Winestoppers, more pen commissions, and ornaments

Well, I have started to attempt winestoppers, and I am quickly realizing that it is going to be like the pens all over again - I need to obtain the relevant knowledge, and to learn all of the tricks.

First, I learned that in addition to the "starter's kit" for the winestoppers, I needed a Morse taper and a chuck. The taper goes into the headstock of the lathe (where the pen mandrel went), and the chuck is supposed to go over the taper, and stay there. The problem is that the chuck won't do that - it keeps coming off. I need to figure that out.

Meanwhile, I am back to pens for a bit. I have been commissioned for several pens by some co-workers. I am making a bloodwood click pencil, a cocobolo fountain pen, a cocobolo Classic American pen, and a bloodwood fountain pen. I also need to order some combination pen/pencils, as I have been asked to make one of those as well. I will hopefully have them all done by the time I next go into the office. I turned and sanded and polished the first three pens yesterday, but just in case the assembly of the pens does not turn out well, I wanted to enjoy how the pieces came out on the lathe. :-)

Yesterday (Saturday) was the day when I went to see a demo of the ornament making process that got me into woodturning in the first place. Of course, at the time I took that original class, I knew nothing about woodturning at all, and was not really able to remember all that much of it by the time I had the tools to do it. So, I had been waiting for this demo for a long time. This time, I took some notes and also was able to retain a lot more of what I saw and heard. I also was able to apply some of the principles that I learned to my pen-making later that day.

In addition to the bloodwood fountain pen, I am also making a couple of olivewood click pens that, if they turn out well, could be part of a holiday present.

Last night, while I was making my pens here, my wife was at a chorus event and was then at a potluck dinner with a Yankee Swap. Her gift was the cocobolo Classic American pen that I made a while ago, that came out almost orangeish. It was well received.

My wife and I have been making our holiday wish lists, and there is going to be a lot of woodturning related stuff on mine. It is a win-win situation: I might get some useful stuff to use in woodturning, and for once, I am going to be pretty easy to shop for. :-)