Checker Board Pen Blank

[@stevebrown1132]

Looks great Bob! I love that you show the mistakes. It lets us learn from your miss steps.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Steve Brown Thank you Steve. Regards, Bob

[@md.moinulislam9467]

MASHAALLAH khub valo video......

[@RJBWoodTurner]

😃

[@kevincostelloe4463]

Pretty cool! 👍

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Kevin. Regards, Bob

[@jimpaton7630]

Thanks for sharing ! With you Bob we get warts and everything else. Just great

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Jim. Regards, Bob

[@ryanivester5042]

Beautiful job again Bob! I recently one similar but with a twist. I started with a red heart and maple. I cut them into strips 1/2 inch x 5 inch. Then I glued one 1/2" redheart to 1 1/2" in maple. Then I took those 2 blanks and glued them together flipping the blanks. That left me with a 5" checker blank. I drilled it, sliced it in 1/2" slices and glued it back together rotating each piece. I would have had a checker pattern but instead only turned is 45 degrees not 90 degrees. I got a spiral designs instead. I'll do it again with a full 90" to try for a checkerboard pattern.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

That sounds amazing. Making custom blanks is is really fun. Regards, Bob

[@cejkwo100]

I've made many of these. I start out by gluing four 1/4" strips together of four different kinds of wood to make 1" blank. Nice video and pen turned out well.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+cejkwo Mass Thank you, It was truly a fun build. Regards, Bob

[@philthycox2515]

I do it that way as well. I put a chamfer on 4 inside corners to give a pilot hole for drilling. Can be drill with hand drill dead center, no jigs needed. Then segment.

[@kwstasantwniou243]

Great pen Bob, the process the blank and the finish nicely done!

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Kwstas Antwniou Thank you very much Kwstas. Regards, Bob

[@HeathKnuckles_Tasty_Timber]

Excellent info! Thanks for sharing Bob!

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Heath Knuckles Thank you Heath. Regards, Bob

[@williampeak8851]

Love it 👍

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you William.

[@ronaldainaire7086]

Now that is a pen! Will have to pay attention to detail and turn a couple.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Donald. Regards, Bob

[@daniholmes1593]

Great video, Bob! I have to tell you...it does my heart good to see someone like you still makes mistakes--It means there is hope for me yet! I love this idea and I'm going to try something like this. Thanks! Dani

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Dani Holmes Thank you Dani. If I didn't show my mistakes I wouldn't have anything Interesting in my videos. Regards, Bob

[@TristanDare]

That is super cool! I love laminated pens, they're really interesting.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+BurlyWoodWorks Thank you. Regards, Bob

[@donaldmackay6749]

Hi Bob, Awesome job on the pen. I have a simpler way (sort of) to create this type of blank. I will take two pieces of contrasting stock that are dimensioned to the same size. Usually around 12”L x 5” or 6”W and as you said 1” thick. Rip both into 1/4” strips and reassemble into two pieces of stocks that has alternating color glue up these two pieces and let dry fully. Once the glue is dry clean up any glue squeeze out and resaw each in half. Now you should have four 1/2” pieces of stock that has alternating bands. Now rip these four boards into 1/4” strips. Take four of these and orient them into the bank you want and glue up. Now you can split these larger pieces of stock into two banks. If you are using the stock size I suggest you should end up with 20 blanks out of the two 12” x 6” pieces of stock you start with and there are really no alignment issues as you do not have to use a bolt to hold your blank together as you assemble it. Don

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Hello Don, Thank you for sharing your method and for the detailed explanation. I truly appreciate it. Regards, Bob

[@marklawson8346]

I think it looks great Bob I think I might have a go thanks great video

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+mark lawson Thank you Mark. Regards, Bob

[@SamThomasTwistedCraftsUK]

Fantastic work! And great craftsmanship 👍🏻

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Sam. Regards, Bob

[@jimhall4393]

Very well explained

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Jim. Regards, Bob

[@valborchardt3596]

Great pen Bob, thanks for sharing. Cheers

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Val Borchardt Thank you Val. Regards, Bob.

