Balancing Natural Edge Bowls Questions and Answere The Pen ...
Balancing Natural Edge Bowls Questions and Answere The Pen ...
Balancing Natural Edge Bowls Questions and Answere The Pen ...
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Pen</strong>turner’s Cornerby Don WardAs I write this article the Utah WoodturningSymposium is just a little over two weeks away. I amfrantically getting things ready for my demos. <strong>The</strong>rewill be 10 pen turning rotations. We will be in Area 3.Demonstrations will be presented by Fairfield, KurtHertzog, <strong>and</strong> myself.Russ Fairfield’s demos are entitled (1) Hidden orRecessed <strong>Pen</strong> Clips, (2) Finishing Secrets for <strong>Pen</strong>s,<strong>and</strong> (3) Making a One Piece Point <strong>Pen</strong>. I would highlysuggest checking out Russ Fairfield’s website <strong>and</strong> especiallyspend some time on his finishing <strong>and</strong> pen pages.Russ also has some excellent DVD’s for sale <strong>and</strong> I canhighly recommend all of them. His pen finishing DVDis a great resource. Russ is a member of the <strong>Pen</strong> MakersGuild <strong>and</strong> his website can be found at http://www.woodturnerruss.comKurt Hertzog is one of the AAW directors, anexcellent turner <strong>and</strong> teacher, as well as a proficient <strong>and</strong>innovative pen maker. Kurt is also one of the councilmembers of the pen makers guild. Kurt’s demo is entitledExtreme <strong>Pen</strong>s <strong>and</strong> will be presented twice. KurtHertzog’s work can be seen on his website at http://www.kerthertzog.comI will be doing four demonstrations <strong>and</strong> presentingtwo titles twice each. <strong>The</strong> titles are Modified Slimlines<strong>and</strong> Casting Acrylic <strong>Pen</strong> Blanks. <strong>The</strong> modified slimlinedemo will include most of the modified slimlines I’vewritten about in More Woodturning. <strong>The</strong> casting penblanks demonstration will include basic casting of penblanks using polyester resin. Both colored blanks <strong>and</strong>clear casting using materials such as snake skins <strong>and</strong>computer printed labels will be presented. I am alsoa member of the <strong>Pen</strong> Makers Guild <strong>and</strong> my websiteis http://www.RedRiver<strong>Pen</strong>s.com Readers of <strong>The</strong><strong>Pen</strong>turners Corner will already have seem most of theslimline modification demo since previous articles includewhat I will present at the demo. <strong>The</strong> casting demoinformation may be good information for a future articleor two. I just don’t know how many readers would wantto learn how to start casting their own pen blanks. Iwould welcome any emails with suggestions on futurearticles covering acrylic blank casting.A full report on the symposium’s penturningactivities will be included in the next article. We willbe doing demonstrations at the Craft Supplies Openhouse on Wednesday prior to the start of the symposium.Wednesday night we will have the 8th annual<strong>Pen</strong>turners Rendezvous. Look for reports on these twomeetings also.Relatively New KitsCircuit Board <strong>Pen</strong> Kits: <strong>The</strong> sierra circuit boardpen kit has been available for about a year now. It is areal circuit board embedded in clear acrylic. <strong>The</strong> kitsmake eye catching pens that are unique as well as quiteh<strong>and</strong>some. <strong>The</strong> circuit board kits are available for theSierra Vista, which is a bit larger diameter version ofthe sierra. A different set of bushings are required ifyou rely on bushings for sizing. I actually turn the SierraVista using sierra bushings <strong>and</strong> a set of calipers totake measurements. I actually use calipers to measurethe blank diameters for each pen I make. Bushingsare used to just get me close. <strong>The</strong>se circuit board kitscome complete with the Sierra Vista kit parts alongwith the circuit board blanks. Blanks are not availableas a separate item.Two new colors of circuit boards have recentlybecome available. <strong>The</strong> new colors are blue <strong>and</strong> orange.<strong>The</strong> kits are Berea Hardwoods kits <strong>and</strong> can be found onthe Berea website at http//www.bereahardwoods.comor any of the Berea resellers: Woodcraft (http://www.woodcraft.com), Rockler (http://www.Rockler.com),Arizona Silhouette (http://www.arizonasilhouette.com),<strong>and</strong> Bear Tooth Woods (http://www.bearttoothwoods.com). Other outlets may be available but I’m not awareof them. Take a look at these relatively new offerings.You may just like them.Another new circuit board kit is available for thecigar pen. Both barrels of this pen are embedded circuitboards. <strong>The</strong> circuit board cigar comes only in green <strong>and</strong>is also a Berea kit <strong>and</strong> can be found at the Berea websiteor Bear Tooth Woods. I looked for it at other places buthad no luck. See Figure 1 which shows both the cigar<strong>and</strong> sierra circuit board pens.[Continued on Next Page]More Woodturning June 2010 Page 11