One of the wonderful things about making your own pens and pencils on a lathe is the selection of beautiful wood you can choose from. Here are three pens that Paul has made from various woods. They are, in order, Yew, Walnut, and Oak.

This pics accompany the tutorial on how to make a pen./pencil on a lathe.

And if you are interested in more lathe stuff I have opened up a whole new section of the website here: Lathe Projects

Here is Paul's latest Pen. It is a slimline twist operated ball point pen. He chose a nice piece of Maple for it. This is a 7mm drilled hole for the mechanism.

Refills are of the Cross pen type. Overall about 1 hour to complete, the longest time is taken in reducing the blanks to size. Little tip - the bushings are already provided on the pen mandrel (I added bushings on top of my order!) bargain as the kits have capability of creating 5 pens. Also a good choice of finishes - this was ‘black chrome?' Seems a bit of an oxymoron there?

He tells us that this first one (Yew) was his favorite to work with. It was easy to turn, and after sanding it had a really nice feel to it. And the pattern showed up too. It is very pleasing to the eye.

Exotic Pen Blank Pack (14) Piece / Unique North American Turning Set / 5.5x.75x.75/ Osage/ Walnut/ Oak/ Hickory/ Maple/ Poplar/ Cherry/ Red Oak/ Sycamore/ Elm/ Curly Maple/ Cedar/ Ash/ 10X GOODS

Legacy Woodturning, Slimline Pen Kit, Many Finishes, Multi-Packs

• Finish: 24kt Gold
• Type: Ballpoint Twist Pen
• Drill Sizes used: 7mm; Compatible Tube Sizes: 7mm; Skill Level: Very Easy
• Blank Size: 9/16 x 2-1/32; Refill Type: Cross Style
• Slimline Bushings will fit this kit; Bushings and blanks sold separately