Workshop Update – Resin infused hybrid pen blanks

I thought it was about time that I turned these resin infused hybrid pen blanks that I bought a while ago from The Burl Shed in Perth.

Decided to make a Lucinda pen (9mm tube; slightly smaller than a sierra) and some keyrings with this blank:

First attempt at turning this was a keyring and the result as below

Tried 5 different tools with similar results so realised that all my turning tools needed sharpening.

Got the Tormek wet grinder out and sharpened 8 tools to start with as below.

Had quite a job with the skew as I don’t think I have sharpened it properly since I bought it; I went off skews for a while.

Made sure I noted the jig settings this time though.

By the time I got the blank smooth and shaped properly I managed to lose the burl part but the result still looks ok as below.  

Was then able to turn the Lucinda pen blank plus another keyring – this time I made it larger to ensure that I kept some wood as well as resin. 

Very pleased with the outcome; looks like I have lost the second keyring as my wife really likes it.

As these turned out ok I rashly thought I would try the chickpea pen blank next. 

Unfortunately as you can see from the photo either I was going too fast, had blunt tools (or both) or the chickpeas weren’t sufficiently attached.

Not sure if I can do anything with the remains as was a lucida pen blank so cannot use as a keyring as a 9mm blank while the keyrings are 7mm.  

New purchase made this week, kept away from seeds for this one!