Another small tip, and more interesting woodwork

Another tip that I picked up from my woodturning book is to cut the pen blanks as close to the length of the tubes before drilling and gluing. Not only does it keep the woodshop from filling up with useless shavings, it allows me to keep small squares of wood for use in more intricate pens. This does not necessarily increase the quality of the pens, just the possibilities. :-)

I have made attempts at creating a couple of other types of pens. One is the "broker pen", which my father and sister liked so much that I do not have one handy to take a picture of. An example of the broker pen can be found here.

Another type of pen, that I have tried once and am about to try again soon, is a combination pen/pencil. If you twist it to the right, it is a pen, and if you twist to the left it is a pencil. This one was made out of ash:




Another kit that you can get is for a magnifying glass or a letter opener. There are several styles for these, but the one that I have tried (and it came out pretty well) is the Classic American style. This one is a gift for my father-in-law for his birthday. My wife gave him the pen that she made in the pen turning class that we took, and it is of the same wood (Cocobolo):



I have not tried any letter openers yet, but I recently got a kit for one, so it will not be long before I try it.