entire door off. Other features include three drawers for parts and a shelf for operating manuals. I have two other wish list items for this project: a heavy duty collapsible tripod for field use, and a heavy duty luggage style handle for the top.

I had to post this.,,thanks to my brother in Florida for sending this my way,,,

COMMON TOOLS DEFINED

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted vertical stabilizer which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Oh sh!#..."

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make wood studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

WELDING GLOVES: Heavy duty leather gloves used to prolong the conduction of intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

It's been well over a month since I've had opportunity to spin up the lathe, mostly due to full schedules on the weekend, home renovation, laziness, etc. I finally decided to turn a couple of new kits I've had collecting dust since Christmas. The first kit is a copper Sedona roller-ball dressed in Padauk. The kit has exceptional weight, decorative center band, and a post-able cap. The second set is a "comfort grip" variation of the slim-line 7mm pen kit dressed in Bolivian Rosewood. The two major differences are the rubber grip insert at the front of the lower barrel, and a considerably wider diameter center band. This creates a thicker pen then the traditional slim-line, but since the wood is removed for the grip, the weight of the pen is still reasonable. The pen mechanism is a standard ballpoint twist, while the .5mm pencil uses a click mechanism with an erasure under the top cap. The finish is matte black enamel.

After nine years of learning to ignore the hideous linoleum flooring in our kitchen, the time came to tear it out and start fresh. The recent Memorial day weekend (coupled with a couple of vacation days) gave us the time to see this project through. We started Friday by ripping out about 75% of the old linoleum (which actually turned out to be two layers of linoleum) along with the hardboard substrate which seemed to have a nail every square inch holding it to the floor boards. With that accomplished, we borrowed the company truck and acquired the new laminate flooring and plywood before returning home. Saturday had us finishing the demolition down to the floorboards, leveling the subfloor, and the install of the plywood underlayment. Sunday we did a bit more prep work on the door casings then started installing the laminate. We got about 50% of the floor covered before calling it a day. The project was finished on Monday with the installation of the remaining flooring and trim work. I must say I am pleased with the end result:

With temperatures in the 80's this weekend, I had more then enough time to work on a few lathe projects this weekend. I had a few more then four projects planned and prepped, but got very distracted cleaning up my garage this afternoon. I spent a few hours cleaning up the back portion of the garage which yielded about sixteen square feet of usable space that was previously covered by lawn and garden equipment. On to the projects: The first pen is a European style ballpoint with gold plated fittings, dressed in Spalted Pecan. The finish is sanding to 600 grit, followed by a coat of Danish oil and CA, finished with a high speed buffing with Carnauba Wax. The spalting in the wood helps accentuate the grain lines to produce very crisp lines with a rich coloring. The next pen is a Classic American Fountain pen with Gold plated hardware and dressed in Bethlehem Olive Wood. These blanks usually take me a few months to get once I order them, as quantities are limited. Olive wood is heavy, dense and durable with a distinctive colors that range in nuances of red and creamy pigments with irregular gray, brown, and wild black lines. The next pen is a Slimline style ballpoint pen with copper plated fittings and dressed in Kingwood. The last is another Slimline style ballpoint pen with gunmetal plated fittings and dressed in Curly Maple.

A few weeks ago, I made a couple of Segmented Pen Blanks, the first of which I turned last weekend, a fountain pen kit with walnut and oak stock, glued up with red veneer. When making a blank of that style, there is usually a second blank for turning also. This blank was glued up in the same style, but using a black veneer between the pieces. I also opted to use a roller-ball mechanism instead of a fountain pen. The blanks were turned and sanded to 600 grit, then received three coats of CA, followed by a high speed buff and wax. The second pen is an Atlas style twist pencil with satin silver finish and dressed in a Fire and Ice Acrylic. The blank was sanded with micro-mesh to 12,000 grit and poilshed with HUT plastic polish. The other two pens were "rehabs" from some turnings last year. I was never quite satisfied with the finish on either of them, so I lightly returned the blanks and refinished using the CA and high speed buffing technique. The first is a Maple Burl and the second is an Amboyna Burl. Both are Gatsby/Wallstreet Ballpoint twist pens.

This year I want to focus on segmented turnings. While they take a considerable amount of time and patience to not only setup the blanks, but to turn them to size, the results are well worth it. I thought it would be helpful to create a page on the techniques I am currently using to create pens like these. This page will focus on a checkerboard style layout. In this case, a checkboard with a bit of a warp.

Step 1: Initial Cuts. To start, I like to have a contrasting color scheme. For this pen, I used a walnut and oak combination. The blanks should of similar dimensions which will help when gluing them together later on. Use double sided woodworking tape to hold the blanks together while running them through the bandsaw. I made a wavy cut down the long axis, then cross cuts which will be swapped around. Reassemble the blank on a tape (dry, do not glue) to keep the order of pieces straight.

Step 2: Arrange blanks for gluing. take the two cut blanks and separate them from the double sided tape. Swap every other piece from both blanks to create a checkerboard style layout. The fit should be tight if the bandsaw blade did not drift much. At this point I could glue up the blanks as is, but I decided to cut strips of dyed maple veneer and glue that up with the pieces. I used black and red dyed veneers to produce a little variety.

All the right conditions fell into place: a very nice spring day, no planned activities or commitments, a couple of acrylic blanks needing to be turned since December...Today was a great day in the workshop. I turned three pens, a couple of yo-yos, and started a real cool (hopefully) segmented blank (that one is going to require a lot of glue...and clamps...lots of clamps). So, from left to right in the images, the first are two yo-yo kits (chrome and gold plated) dressed in Bolivian Rosewood. I purchased a plank of rosewood last year, and almost forgot I had it in my cabinet. The gold plated kit has a concave face on either side while the chrome plated kit has a slightly raised convex face (a slip of the skew caused that design opportunity, but I'm pleased with the results). Both yo-yos are sanded up to 600 grit, with a denatured alcohol wipe between sanding steps. To finish, I applied a light coat of Danish Oil followed by a high speed buffing with a small amount of Carnauba wax.

Spring is finally here in Northwest Ohio. Average temperatures have been in the 50's the past week or so, and that has allowed me to spend much needed time in my garage cleaning up from the "winter of neglect". I was finally able to clean up my lathe, just in time to make a fresh pile of wood shavings. I had a request for a kaleidoscope in no specific wood. I found an old cocobolo bottle stopper blank witch was perfect for the required dimensions. A few months away from wood turning did not seem to erode my skills at all, and it felt good to slip back into my hobby.

Many cuts later, and much sanding and staining (thanks Jen), the rocking motorcycle is complete. This is a Christmas gift for our nephew, so it's finished with several days to spare. The construction is a mix of pine and poplar. The gas tank and saddle are compound band saw cuts and the rear "springs" are simple napkin rings glued up to a dowel. Jen was beyond helpful in taking over the finishing job. She stained and poly'ed the individual pieces and I completed the final assembly this past weekend and tonight.

I think today was the last day of turnings and woodworking for 2008, with 20 degree temperatures and an ice/snow-encased workshop it's time to close it up for the year. I did manage to finish all of my holiday gifts over the past couple of days. I have turned a bunch of exotic hardwood bottle stoppers, kaleidoscopes, yo-yos, and pens of course. The pictures to the right are a small sample of some of the works I've made over the past month, using everything from cocobolo to east india rosewood. So with a few days left before Christmas, the only task left is to divvy up the presents and get them wrapped.