[@opasworkshop8373]

great job Robert it was a totally different design than I'm used to from you that pen looked awesome.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Opa's Workshop Thank you Opa, I had a. Last making this one and it gave me some more ideas. Regards, Bob

[@joelnickerson6739]

I think your right about the 1" x 1" blanks. It would make it easier to work with. I do like the pen though and I'm going to try to make a few once I get started.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Joel. Regards, Bob

[@jeffibbotson137]

Awesome! I have done a similar blank but with 4 colours. I ripped my wood into about 12mm squares then glued them together so I had a solid approx 24mm blank, drilled down the centre of that then cut my segments and glued directly to my tube with a quarter turn between each segment. Its a little hard to explain so I hope that makes sense. Same result at the end of the day but just misses out a step I guess. Thanks for the videos! (AKA on Facebook Jeff Ibbotson)

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Locks and Keys Nice idea Jeff, Maybe I'll give that a try. Thank you for sharing your method with me. Regards, Bob.

[@gadieltropicalwood]

Love this channel because I leaned to prevent a lots mistake that Now I will do tk you good bless you

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you, I’m glad I could help. Regards, Bob

[@Blueboy9055]

Great looking pen Bob. I still like to see the turning process, at least perhaps the final stages. Especially the polishing! As always though very well presented video. Keep the coming!!

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+BlueBoy9055 Thank you, I always debate wether to include everything or not. I sometimes feel like it makes my videos to repetitive. Regards, Bob

[@turnersparadise8368]

A lot of creators I watch face this dilemma. The thing to remember is the people watching your videos are turners who enjoy watching the whole process. While it would bore my wife to death it is not boring for us. You could film the turning process in real time and we would happily watch it in its entirety. That said, longer videos are harder to edit and upload and I am sure you do lose a percentage of your audience as the video gets longer. Do what you got to do, you generally find a good balance. But I wouldn't worry too much about being repetitive or boring. Your channel is somewhat specialized anyway, it is more of a tutorial than a vlog.

[@Blueboy9055]

I understand what you say, maybe on the odd occasion would be good. It reminds of that old saying, "you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time". Thanks Bob.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+BlueBoy9055 LOL, Thank you, I promise I'll show the turning and finish occasionally in my videos. Regards, Bob

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Tenspeed TheBikeHanger Thank you, I love getting feedback from the people who watch. It's always good to know what everyone likes watching. Regards, Bob

[@rontibble5933]

hi bob just turned my first pen here in England find your channel the best and you r always welcome in my shop God Bless you and your family and MERRY Christmas from across the pond

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Merry Christmas Ron. Regards, Bob

[@walshjp17]

Thanks, Bob. Nicely done. If you drill on the lathe rather than with a drill press, you lessen the chance of off-center holes.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+John Walsh LOL, I get told that all the time. My lathe is a cheapie and I have tried drilling on it many times. It just wasn't meant to be. One of these days I'm going to upgrade, "Hint, Hint, ant tool companies following here?, then I'll be able to use lathe. Until then, I'm stuck with my old drill press. :^( Regards, Bob

[@chartle1]

Hey my lathe is a magnitude cheaper than yours and I drill just find. Isn't there some sort of quote about a carpenter blaming his tools or something. :) But anyway did you have to turn the blank inside out? Couldn't you just rotate every other piece?

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Cliff Hartle Hello Cliff, I have a bit of an alignment issue with the tail stock, it's not that bad when I use a mandrel but when I turn between centers then move to a chuck it's really noticeable. Even if I start the hole with a smaller bit it still won't track straight and I get a wallowed out hole at one end. Maybe I'll do a quick video to show it. I fought it for a while trying to figure it out and finally gave up figuring one day I'd buy another lathe to replace it. Since I mostly make pens, and I have a drill press, I haven't been that motivated to do anything. Only reason I turned inside out was so I could use the bolt as a clamp. You could easily glue the alternating strips up then drill, cut and alternate them on the bolt clamp. I think I may have done something similar on my brick pen blank. Regards, Bob

[@chartle1]

Why couldn't you still use the bolt for the clamp. After cutting and flipping you would sort of have an oddly shaped smaller hole down the center that when you drilled it for the tube the bit would follow. Unless I'm missing something.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Cliff Hartle sorry, what I meant was cut out the bolt step in the beginning and just glue up the 4 strips of wood. Once you have the blank, drill it, cut the segments, then use the bolt as the clamp for the final blank.

[@brynphipps8374]

So cool!

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Bryn Phipps Thank you Bryn, Regards, Bob

[@Mauroiltornitore]

Beautiful work and video!! Cheers. Mauro

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Mauro il tornitore Thank you Mauro. Regards, Bob

[@titingarcia7249]

Excelente video y otro bonito boligrafo, al cual mejor que al hecho anteriormente , felicitaciones

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Titín García Thank you. Regards, Bob

[@MRrwmac]

Turned out nice and was a very interesting prototype build. I'm guessing you will have lots of orders for that design.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+MRrwmac Thank you Mac, Regards, Bob

[@turningprayersholly_fry5054]

another nice pen. thanks for showing us the oops as well as the successful projects. It helps me in knowing its not so much a mistake but part of the learning process. 🤔 I wonder what a pen made from checkers would look like?

