Making A Barber Pole Design Pen

Before, making a barber pole design pen the block has to be made. Select two contrasting kinds of wood, preference is to use Sapele and sycamore or maple. Rip on the table saw to 6mm for the bands on the pen, these will appear larger when cutting at an angle for the segmented pen design,

by, 32mm high and the length depends on the size of the block required. By making the strips 32mm I can use them for pens or razor handles. Ripping stock this way on the table saw can be wasteful with the blade producing a 4mm kerf so either use a thin kerf blade or rip on the bandsaw and thickness on the planer.

Before glueing the strips together line through. With, the edge of each one staggered by 5mm from the one above this will cut wastage even further. Do not forget to add the triangle marks for alignment when glueing up.

Once dry rip to size on the bandsaw for the size of blank required. It is possible to use hand tools for the rough sizing of the strips and blanks, but power tools are quick for such rough work and save the hand tools for the finer wooden crafts.

With the blanks cut to size, and the ends squared off, head over to the drill press. In this picture, blanks for three barber pole design, pens and a razor handle so it’s best to put a number on each side of one pen blank with a pencil line

across, the centre of the blank alignment, orientation when on the lathe if not things get confusing fast with which part goes with which. The best pens, have the grain running through the pen across the centre band, this will be even more noticeable on these segmented designs and figured woods.

Razor Handle On The Lathe Waiting To Be Turned

With the parts drilled and tubes glued in place and left overnight to dry. No point rushing this step or this will just spoil the blank. For pens made with wood, polyurethane glue is preferable, for Corian its super glue and for resin pens, a two-part epoxy.

With the blanks mounted between centres with the proper bushes, it’s just a matter of turning to shape and design.

Above is the same handle turned and with the CA finish applied. There are other finishes available, but waxes and friction polish will not offer any long-term protection to the wood. The warmth from human hands will melt the wax within a few hours use so CA the preferred choice for durability even if it takes a time to apply.