Course Title:    Basic Pen and Pencil Making, (Slimline Style)

Course Number:    Course 123                      

Instructor:    Terry Springer

Course Description:   

An introductory course to working on a lathe to produce a basic pen or pencil set in a regular or slimline style. Students will turn, finish and assemble a regular style pen. On completion it would be expected that students would be able to make future pen and pencil sets of this type under their own resources.

Skills and knowledge to be gained:  

·       Parts and Operation of wood lathes suitable for the turning of small items such as used in pen and pencil construction.

·       Simple maintenance and cleaning of lathes and accessories.

·       How to sharpen the appropriate gouges and/or scrapers as necessary.

·       Selection and preparation of stock for turning.

·       Mounting stock on a suitable mandrel, (mounting device).

·       Selection and use of suitable bushings for the style of pen or pencil being made.

·       The turning and finishing of the parts required to assemble a completed pen.

·       Basic finishes to be applied on and off the lathe.

·       Assembly of the completed project.

Machines and tools to be used:

A variety of machines will be used to prepare stock, including the band saw and drill press. The proper use of mandrels, bushings (and possibly) sharpening wheels will also be demonstrated during the course as appropriate.

Learning process/procedure:

The learning process will be a hands-on experience. Steps will be demonstrated by the instructor and students will follow suit, with assistance being provided as needed.

 

Prerequisite skills; what level of competency/expertise is required for safe, successful participation:  

This is an intermediate skill level course and as such requires that students have prior experience of basic lathe turning. Ideally they will have successfully taken the workshop course in basic spindle turning as a minimum to help prepare themselves for pen and pencil making. Alternatively they will have gained experience in turning elsewhere and be competent at working with small scale blanks to close tolerances.

Project/product to be made: 

Each student will complete a slimline style ballpoint pen.

Duration of course: 

Two, two-hour sessions taken over 2 consecutive weeks.

Cost of materials beyond the basic $10 fee: 

There will be an additional charge for materials of $10 per Pen Set to cover the cost of stock, pen kits and finishing materials. This will also provide you with a set of bushings for your future pens.

Before signing up for any of the VWC courses, would you please try to check with your calendar to make sure that you will be free and able to attend for all of the sessions for that class and not just some of them. Many Thanks.

Link to dates for classes