Wood for pens is Redheart on left, Rosewood, Purple Heart, and three on the right of Rosewood.
I use a Nova chuck with the small (25 mm) jaws and grip the
piece of wood (about 1/2" square) firmly, but aligned so that
the tailcenter is at about center of the other end. I clamp down
tight and screw in the tail center to support it properly. I
turn the wood round. Then, I take a 5/32" by 6" drill, mark it a
little beyond the length of the BIC insert and hold it with a
chuck
(one that fits comfortably in my hand). I visually
align the drill with the ways of the lathe bed and with the
spindle spinning at about 2800 rpm, I gently guide the drill
into the detent made by the tail center and push in to start the
hole. Then, taking about 3/8" to 1/2" deep cuts, I drill the
hole deeper and deeper. I completely remove the drill after each
cut to remove the garbage from the hole. It is all done
freehand. When I've drilled to the depth mark on my drill (I use
typing whiteout as a marker), I lay the drill along side of the
blank and mark with a pencil to indicate the end of the hole.
Next, I bring up
the tail stock to support the end.
Cut a small V-groove a bit beyond the pencil mark and then
finish turn, sand, apply wax, and part off. I glue in the insert
with a small dab of Yellow Lable Hot Stuff CA glue (any thick CA
glue would work).
—Fred Holder