I saw some cuttings of bamboo, and was struck with the idea of making a pen the really easy way, since there was already a hole right down the middle of each bamboo cane. After sifting through a stack of cuttings with a caliper, checking for the right inside and outside diameters, I found several pieces that might work.
After cutting rough lengths, I carefully dried them in the microwave at a low setting (the wood should never be allowed to get too hot to handle). I discovered that a regular twist drill is too aggressive, so I switched to one that I had modified for drilling acrylics without splitting them, and that worked. (A brad-point might work well also.)
I left the node on, and cut the blank in two and left 1" beyond the node. I glued in the tubes and trimmed the bamboo with a disk sander (a pen mill would tear the fibers out), still leaving the end with the node intact. Next, I mounted the lower tube on the adjustable mandrel normally, and fit the upper tube over the end of the mandrel, with the end beyond the node fitted over the point of my ball bearing center for support.
The turning went quickly, as I only had to shape the bamboo where it would meet the pen nib. I buffed the bamboo to a nice shine with a clean rag, since it was already naturally covered with its own wax. The nib and twist mechanism were assembled normally, but the clip and center band were left off.
To finish the node end of the pen, I trimmed off the bamboo on a curve, leaving the bud where a branch had come off the main stem, and did a little whittling to refine the shape.
This is a very fun project, and relatively easy as weird pens go.
Time to Build: 1-5 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
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