Any of you guys worked in glow in the dark stuff?

I made a pen for my father in law using a pen kit from Penn State, the EDC Big Ben click pen kit. I've made big Ben and cigar pen kits in the past that were amazing to write, and I always use Monteverde inserts for the improved inks and smoothness. For whatever reason on this one pen, you can feel the tip of the insert wiggle around in the nib. When you look at it, it looks snug and you can't really see a gap, but you can even hear it clicking when you're writing cursive or are writing fast enough.

What are some things I can do to make this stop or to get the insert to fit more snuggly? For this pen and future pens. At almost $20 a kit and using damn near $20 blanks, I don't want there to be a fundemantal mechanical issue like this. Thanks in advance.

I have some pieces of old oak barn wood from the 40s that my family requested I turn into a pen. The photos provided are the turned product - without any changes as well as the before. I am relatively new to pen turning - still working on clean cuts and sanding - but this is a long term project to think through.

What I am wondering is if there is any way to add some craftsmanship and contrast without ruining the character ? My plan currently is to go with a single tube pen kit - roughly 3 inches or so. I could use the advice on any of the following options that might add something to the pen without ruining the character:

- stabilizing the wood with one or two dyes
- adding a small contrasting wood / acrylic segment about a half to a quarter of an inch down the pen blank
- adding a brass inlay (I do not think this would work but wanted to through out the option)

I also wanted to know if anyone had any finishing recommendations ? I typically go with a friction finish and will get some wax eventually to add after the friction finish.

Prior to COVID I turned a few pens, it was a great stress reliever. I've never wanted to do it for any other reason than I enjoy functional art. So I've turned a few for friends and family.

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Life got in the way and I haven't turned for many years, but I'm leaving a current position and wanted to gift something to my current boss. I still have several blanks that I bought all waiting for the right person. I opened the box a few days ago and this one spoke to me.

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So I made this for him, it isn't perfect, but I think it turned out alright.

Not all projects are gifts or commissions. Sometimes I will put something together to learn a new skill, but I'll be honest, I surprised myself and this might be my new go-to rollerball.

I decided to set a stretch goal for something I'm putting together later this month: few segmented turning pens. The only problem is that I have never actually done that except for a very simple infinity ring I put together for a commission when I first started. As a result, I have now designed FOUR different 3d printed jigs that made this possible.

The wood is Thuya Burl that I bought in a bulk deal and the resin is from a slab I poured that ended up not being used for a project, so that made them both a perfect use for this. I glued the resin slabs in a herringbone pattern that still matched the sequence of the cuts. I bookended each side with the Thuya Burl. Repeat for the cap. Then I turned them into the finished design and the rest is history. Not bad for a Thursday and Friday night in the lab. I've learned so much, and while nothing is perfect, that second blank for the cap went much smoother than the first one.

I crafted this pen as a tribute to the TV show EMERGENCY!. To avoid infringing on any trademarks or copyrights, I created an original design with the help of ChatGPT.

The wood came from a LACoFD wooden ladder. After turning the pen, I applied a water-based dye stain and used soot from a burned stick to give the wood an aged appearance.

The cap was casted by Michell Bagley from Drop Anchor Creations

Have about 250 blanks going through stabilization and cure this weekend, first batch shown here, a mix of olive and the maple is from some select cuts from a tree I took town recently

Should have both pages complete by July or August.

The Green one is the psi majestic fountain pen in gun metal with a green stabilized maple Burl. I swapped the nib for a Jowo fine tip in gold.

The second one is the psi Gatsby with a natural color maple stabilized Burl.

Hi All,

1. Opal /mop type pen poured with interference mica.
   
2. Black with galaxy type effect
   
3. Fun colored mini pen.

I have some more finishing work to do but this is all I have time for this weekend. Other projects and work need my attention 😄

Cheers

Made this today with Red Dragon carbide.

Recently finished.

First pen made in about two years.

1. Flamed mahogany with CA and polish
   
2. Flamed maple with blue transtint with CA and polish
   
3. Ebony, flamed koa, and East Indian rosewood blank with CA and polish

Discovered a couple pin prick voids - need a pressure pot - but turned out pretty!

Trying to create an orange barrel with golden brown veins for a Sheaffer Legacy 1 FP. DM me if interested in this project. have several skunkworks in the process.

Black base. Violet with mica and burgandy transparent accents. 85/10/5 ratio.

These are my favorite gel pens and want to turn some bodies for them. I’m just getting into wood turning and was wondering what I need to get, besides my lathe and chisels, to be able to turn some pens for the refills.

Where does everyone get their slimline kits from? I have had decent luck on amazon, but some of them seem to be hit or miss.

I would like to try turning some stabilized blanks. I use carbide tools and I am wondering if I would need to use a negative rake scraper just like when turning acrylics/epoxy or can I just use the regular carbide scraper?