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Can you elaborate more on making pens with a lathe? I'm a total newb but have some ideas on what I want (steel pen with a knurled grip, for example). What am I

• Lio 4y ago
  Where to start… Metalwork is a big subject and there’s some great videos on YouTube. “This Old Tony” is the king. Really the easiest way to start is probably with a pen kitI think. They’re usually very simple and fun (but maybe a bit boring.) With kit pens you’re only making the cladding of the pen. That’s usually wood, acrylic or ebonite and shaped by hand on a wood or beed lathe with chisels. For steel you’d need a beefier metal lathe. To knurl the grip you need knurling wheels. They’re pretty cheap but it all mounts up. I like to work with rod bar stock. I’ll work up a design in a notebook and cut/bore the various parts. Holding up the work is really important. There’s various ways to do it but I’d suggest either an ER collet set or a 4 jaw chuck. With aluminium instead of steel I can just about shape the metal with a high speed steel chisel. Steels too hard. I don’t use CNC which limits accuracy and repeatability. What I end up with is “good enough” and I’m ok with that. I’d suggest getting a second hand lathe, which will come with some accessories, and turning some metal into scrap. It’s great fun, especially if you’re a software engineer.