Wooden Pens

How to make a wooden pen.

Take a decent looking piece of wood, cut it into two 2 inch by 3/4 inch square pieces. Drill a hole through each piece, line it with brass.  Stuff it into a lathe and peel off all the bits that don’t look like a pen – sand, polish and add the finishing touches.

Whilst it is possible to make a pen, or any turned object for that matter, from just about any timber, we need to take notice of the grain, colour, burls and knots in the wood.  Each of these things create interest and contribute to the finished article.  You don’t need to find exotic timbers either.  There are many local timbers with colour and interest, such as beech, oak maple, sycamore, laburnum, pine, larch and many many more.  All you need to do is to find it, cut it to see what is inside and then allow it to dry over time – about a year per inch thickness should do it, however it can be done more quickly if you are prepared to accelerate the process and take a chance.