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Holly Fry Thank you Holly, A checker pen might look nice, especially if you drilled the tube on an angle. Regards, Bob

[@DavidWhite]

Bob Lynn Lacy uses a right angle jig to keep his blanks square while doing the glue up. He puts some plastic wrap on the jig to keep the blank from sticking to the jig.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Dave White I remember that video. I need to rewatch it. I want to make a glue up jig and an sled. Regards, Bob

[@ericmilligan3]

It's a shame about the small alignment issue, but it all turned out very well in the end. Well done Bob, a great looking pen. 👍👍👍😍😍😍

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Eric Milligan Thank you Eric, That was all on me, I aligned the blank before gluing then I applied the glue and didn't pay attention. It happens. Never even noticed it until I got the blank trued up. Regards, Bob

[@LynnLaceyLLWW]

Looks good Bob, Although the double maple sections aren't that visible, I may have used that part of the blank for the clip end. good execution on a tedious glue up. Thanks

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Lynn Lacey Thank you Lynn. Regards, Bob

[@markbaldwin975]

Great video Bob, thanks again. Dont worry we wont tell about the oops and no one will notice.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Mark Baldwin LOL, thanks Mark. Regards, Bob

[@joelcollins4966]

Try using a shoulder bolt and rub it with bees wax or gulf wax before stacking the segments. The blank will loosening easier.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Joel, great suggestion. Regards, Bob

[@DrLarryAnderson]

Wonderful! Just plain wonderful ONCE AGAIN, Bob! And, as a retired Industrial Arts teacher, I watch for the "little things" and you do such a good job with the "little things" that can become the "big things." Kudos! One suggestion, please. As you turn pens like this, can you please indicate which version of a pen kit you used? Maybe so we'll know whether that's a Sierra, Majestic, Rancho, New York Central, or Cabaret style. (Notice how I just made up kit names???) Thanks, sir!

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Larry, That video was earlier in my youtube days and I have since started naming the kits. Regards, Bob

[@DrLarryAnderson]

Wow! Thanks so much, Bob, for a prompt response! Yeah, fella...I know you get so many comments from so many videos -- and it makes me feel very special that you'd take time to send a reply like this. I hope your other viewers take notice of what a special brand of dedication you have to not only the craft, but also to your viewers, by responding to nearly every single comment posted on your videos. @@RJBWoodTurnerwins!

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Larry, I love my audience. Regards, Bob

[@spencerbrown2594]

Great video . My is like yours except mine is Walnut and red cedar.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Spencer Brown Thank you Spencer. I really enjoyed this build and want to piggy back off it for come additional builds. Regards, Bob

[@dledward]

I’m thinking that drilling the 1/4 inch hole could be eliminated. My thought is to just cut the slices and use a piece of angle iron as a jig to do the initial glue up. I’m going to give it a try. Might even try to video it. I am a big fan of your videos and love to try your techniques

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you Daniel, Please let me k or if it works. Regards, Bob

[@dledward]

My attempt was a total failure. The initial glue up without the bore worked fine but when I cut it into quarter, I used my band saw and the blade wandered enough to make the glue up a disaster. I will give it one more try using a slightly different approach

[@dledward]

Well I tried again and had better luck. I will post a picture on Face book.

[@natalieridenhour4794]

Awesome blank! Do you have a video on your bandsaw jig you used?

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Hello Natalie, It’s really simple to make. Here’s the video I did a while back. Pen Blank Cutting Jig kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHKUmGqtZbxjrdU Regards, Bob

[@ron2382]

I keep telling myself I'm learning from my mistakes. I think it just keeps me from throwing things and cursing because the mistakes keep coming. Oh well, as long as it's fun in the end. nice blank build

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Ron Parrott Thank you Ron, Mistakes are simply design opportunities. Regards, Bob

[@turnersparadise8368]

