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have had the misfortune of having small pen blanks catch on the bit and
spin in my fingers. I didn’t want to risk that happening with such
a large blank, so I clamped the block in an adjustable hand screw. This
provided more stability to the block and gave me a handle to better control
the stock while it was being drilled. Take your time and BE SURE to raise
the bit often to clear the chips from the hole. In the past, while teaching
wood shop, I have had students who failed to do that and I’ve discovered
that it is very difficult to remove the bit from the hole once sawdust
gets packed tightly around its shaft!
Turning
the blank
The bushings provided for this project allow it to be turned on a standard,
7mm pen mandrell. I like to keep my turnings as close as possible to the
headstock of the lathe so I used spare bushings supplied for other pens
to shim out the remainder of the mandrell. I also used another bushing
as a spacer to keep it just slightly away from the headstock end of the
mandrell. This gives you a little more room to maneuver the sander when
the time comes (see Fig. 3).
Turn the blank to 1-3/4"-diameter. I chose a large
roughing gouge to do this and I used a pair of outside
calipers to continually check my progress. The blank
doesn’t have to be that precise, but you do want to be as accurate
as possible.
Once the blank was round and to the correct diameter, I used a small detail
gouge to square up the ends of the blank so they were perpendicular to
the hole (see Fig. 4). Just take off enough wood to do the job; don’t
get carried away and substantially reduce the length of the block.
Measure over 7/8" from the headstock end of the
blank and draw a line around the wood. This marks the transition point
between the two large beads that together form the shape of the egg (see
Fig. 5).
It helps to be able to visualize exactly what an egg
looks like—even if it means going to the refrigerator and getting
a real one to use as a model! Most people forget that an egg is more rounded
and they actually end up turning more of a taper rather than a large,
elongated bead. I have found that it is helpful to make a small template
to use as a guide so you don’t remove too much material from the
wrong place (refer to the kalegg-oscope template located in Full Size
Pattern Section 1).
I started at the headstock end of my blank and
turned the large bead that will form the bottom of the egg-shape (see
Fig. 6). I just try to get close at this point because I will come back
later and refine the shape. It is important to get a clean cut to minimize
any sanding later on, so be sure to shear cut rather than scrape.
Turn your attention to the front bead next. Start at the tailstock end
of the blank and work back toward your line. Use a sharp gouge and remove
as little stock as possible in each pass until you get to the desired
form.
Continually check your shape as it evolves against that of the template.
Remember the shape doesn’t have to be perfect, just close.
Once you have finished, step back away from the
lathe and look closely at the shape (see Fig. 7). Refine it as needed
to get a smooth flowing curve that is free of any lumps and bumps.
Sanding and finishing
I power sanded the egg with the rigid sanding discs as well as the padded
Velcro ones. A lot of sanding won’t be necessary at this point if
you were careful and produced a clean cut. Whatever you do, however, DON’T
change the shape of the egg.
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Fig. 1: Fig. 1. As you can see here, there are quite a few parts to
this kit. In addition, you will need a set of bushings and a drill
bit.
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Fig. 2. Drill
the hole completely through the block. This is a rather large block,
so I recommend that it be held in an adjustable hand screw clamp.
This provides a little more stability for the block and will prevent
it from spinning in case the drill bit catches. |
Fig. 3. The block
is mounted on a standard pen mandrell for turning. Spare bushings
are used to fill out the length of the mandrell.
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