I am going to brag again, but first, John, if this is in the wrong section, please move it to the appropriate section.  Thank you.

 

It's been awhile, but finally he got excited to make his own pen.  I purchased 25 kits to make some for Ed (MountainGuardian).  When my grandson asked about them, I asked if he would like to make his own.  Oh, it was like Christmas.  I didn't get any pictures of him band sawing the mahogany pen blanks.  And, I didn't get any pictures of him boring the holes or inserting the tubes or cleaning up the ends to get them into final size and shape.  But, I have pictures of him starting his roughing, trying to decide his design, making his final design and ready for finish.  So, here goes.

 

 

 

Here he is roughing the blanks.  Cal, do you recognize the mandrel?  I like that it fits perfectly in the Nova chuck.

 

 

 

I had just shown him how to taper toward the end.  He is trying to get his head around the concept, but he got it in a few seconds.  

 

 

 

 

He is doing the final shape.  I showed him here how to turn the parting tool on its side, use the heel of the point to make lines.  He tried it.  Here comes the shot where he is so proud.  

 

 

 

 

I advised that he not take it to school for risk of theft or loss. He is not going to take it home as his sister and parents will all want to use it.  He's a smart young man.  Age 13.  I hope this gives hope in your abilities and that some of you can trick your youngsters to do something not electronic.  Here's hoping for you.  

 

Edited June 5, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

Beautiful moment!!

You can't find anything better than that. Thanks, Gator.

Very cool Steve.  I hope if he's gotten the bug we'll see a few more!

Thanks.  A story like that is what we needed.  Good stuff.

Absolutely beautiful and awesome! Thanks so much for sharing Steven, like Dan said, perfect timing and great stuff, thanks for that.

So has your grand become familiar with other aspects of the Shopsmith as well? Or is this the beginning?

There's a memory that will last a lifetime! Good on you!

By the way Steven, that SS sure looks well cared for!

good time for him to practice making more for xmas gifts for the family.  

John, it seems that you had your young man out last year working on a project.  I hope he continues to stay involved.  It really is a help to understand and see how things go together to function in a desired way.  About operations of the SS, he knows how to use the bandsaw, blade sizes and tensions.  He also knows to use a push board to keep his thumbs.  He has operated the drilling operations in drill press mode, using the depth stop.  He knows to add the drill chuck and how to tighten the jaws.  I have yet to let him work with the sanding disk or table saw, but he is growing and having fun.  The other day, he really loved pressing in the drill bit and bringing it back up to remove the mud.

 

SS maintenance, every year around March or April and again in October, early November, I take a few paper towels and soak them in mineral spirits (paint thinner), wash it down and then apply another coat of wax.  Our humidity is rather salty as we live about 2 miles from the water.  We are on a hill that is about 80 feet above sea level, but it must be waxed to prevent rust.  The other thing I do is clean off all the sawdust before putting it away.  Sawdust will collect moisture which brings on the corrosion, so just cleaning it on a regular basis is a big help.  The waxing of the machine, blades, tables and other parts keeps everything feeling smooth, works smoothly and keeps the rust at bay.  I do need to remove and gut the headstock as I see some rust developing.  And, the dark spots on the band saw tables are rust.  The one that I had to mostly rebuild, had a piece of tape on it that left a rust spot and it had paint on the table.  I have used 400 grit on tables after washing off the old wax and before applying the new wax.  They get cleaned up twice a year whether they need or want it. 

 

Thanks to all for your kind words of support.  It warms my heart to see any young person to separate themselves from their devices and make something beneficial and constructive.  And, I am happy that it gave you a warm spot.  He and I talked today about making more pens for Christmas or making snowman.  He's going to think it over.  I hope there is more to come.  Thanks to all of you for your support.  He is happy.   

Here is a pic of the finished pen.  A bit unusual, but it is his design and he is so happy.  However, he would not allow me to photo him.  It is stained with Minwax Tudor Satin.  Then I rubbed it with 600 grit between the 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic.  

 

 

 

Yep, we used the Shopsmith as a vice.  The birch board served as the base and I used the smaller piece of wood on the chuck face to act as the other part of the vice.  He used the lever of the quill feed and I held the pen parts as they were pressed together.  It just happened that I was turning a couple other pens at the time he arrived and wanted to finish his pen.  It was a fun 5 minutes.  

 

Thank you all for your kind words.  This warms my heart to know that he has a memento of a memory.  

Edited June 13, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

Awesome!!!

Nice

The pen looks good. The memories though, priceless.