Ball Point Pen Contest Winner

[SteveAxelrod]

This is my entry to the Summer Bash Ball Point Pen Contest and since it won first place I thought posting some better photos would allow its details to be seen better. I put a lot of time and effort into this pen and I think it shows...apparently the voters agreed and I'm thankful for that!

The blank on this Black Ti and Copper Aero Twist is an Exotic Blank's "Electric Nebula Alumilite". The twelve copper pins were made from solid core wire and glued into the blank with thin CA glue after the holes were carefully located using the lathe's indexing wheel and drilled to the surface of the brass tube using the depth stop on my drill press. The four larger pins were made from 3/32" copper tubing filled with epoxy mixed with "True Blue" and "Macro Pearl" Pearl Ex powder pigments. The copper inlay was made from a 0.25" thick copper sheet. The blank with pins and inlay was turned with a carbide cutter and then finished using Micromesh pads to 12000 grit and polished with Meguiar's Plastx.

View in Gallery

 

[SteveG]

You can be proud...well deserved win, with a truly outstanding pen. Great workmanship and creativity. :good::good:

 

[OZturner]

A Well and Worthy Winner, Steve Congratulations.
Your Segmenting, and Index Insertion, the use of Copper Wire Tube and Sheet, is Excellent.
Superb Finish.
IMHO, I believe that for the Photograph, you should have used a Lighter Background, that would allow your "Dark Pen" to standout from the Background.
Again, Congratulations.
Brian.

 

[CREID]

congratulations!

 

[magpens]

Congratulations, Steve !!!!

(I think you probably meant to say that the copper sheet is 0.025" thick.)

What material did you use for the two end caps ( each with 4 copper pins ) ?

 

[mark james]

Excellent pen Steve!

I have played with trying the "pins" and have not yet been successful to getting the alignment correct; nice to see it done properly!

The materials you used for this particular pen are well matched - Kudos!

A well deserved contest win!

(AN ASIDE: I also appreciate your willingness to explain your procedure. This is an issue that will continue to be debated, but for what it's worth, I also prefer to "share," while fully understanding that others spend many hours perfecting techniques and pay their bills with the results. We all should appreciate when some folks can share, and others need to be more prudent.)

 

[mredburn]

Beautiful pen and a well deserved win.

 

[PenWizard]

Wow, those copper pins look great against the blank resin and your PearlEx-colored epoxy-filled pins are beautiful and absolutely unique - I've never seen them used in pens before. Quality craftsmanship and originality made your pen my top choice for the ball point contest. Can't wait to see your next "Pin Pen"!

 

[ADKBUG]

Absolutely stunning and well crafted! Deserving of the win for sure.

 

[reddwil]

Very well done Steve, that looks fantastic

 

[liljohn1368]

Congratulations Steve. That is a really nice pen.

 

[bpgoldo]

Beautiful work, clever design, excellent choices of color and materials. Deserves every compliment you receive.

 

[SteveAxelrod]

Thanks everyone for the kudos! I'm really enjoying the comeraderie of the pen turning community on IAP. It's the icing on the cake of a terrific hobby and craft!