# Nuts!



## Buzzy (Jan 6, 2017)

This one is made from 3/8 hex nuts that were glued together on the tube and then turned and polished on my wood lathe.

I did it as an experiment and I’m really pleased with the results. 

I don’t know if rust will be an issue though. :tongue:


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## LouCee (Jan 6, 2017)

That's very cool, nice job!


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## flyitfast (Jan 6, 2017)

Awesome looking pen and great idea. 

Are the nuts stainless steel?  What tool did you use to turn?  What glue did you use?
Thanks
Gordon


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## magpens (Jan 6, 2017)

Yeah .... COOL !

I will be watching for the answers to the questions that flyitfast asked !


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## SteveG (Jan 6, 2017)

You cut/turned steel nuts on a wood lathe? 

Yes...you are nuts!!:biggrin::wink:


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## More4dan (Jan 6, 2017)

Brass or Stainless Steel should work. Very cool idea. Could be fun to leave some of the flats with each nut turned slightly creating a spiral effect. 


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## Buzzy (Jan 6, 2017)

They are not stainless steel, they are the standard zinc plated nuts that you can find everywhere. I’m not sure what kind of metal is inside but it’s prone to rusting. I left the water container I used to wet sand sit overnight and the color of the water changed from black to dark red. I got some stainless steel nuts but I didn’t have time to check if I can turn them or not.

I glued the nuts with epoxy glue. The brass tube didn’t fit inside the nuts so I needed to remove the threads using a drill with titanium coated drill bits. I used HSS tools to turn the pen and I’d say that it was slightly softer than black trustone.


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## Wingdoctor (Jan 6, 2017)

If they are carbon steel, common nuts, and not stainless they will rust.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 6, 2017)

Now people like Skiprat can speak to this moreso  but a stainless nut or even a brass nut is a different grade than that you can turn easily especially with wood turning tools. Very interesting look. You can get the same look if you used aluminum and not have to worry about rust. You use the point of a skew to get the dividing lines if that is the look you want. Or you could make small coves to give the look of a rounded nut used. Or just put a black strip of acrylic between stacked pieces of aluminum and polish and you would get the same look and it would be lighter also.


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## OZturner (Jan 7, 2017)

Great Pen, and Project, Martin.
Excellent Result, have you sealed the body, so as to prevent Rust?
Also how is the Weight?
Congratulations,
Brian.


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## stuckinohio (Jan 7, 2017)

Very neat. I like the look.


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## Skie_M (Jan 7, 2017)

Looks to be a very nutty pen!


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## Buzzy (Jan 7, 2017)

jttheclockman said:


> Now people like Skiprat can speak to this moreso  but a stainless nut or even a brass nut is a different grade than that you can turn easily especially with wood turning tools. Very interesting look. You can get the same look if you used aluminum and not have to worry about rust. You use the point of a skew to get the dividing lines if that is the look you want. Or you could make small coves to give the look of a rounded nut used. Or just put a black strip of acrylic between stacked pieces of aluminum and polish and you would get the same look and it would be lighter also.



Yes, the look would be really close but I think the wow factor for this one is that it's actually made from real metal nuts, and the weight proves it. 

I got some stainless steel nuts to make another one and they are definitely harder that the zinc plated ones. I’ll let you know how it goes!


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## Buzzy (Jan 7, 2017)

OZturner said:


> Great Pen, and Project, Martin.
> Excellent Result, have you sealed the body, so as to prevent Rust?
> Also how is the Weight?
> Congratulations,
> Brian.



I let it on the bare metal. I’m afraid that if I apply CA on it some rust could develop under it, and it would also lose the cold metal feel.
I think I’ll keep it for myself so I can see how it evolves, if it develops some kind of patina or rust.

The weight for this pen is 61g. I checked the weight of other completed pens of the same model and both acrylic and wood are 40g, and M3 is 44g. So it’s about 50% heavier that a standard pen for this size.


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## MDWine (Jan 7, 2017)

I would think the pen is kinda heavy, right?
I admit, the more I think about that the more I like it.
Great look!!


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## tomtedesco (Jan 7, 2017)

Another way to do pens, nice job.


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## magpens (Jan 7, 2017)

I am amazed you are able to do this with wood-turning tools !


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## skiprat (Jan 7, 2017)

Looks cool.:biggrin: I like the rings between the nuts. Is that from the rounded end of the nuts or did you make a groove?

People mustn't be too shy to use a file as a turning tool. You can use a decent file to turn ANY material on a wood lathe. 

