# Almost a catastrophy



## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Yesterday I received a parcel of goodies from a friend and forum member in the US, in it were included two pen blanks, one King wood the other Ebony. Having never worked with Ebony I just had to go into the shed for only the second time since my battle with Shingles. The photos show the result, however, there is a big gap between shots 3 and 4. I had a really difficult time turning the blanks but put this down to lack of experience with Ebony, as I was about to apply finish I had a terrible thought, due to the fact that I hadn't made a pen for about 6 months and my eagerness to get started, I forgot to fit the tubes in the drilled blanks! When I removed them from the lathe it was obvious that they were eccentric so I glued in the tubes and, because it was difficult to ensure square ends with the sander, I used a pen mill and split one end. After the expletives were finished I prised the gap apart and applied super glue then clamped it together for 24 hours. This afternoon I put the tubed and glued blanks back on the mandrel and skimmed them followed by a light sanding. I'm relieved that I was able to finish the pen without the crack opening.


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## gregW (Mar 14, 2007)

Nice save Harry..the pen looks great!


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Harry,

The pen turned out beautiful despite the problems encountered. I believe that you are further down the road of being well than you think.


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## Check twice! (Feb 11, 2008)

Looks great to me Harry.

I do not turn now but I can appreciate a nice job, and a great save. "necessity the mother of invention"

Great job Harry.

John


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

What an awesome pen! Harry, you far exceed my definition of an expert: one who encounters a problem and knows how to fix it. It is clear that the shingles have not dulled your abilities.


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

Nice job Harry! Ebony is well know for cracking all by itself with out any help so you did good!

corey


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Gee guys you're too kind to me but I really do appreciate your encouragement.


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## karateed (Feb 7, 2006)

Wow, Harry,

Very nice pen. I guess turning pens isn't all it's cracked up to be at times....sorry, just had to say that.

Awesome looking pen.

Ed......


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

I just love your sense of humour Ed.


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## chippypah (Dec 24, 2007)

Well done Harry, your recovery from a bad situation is great. Is this what we can expect when we get to your age, a first class result.
Cheers
Pete


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Harry, you did a great job. As usual.

My definition of being a skilled woodworker isn't the ability to build something as much as the ability to correct the mistakes you make during the building so they don't show. 

You have proven this many times.


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## Glenmore (Sep 10, 2004)

Nice save Harry. Hey that pic wasn't to good didn't have any blurry to it.  Looks great as usaul.


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Not to bad for a man with half a brain. Those Aussie addmission requirements are sure rough Harry. LOL


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Harry I am not going to tell you I have never did that. I will say that is one great save. You did well my friend. Beautiful pen.


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

Harry
Very nice job Harry. Good to see you back at it in the shed. Mitch


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Harry, ebony is prone to having brown streaks in it. Did you discover any as you turned your pen? Most of the ebony I have seen at the store is 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 12 or 24". So far all these pieces have had the brown streaks in them. The pen looks super.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Thanks once again guys. I'm sure most of the mistakes that I've made over many years is because I'm always in a hurry, once I decide to do something it must be done straight away and this of course leads to mistakes and hence so much experience at covering up these mistakes or in fact turning them into features.
Mike, I don't recall seeing any striations in the Ebony. What did surprise me was that the pen blanks were 3/4" square which means even for a cigar pen, a lot of material has to be removed. I cut my blanks to 1/2" square.


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