I haven't turned in a few days but I was able to do some a couple of days ago and then again today. I began turning my "European" pens, which means they are shaped like Mont Blanc pens. Here are some of the pens I made (click image for larger picture). These shown are, from left to right, made from Birdseye Maple, English Walnut, and Yew. I liked how these turned out.

The Yew pen turned out pretty nice. It is a nice orange color but when in the lathe, it smelled like cedar. The description which came with the pen kit says, "The heartwood is bright and light orange with a white sapwood. It is dense and heave with a fine grain. Works well on the lathe, used for decorative work, pens, and boxes." Here is a picture of the cap from the pen made from this wood (click image for larger picture). I really like the knots which showed up on the cap. The only problem with this pen is that I tried to curve the top and it came out a little "bloated." You can almost see this in the picture.

The next pen was made from Birdseye Maple. This always turns very nicely. I like working with it. However, on this pen I turned it too far around the center band so the band stands out from the pen instead of blending into the wood (I hate it when I do that). You can almost see that in the picture. So, I guess I am still learning to take off only the amount of wood I want to take off.

The third pen was made from walnut. This is always makes a nice looking pen but the grain can sometimes be too rough. This makes the finish not so nice. The dark brown wood always looks nice with the gold accents which comes with the pen kits. This pen I think I turned just like it should have been.

I had one more pen I turned. This was made with myrtlewood. I love the way myrtlewood looks when turned. the soft brown color always looks nice but the grain almost looks like it changes colors when the light hits it (I wish I could show what I mean). Nevertheless, this pen was looking good until I pressed the retracting mechanism into the barrel. I pressed it a little too far and that created a problem. I could not retract the pen tip. I tried to pull the mechanism out of the barrel and destroyed the barrel in the process. So, here is the cap...for whatever that is worth.

I am looking as some different magazines for some other kits of different things. I am hoping I can get some new kind of things to turn. I also want to turn some roller ball and fountain pens. But I really like these Mont Blanc....er...I mean, European-type pens. I will probably get more of these kits.