Agreed on larger stock sizes. I learned this long ago and I won't use anything under 1" when segmenting. I even go bigger if possible, it is just easier to work with. I was surprised the drift did not show at all. Too bad about the mismatched segments, otherwise that would have been a marketable pen. I appreciate the fact that you do not run one or more prototypes before you film, that you film your first attempt at things. Of course you are going to make mistakes, that is why we test these theories out before we come up with a system. One other thing to look at is the extraction of the clamping bolt. There has to be a better way there, maybe measure the length of your finished blank and epoxy over the threads that are inside the blank? Or use a brass tube insert to run the bolt through.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Tenspeed TheBikeHanger LOL, Bolt extraction always makes me nervous. I have some other bolts with threads only on the ends but there only long enough for half a blank. I keep checking out the hardware aisle hoping to find a bolt with at least a 5" solid section. Maybe I can get a solid steel rod and thread the ends. Worth looking into. Regards, Bob

[@chartle1]

When you go to Home Depot dig deep in the trays of 1/4" bolts. they don't rotate their stock so the newer all threaded one are on top. I just bought two 6" bolts from HD that only had the last inch threaded. Better yet do you have a Tractor Supply nearby? Once you buy hardware from TS you will never go back to HD. Its all by the pound and they have grade 5 and grade 8 bolts.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Cliff Hartle Thanks for the tip on Tractor Supply. We have one close so I'll stop in and see what they have. Only been in there once and it was a long time ago. On a personal note, I don't shop HD anymore. The two here never have what I'm looking for and their prices are the highest around. May be different in your area Regards, Bob

[@chartle1]

Well HD is only about 5 min from my house but TS is the cheapest you will find for hardware. Its like penny candy, you remember penny candy don't you (um maybe I'm old :-) ) you grab a bag and just fill it with all the hardware you need from any bin in the same category. They have 5 or 6 categories and they just weight it at the register. On the price tag for each piece they tell you approximately how many pieces make up a pound. Like 200 or so 1/4" nuts per pound up to one per pound for say a 10" long 1" bolt. :) This is where I found nuts to make custom face plates for my lathe. They had the 3/4"-16 tpi that fit my lathe directly in grade 8 for about $1.50 each in the little drawers and 1"- 8 tpi in bulk for 5 or 6 per pound for $3 a pound that fit an adapter I have.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Cliff Hartle I like what I'm hearing. I will for sure check them out. Thank you for this info. Regards, Bob

[@travisstevens6707]

Why do you have two center bands on it?

[@RJBWoodTurner]

The cap blank was to short so I added a second band to compensate. Regards Bob

[@eric.c2689]

Thank you. Bob for sharing. Amicalement eric.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Eric.C caillierez Thank you Eric. Regards, Bob

[@Charlie-zc8bl]

What lathe do you use?

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Charlie Vorderkunz Its the Harbor Freight 10X18 bench top wood lathe. Regards, Bob

[@ethandebruler5003]

ok so im new to making pens and im making them with my dad but why did you glue them back together if you just cut them

[@RJBWoodTurner]

No real reason, just experimenting, trying to come up with something fun. Regards, Bob

[@jnd9444]

Try using wide rubber bands as clamps.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Jesse DiMura Great tip Jesse, I'll pick some up as I'm always looking for a better/easier way. Regards, Bob

[@georgeharper6034]

what could really set this pen off would be to add a Treble Clef pocket clip to it. You can get this at Pennstate

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you George.

[@glenmckelvey5952]

Cool looking pen Bob , but how are you going to keep the checkers from falling off lol . Did you use any of your pallet wood for this project . Great job , take care .

[@RJBWoodTurner]

+Glen mckelvey LOL, I'll leave the checkers to the checker players. I didn't use any pallet wood. I gave all the scraps away because I had some many. I just got 20 more pallets ready for disassembly, that should give me plenty more scraps to use. Regards, Bob

[@kaceycarter2972]

Not a critique but why drill before cutting into four

[@RJBWoodTurner]

I think I did it for alignment, I can’t really remember without watching he video again. Regards, Bob

[@joannromero6317]

How can I get a pen made in pink with my name and how much would it be

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thank you for asking but I don’t do commissions. This is just a hobby for me, not a business. Regards, Bob

[@rogerschofield3594]

HI THIS IS ROGER USE DEFT SAND SEALET IT FILLS GRAIN GET AT ACE HARDWHERE THEN USE CD MAKES IT LOOKS GREAT

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Deft is a great product. Regards, Bob

[@dledward]

Oh forgot. I rake a bar if soap over the bolt threads to keep them from sticking.

[@RJBWoodTurner]

That’s a good idea. Regard, Bob

[@gregeastman6662]

shit happens looks good :)

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Thanks.

[@javiervelasquez2525]

You make good jobs, but I do not understand, why you do not wear gloves?

[@RJBWoodTurner]

Gloves can be dangerous on a lathe.