Get a proper engineers file set, not those cheap and nasty junk files you get from the DIY store. 
A decent file has a steep tooth pattern and one edge has no teeth.

One more tip about using files on a lathe is to hold the handle in your LEFT hand and the tip of the file in your right. This keeps your left arm from reaching over the chuck....:wink:


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## Buzzy (Jan 7, 2017)

MDWine said:


> I would think the pen is kinda heavy, right?
> I admit, the more I think about that the more I like it.
> Great look!!



Yes, it's 61g and it feels heavy in the hands, more than you'd expect for a pen of this size.


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## Buzzy (Jan 7, 2017)

magpens said:


> I am amazed you are able to do this with wood-turning tools !



I'm also amazed I'm able to do that :wink:

I just finished another pen but this one is with stainless steel nuts. I don’t think I’ll take a picture because it’s almost identical to the other one. Stainless is harder than the other metal and was not fun to turn with HSS tools. I had to go slowly and resharpen often. I even broke the tip of my drill bit when removing the threads inside the nut to make room for the brass tube.

I don’t plan to do that kind of pen often unless I buy metal tools


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## Buzzy (Jan 7, 2017)

skiprat said:


> Looks cool.:biggrin: I like the rings between the nuts. Is that from the rounded end of the nuts or did you make a groove?



Neither 
The nuts were turned beyond the rounded end. It’s just the junction between the nuts that were glued side by side.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 7, 2017)

Buzzy said:


> jttheclockman said:
> 
> 
> > Now people like Skiprat can speak to this moreso  but a stainless nut or even a brass nut is a different grade than that you can turn easily especially with wood turning tools. Very interesting look. You can get the same look if you used aluminum and not have to worry about rust. You use the point of a skew to get the dividing lines if that is the look you want. Or you could make small coves to give the look of a rounded nut used. Or just put a black strip of acrylic between stacked pieces of aluminum and polish and you would get the same look and it would be lighter also.
> ...




I understand. Good luck and it is always good to try new materials to make pens. You also learn your limits and come up with neat ideas. Thanks for showing.


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## bpgoldo (Jan 7, 2017)

Martin, what made you think of trying this????? Amazing. Surprising. Nuts ! ! ! My mind is blown. For a finish, why not try sealing it with CA? I am thinkin' it should work. Might peel, but then again....not.


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## Curly (Jan 7, 2017)

Kudos for attempting something new. You might look into some of the Cold Blue used on guns as a finish for the steel nuts.


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## oldtoolsniper (Jan 8, 2017)

I do believe that would also pass for one of those high speed, low drag, tactical pens. 


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## Buzzy (Jan 8, 2017)

bpgoldo said:


> Martin, what made you think of trying this?????



Ah! That’s a good question! :biggrin:
I was working on something totally unrelated. I was modifying my hedgehog exercise wheel so it could be hung on the wall of the enclosure instead of using a support. For that I needed some kind of busing because the size of the hole on the wheel was too big for the shaft that I was using. All I had for that were ¼ hex nuts and they were slightly too big to fit in the hole, so I tried to turn one on my lathe and see if I could bring it to size, and it worked! When I saw that I was able to turn metal hex nuts on my lathe I knew I had to do a pen like this 



bpgoldo said:


> For a finish, why not try sealing it with CA? I am thinkin' it should work. Might peel, but then again....not.



I don't think metal needs the same level of protection as wood, and I want to keep the cold steel feeling to it. If I put CA on it, it will feel like plastic...


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## Buzzy (Jan 8, 2017)

Curly said:


> Kudos for attempting something new. You might look into some of the Cold Blue used on guns as a finish for the steel nuts.



Wow! That's really a good idea! I'll have to look into that. That could look great on something like an Atrax or maybe a Cigar. I wonder if the weight of a double tube pen would be near a quarter-pounder


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## Skie_M (Jan 8, 2017)

Actually, if you put just a very thin coat of CA on it (1 to 3 layers - it's there not for scratch and dent protection in this case, but to seal out moisture), it should still be cold to the touch like uncoated steel.


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## Artisan iron designs (Jan 8, 2017)

I like it, cool look


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## jttheclockman (Jan 8, 2017)

Might try powdercoating. Could make them any color you want then.


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## Buzzy (Jan 8, 2017)

Some more pictures.

The first 2 are pictures of the pen made with stainless steel nuts.
The 3rd one is a side by side comparison (the bottom on is regular steel and the one at the top is stainless).
The last one is a picture of the hex nuts pen with the animal who inspired it! :laugh:


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## thewishman (Jan 8, 2017)

Sweet pen!!! You nailed it!


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