Min Turn Makers

Min Turn Makers We are a pair of pen makers and woodworkers that enjoy making handmade, unique pens and other crafts.

09/09/2026

Happy Pens-Day! The yellow, black, and white resin ballpoint pen is all finished up! Here are a few highlight steps from making this pen. Featured are: rounding; polishing; and assembly.

What is not pictured are all of the preparatory steps prior to mounting the blank to the lathe: making the blank; drilling, setting the tubes, and squaring. There are quite a few steps involved to make a "simple" Cigar-style pen!

09/06/2026

Bringing the yellow, white, and black resin Cigar-style pen project across the finish line with final assembly.

To press the black chrome components safely, dedicated soft inserts are set up on the lathe bed to act as a precision press. Each hardware component—clip, cap, twist mechanism, and nib—is driven steadily into the internal brass tubes until fully seated. This is a stressful stage: excessive pressure will easily split a finished resin body.

With all components seated correctly, the pen is fully assembled and ready for use.

09/05/2026

Final prep stage for the custom yellow, white, and black resin pen before it gets fitted with black chrome hardware.

This step relies on a multi-wheel buffing system mounted directly to the lathe. The turned bodies are secured on a mandrel and systematically worked across the wheels. Resin only requires the first two compound stages to achieve a full polish; the third wheel is kept clean for wooden projects.

Even with a thorough wet sand, the compound wheels add a distinct level of clarity and high-gloss reflection to the finished resin.

09/02/2026

Happy Pens-Day! Progress report on the yellow, white, and black resin Cigar-style pen build.

With all major turning and profiling complete, the focus shifts entirely to surface preparation and wet sanding. The setup is simple: a collection of color-coded sanding pads using increasingly finer grits, ending at the purple pad stage.

A small water reservoir off-camera keeps the pads saturated throughout the process, which prevents excessive heat from friction and ensures a clean cut. The ratty pie pan shields the lathe bed from stray moisture.

The progressive grit sequence leaves a deep, polished shine across the resin before it gets paired with its black chrome hardware.

08/30/2026

Progress update on a custom resin pen build featuring yellow, white, and black tones.

This in-house pen blank is being turned for a Cigar-style ballpoint twist pen with black chrome hardware. The image shows the two sections brought down to true cylinders, ready for final profiling. To get smooth, sweeping curves across the body, the shaping is done using very light, deliberate cuts.

For anyone who turns on the lathe: these are turned individually between centers, though a standard mandrel works just fine here as well.

The final color depth of the yellow pigment used in this project is impressive!

08/29/2026

I was a big fan of the yellow, black, and white slimline pen that came from this resin blank, so I wanted to give it another go, but with a different pen hardware setup. This resin blank features yellow as the primary color with swirls of white and a very dark, metallic gray. It will eventually dress a larger Cigar-style pen with black chrome hardware.

At this step, the pen blank (material for the pen body) has already been mixed, poured, cured, drilled, internal brass tubes mounted, and ends squared. One of the pen bodies is mounted onto the lathe so rounding can begin. "Rounding" is where the lumpy pen blank is shaped into a rough cylinder. Once in a cylinder shape, further refinement to the desired final shape can take place.

The yellow dye used in this pen is very strongly colored; the resin flakes coming from the pen body were very yellow indeed!

Featuring a striking contrast of deep purple, metallic bronze, and copper resin, this handmade twist pen is designed to ...
06/21/2026

Featuring a striking contrast of deep purple, metallic bronze, and copper resin, this handmade twist pen is designed to stand out. The vibrant purple swirls across both the upper and lower bodies, while the bright copper-plated hardware complements the metallic elements. Finished with an ultra-high-gloss sheen, the durable exterior catches the light from any angle and is built to withstand daily carry.

With its slender, lightweight profile, this pen fits effortlessly into a purse, briefcase, or backpack. It operates via a smooth, mid-band twist mechanism and utilizes Cross-style ink refill cartridges. The pen arrives ready for use with a black ink refill pre-installed.

06/20/2026

The rich colors of a deep purple really stand out on this handmade purple, copper, and bronze resin swirl twist pen! The vibrant purple is streaked with metallic areas of bronze and copper resin on both the upper and lower pen bodies. The whole pen is very eye-catching, and sure to stir up a conversation!

Bright and shiny copper plating on the metallic portions of the pen hardware are quite unique, and enhance the bronze and copper streaking in the pen bodies. The pen has been finished with an ultra high-gloss finish, perfect for catching the light at any angle. The ink refill is extended and retracted via a smooth twist action from the middle of the pen, at the center band. The materials used in this pen are quite durable, so you don't need to worry when taking your pen around to show it off!

This is a slender, lightweight pen that would tuck easily into a purse, bag, backpack, or briefcase. The pen is refillable, and accepts Cross-style pen refills. The pen includes a black Cross-style refill already installed and ready for use.

Want to see more of this pen? Visit our site at: https://minturnmakers.com

06/17/2026

Happy Pens-Day!

The deep purple, copper, and bronze refillable resin ballpoint pen is all finished up! Here is a short compilation of a few of the steps taken to create this colorful twist pen. The purple "turned" out quite lovely!

If you'd like to see more about this pen (or see other colorful pens for sale), visit our site at: https://minturnmakers.com

06/14/2026

At the last step with the deep purple, bronze, and copper refillable ballpoint pen. The resin pen body will dress a refillable Slimline-style ballpoint pen with bright copper plating once complete.

This is the final step in the pen-making process: assembly! The lathe is used as a pen press to carefully put all of the pen hardware into place for the ballpoint pen. Once assembled, the pen is tested for smooth actuation of the twist mechanism and proper extension of the Cross-style ink refill.

If you'd like to see more about this pen (or see other colorful pens for sale), visit our site at: https://minturnmakers.com

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Lancaster, TX
75146

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