Secretary’s Note: Sorry for lack of photos.
Our demonstration for April was Rebekah Quattlebaum turning pens.
Rebekah started turning after her father passed away and left behind a shop of woodworking tools including a lathe and penturning kits and accessories.
Rebekah discussed the different types of pen kits available and answered several questions regarding her own experiences selling pens.
One technique tip Rebekah offered was to drill pen blanks in steps. In other words drill 3/4″ into the blank, back the bit out, go back in for the next 3/4″, and so forth until the hole goes through the blank. This helps eliminate splits or blow-outs from too much heat, friction, and pressure inside the blank.
Rebekah turns her pens almost exclusively with a roughing gouge and emphasized the importance of taking care to get the sizes exact using the bushings so the components will fit properly.
Once the tool work is complete, Rebekah sands through the grits using Micro-Mesh sanding cloth. Her rule of thumb is to continue going to finer grits until the paper is no longer picking up wood off of the pen.
Rebekah sells her turnings at the following website: