In this video I'll show you how I made a pen with recycled skateboards. This is a great woodturning project and I hope it inspires you to make something with old or broken skateboards!

The end result was a very swish pen with a unique story and it made a great gift for my friends brother! I won't be in a hurry to make another of these but welcome you guys to try!

In the next stages I'll run over briefly what tools and materials I used, how I prepared the skateboard for turning and my finishing techniques. Grab a warm beverage and let's make some sawdust!

I was initially inspired to make this pen after getting ideas from the Instructables below and thought it would be cool to try recycling skateboards to make something interesting and useful!

How to recycle old skateboards by bmkenned

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Recycle-Old...

Paper Pen by world of wood craft

https://www.instructables.com/id/The-paper-pen/

Step 1: Tools & Materials

If you're feeling inspired by this video and you'd like to try woodturning, recycling skateboards or general wood wizardry then please find a list of tools and materials I used to make this project...

There are probably things I've forgotten to include here but we'll pick them up as we go along! (Sorry!)

Broken/old/unused skateboards

I'm afraid I couldn't find any links to these but it's worth asking around your old skater pals, skate shops or even ebay!

Gorilla glue:
Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2ji0mAh

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2jbAKbh

Starter pen turning kit:

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2irXXCY

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2irXXCY

Sierra pen kits

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2iS1aP0

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2iS1aP0

Sierra pen kit bushings

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2iSfANl

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2iSfANl

Bench bandsaw

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2is9jqH

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2is9jqH

Wood lathe

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2i3zkA8

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2i3zkA8

Carbide chisels

Ebay USA: http://ebay.to/2iS6mmm

Ebay UK: http://ebay.to/2iS6mmm

*I am a member of the Ebay partner network so if you use any of my links to make a purchase then I receive a small reward. This will not affect the price you pay in any way, and just helps to support me to make more videos!

Step 2: Removing Grip Tape From the Skateboard

To begin I removed the hardware and grip tape from a broken skateboard which was easily the most tedious part of the process.

I used a hair dryer to heat up a portion of the grip tape to soften up the adhesive. I was then able to work a razor blade under the grip tape to peel it off.

First I started with the edges and then worked on peeling off the rest. I had a few rips but I just did my best with the hair dryer and razor to strip the grip tape off.

Step 3: Cutting Sections of Skateboard

Next I moved over to the band saw to cut the skateboard down. After cutting away the parts of the deck that I didn't need I set up the fence on my bandsaw so I could slice the board down into 35mm sections.

I cut 8 sections from the center of the deck so the shape of each slice would be similar. This made the glue up easier as they would all fit together seamlessly.

Step 4: Gluing the Sections Together

My adhesive of choice was Gorrilla Glue as it is seriously strong and expands to three times it's volume to fill any gaps.

I simply applied a generous amount of glue to each section, smoothed it out so that I had even coverage and then placed the next section on top.

I repeated this until all of the sections of deck were glued and then I clamped them up over night.

When the adhesive had cured I cut away any dried up ooze on the bandsaw until I was left with a block of glued up skateboards.

Step 5: Cutting Out a Pen Blank

I pencilled a rough outline of my pen blank on to the block and cut it out carefully on the bandsaw.

Next I drilled through the center of the blank using an 11mm drill bit and glued the brass tube from my pen kit into the hole.

I used super glue and a sacrificial paint brush to make this part nice and easy.

Step 6: Preparing for Turning

Before turning I trimmed the edges of the blank flush with the brass tube by using a standard barrel trimmer.

I also knew that the skateboard would be a fragile material to work with so I sanded the corners and ends of the blank on a sanding disk to minimise the risk of blow out.

Step 7: Turning and Failing

To start making my skateboard blank round I mounted it on a pen mandrel with specific bushings for the “Sierra” style pen kit I was using.

I began with a roughing gouge to eliminate some material and I tried to work delicately so as not to ruin the blank.

And all was going well until BLAM .... (blank explodes).

The morals of the story here are

1- Always wear eye protection because when pen blanks explode they go everywhere!

2- Skateboards are fragile when you start poking them with chisels so be gentle

and ...

3- If at first you don't succeed, try and try again!

Step 8: Sanding the Pen Blank

After exploding my first blank I made another and turned it down to a good width for the Sierra pen.

To give the wood a smooth appearance I sanded it through progressively finer grits of sand paper up to a 1200grit and cleaned the grain off with a little surgical spirit when I was done.

Time for a tea break with my favourite “Slave To The Lathe” mug!

Step 9: C.A Finish Like a Boss

My finish of choice for this pen was super glue aka “C.A finish”.

I changed to using tapered bushings to avoid the pen blank getting glued to them and cleaned up any dust from my work area.

I applied a few drops of glue to the blank and rubbed them in quickly with paper towel. To speed the process up I sprayed a little activator spray in between layers.

After 10 layers were applied in this fashion I ran a sharp craft knife between the blank and the bushings just to release any glue that was attaching the two.

Step 10: Polishing

Then I wet sanded the blank through progressively finer grits of abranet and micromesh until I had an even, smooth and shiny surface.

A quick rub down with a little burnishing cream was the final stage to make the pen glassy smooth!

Step 11: Assembling the Pen

Finally I used a vice to assemble the end cap of the pen kit and the rest of the pen was easy enough to piece together.

The end result was a very swish pen with a unique story and in the end it made a great gift for my friends brother!

I won't be in a hurry to make another of these but welcome you guys to try! I've included Ebay links to tools and materials I used in the second stage of this Instructable so if you're interested in pen turning or feel inspired then check them out.

I made another crazy cool "Pen with Coloured Pencils"that you might like to watch.

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Thanks for watching, see you in the next one!

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