With Christmas fast approaching, I have been busy in my woodshop working on gifts.  Unlike last year, I have stayed away from any wood that might cause an allergic reaction.  This year I have been working on a number of smaller gifts for family and friends.  Fortunately none of them read blogs so I am pretty safe posting pictures ahead of time.

My wife really loves seeing the different styles of pens I have created, and my skills are rapidly improving.  Unlike my previous pens, I have switched completely to using CA glue as my finish of choice.  Using CA glue for a finish takes a lot of practice to get it right, and different woods can have varying reactions to the glue.  While the Bocote pen in the first picture was very easy to work with, the Curly Maple pen and pencil set were extremely finicky.