Course Title: Basic Pen and Pencil Making, (Gatsby/European Style)
Course
Number: Course 124
Instructor:
Bob Bell.
Course
Description:
An
introductory course to working on a lathe to produce a basic pen or pencil set
in both a Gatsby and European style.
Students
will turn, finish and assemble a Gatsby and European 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 Gatsby/European
style ballpoint pen.
Duration of course:
Two, two-hour
sessions taken over 2 consecutive evenings.
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.
Remember
that all classes must be signed up for at the Front Desk in the Workshop.
Many Thanks.