First pens

[Bope]

Here are pictures of the first pens we made. I made the walnut with maple inlay on the bottom my son made the bubinga in the middle and my daughter made the cherry one on the top. They came out much better than I thought they would. The kids are loving making pens. The near instant gratification of a pen makes them so much fun. 

Turning got easier this weekend. I had to make a trip to Woodcraft for some items and my son said to get the round tip carbide tool instead of some other steel tool. That cuts real nice. I also picked up a Norton 3X stone for the grinder. I don't have any fancy jigs for the grinder so I just lined up the tool rest with the angle on the tool and gave it a shot. I don't have any problems with heating the tool too much. My old craftsman variable speed is easily stopped with out much pressure. Doing this by hand they look better than what the previous owners had done to them. The chips now come flying off those tools. The kids and I had a lot of fun together making these pens this weekend. I have a more elaborate blank gluing up for a pen for my wife. I will turn it tonight.

   

[WoodcraftKevin]

Glad you got some good stuff, Those pens look very nice! It's really cool that you can do it with your kids.

[badwhiskey]

Looks great! Lots of small things that the kids can turn now that they have interest.

[Arlin Eastman]

Very glad you got them done and they look good to.  Even better is with one of your children which is Ace high to me.

[Gary G™]

Nice pens.

Now you’ve gone and done it.
Slippery slope, here you go.

[woodtoolgy]

Next try bowls.... My kids made breakfast mugs from splayed maple, under dads incredible close supervision, and loved the outcome....

[Rodneywt1180b]

Way to go!  Great job getting your kids involved!

[Woodshop]

Very nice Good for you ,  Grand kids do the heart good