Got such a nice surprise as I walked in at the club on Monday. There was a platform awaiting me at my lathe, made by Vince to give me the right height at the lathe. I felt like I should be giving a speech as I stood up on it for the first time. Vince was taking the pen making session and had some lovely pieces of wood to use. Blocks, called blanks, are supplied - you drill holes through and mount on the lathe using a pen mandrel which guides you to the right diameter as you create the two (upper and lower) pen shafts. The required "bits" for the pen come in a kit which you assemble once your wood pieces are ready and using the mandrel means they all line up properly, with the correct diameter.

I used cedar for the dark pen and camphor laurel for the patterned one. The cedar was a bit dry and needed sanding sealer on at the end, to smooth down the grain (it was a bit splintery) before sanding again and polishing up with Triple E polish. I was really pleased with them. They give a satisfying end result.

Managed to get my carvers mallet finished. It looks and feels a pretty solid tool and the grain in the wood is attractive. Glad to get that done!

At Anne's this week, I made the second pen, finished the sand and polish of the mallet and then made a wine bottle stopper. It was an interesting exercise. The point was part of the challenge. Will probably round off future ones as it looks a bit dangerous!

There's always time for tea and a cake mid morning and lots of ideas about what we'll do next. It's great. I would love to have a lathe and start making gifts for family and friends and maybe starting a stock of items which could be sold at Christmas craft markets.

Next week we are off to Ray's for a burl bowl turning session, can't wait for that!