Turning Pens and Pencils Paperback – June 1, 1999

I bought this book over three years ago when I first started getting into pen turning, and it saved me a lot of frustrating moments, answered a lot of questions I had (and many more I didn't even know enough to ask), and pointed me in the right direction. Now, with several hundred pens completed, I picked it back up to thumb through for the pictures, and realized it taught me even more.If you are a beginning pen turner, or thinking of giving it a try (and I recommend you do!), then this book should be jsut as important as some of your pen turning tools and supplies. If your budget allows, they also have a video that takes you step-by-step which I also recommend and compliments this book.

This book is head and shoulders about anything else out there on pen turning. After reading the Sing and Cripps primers I ordered this. There is no question that this book should be the one you read. It is well organized, clearly written and gives multiple ways to perform each step in the pen making progress.It starts with an historical discussion which may or may not suit your tastes, but then goes into very good detail about the equipment, supplies, wood selection, kit types, finishing products, glues etc that are available and what is required/suggested based on your needs.Next it goes through the making of a basic pen in good detail with the minimalist type supplies etc. Each subsequent section details a new type of pen, but also adds different ways to do each of the basic procedures and details different equipment that can be used. Through this process, the reader gets a good understanding of what is out there and how to use it. There is then a section on alternate materials and how they differ in the treatment required to use them. Then a section on decorating and variation in styles. This is followed by a tips and tricks section, which will help solve some of the common problems, as well as, provide tricks to improve quality and speed. Finally there is a very good gallery with a multitude of styles from multiple contributors.If you can only buy one book, it would be foolish to go with any other. You will find yourself refering back to it often and will save yourself a lot of money and headaches through the advise the authors give.

I studied woodworking under Kip Christensen at BYU in the early 2000's. Kip is one of the finest woodworkers and wood turners alive today. I've wanted his book for sometime and finally bought it. Very informative - everything you need to know to turn pens.

Actually, turning pens is really easy but finding the information on how to do it is a bit harder. This book is a complete treatise on pen turning. The only reason I gave it four stars is that the section on mandrels is a bit sparse. I didn't even know what a mandrel was and was still a bit foggy after reading about it in this book. The best way is just to jump in. It's super easy and the product you produce is absolutely beautiful! I found this book to be a valuable asset to getting started.

I now own four books on pen turning and this one has more information than the other three put together. I wish I had bought this one first. Its simply an outstanding introduction to the art of turning a pen on a lathe with lots of information, instruction and ideas.

If you are thinking about starting up a new hobby this is where to start

Good primer on pen turning. Los of good illustrations and descriptions

I'm interested in starting this as a hobby and this is a great reference and idea generator.