Been Busy-pic heavy

[ZanderPommo]

well I've had some time in the shop recently and this is what I've come up with.

Bronze fire polyresin from Ed and Dawn on a chrome cigar

cholla cactus skelaton casted in blue PR by myself on a chrome cigar-polyurethane finish

crotch walnut on a black ti cigar- CA/BLO

walnut on a satin nickel cigar- CA/BLO

quilted maple one piece modified slimline with fancy 24k gold hardwear, CA/BLO- I had alot of fun with this one and im very satisfied with it

two circuit board sierra vista kits from Bruce, these are way cool. i blew up the chrome one but was able to recast it, but you can still see some fractures near the nib end. i had no bushings for this so i used a micrometer

purple metallic blank from Ed and Dawn (a freebie in fact, thanks again!) on a chrome fancy slimline from smitty

zebrawood on a black enamel fancy slimline from smitty, straight CA

bacote on a copper fancy slimline from smitty, straight CA

two pics of a 50/50 Honduran Rosewood Burl from wolfdancer on a trident kit from woodnwhimsies, CA/BLO

two pics of a different pen from the same blank from wolfdancer, this one with a little less sapwood, on a trident kit from woodnwhimsies, straight CA

enjoy, comments and critiques welcome, and yes i know my crappy HF lathe turns out of round lol
i have a shiny new JET coming in the mail, courtesy of my amazing parents

 

[Pioneerpens]

wow you have been busy...very nice assortment! the HRB looks fantastic even tho i'm not a big fan of that kit...

 

[ToddMR]

Nice selection of pens for sure. Looks like you did a pretty good job to me.

 

[maxman400]

They all look great as far as the finish goes, in the photos though it looks as if the cigars are proud at the nib and under cut at the center band. Is there any chance that you may have flipped the lower tubes around by mistake during assembly?

 

[CV Wood]

Nice selection. The Honduras Rose Wood is very nice.

 

[ZanderPommo]

They all look great as far as the finish goes, in the photos though it looks as if the cigars are proud at the nib and under cut at the center band. Is there any chance that you may have flipped the lower tubes around by mistake during assembly?

nope im sure im not doing that. this happens with every cigar pen i make the cap and centerbands fit rather well and the tip is proud, i thing its simply that my tip bushing is a little larger than its supposed to be. as i make more this problem is getting less severe, i think because the bushing is wearing down. i always make sure i sand all the way down to the bushings, and that my finish doesnt build up too much.
thank you however, i dont mind critiques. the only problems i consistently still seem to have is turning out of round and proud cigar tips.

 

[ToddMR]

I didn't notice that until just now on the tips. So you are using the smallest bushing for the tip? I look down on the two smaller ones to make sure I have the correct one. If anything else use the skew and dig in extra and then put the tip part minus the coupler against the end of your pen. If it needs more taken off do that. Might take some extra time, but it will be worth it. I had that issue when I first started. This is where a caliper would come in handy, but I am too stubborn or poor to buy one lol. I always find something else to spend an extra $40 on lol. Other option is buy new bushings, for cigar ones, they are not pricey. Both sets I have I got from WC. That's what I would do.

 

[bitshird]

Nice bunch of pens, I really like the Honduras Rosewood Titans, very nice looking work and great finishes, Harbor freight has some cheap Dial Calipers for around 10.00 they will save a lot of problems with proud and or over turned barrels, they'll make it easier when you decide to turn between centers.

 

[maxman400]

I have turned a bunch of cigars and the cap and the nip bushings are all the same size on the bushings that I have gotten from the Pen Company's. And like you I just used what I had, then I got a set from Johnycnc and that is when I found out that there is a difference between the two. If you know any one with a metal lathe they might turn them down for you.

 

[Craftdiggity]

the only problems i consistently still seem to have is turning out of round and proud cigar tips.

If you are getting out of round then you might just have the nut too tight on the mandrel. Right before I get to y final cuts, I stop the lathe and loosen the nut and spin the barrels to see if I am out of round. Often I am and it is because the nut got too tight and slightly bent the mandrel. I keep it just barely tight enough to hold the barrels and finish my cuts, paying special attention to the ends and this usually fixes up any out of round issues.

 

[Rfturner]

They look good, it sounds like you are working on you finish.

As far as out of round if you are using a mandrel the knurled nut at the end of the mandrel is most likely too tight, if you tighten it too much then you can put a bend in the mandrel. do it enough times you will ruin that mandrel. If it is not that then the second thing I would check is your bushings with a micrometer you may find that they are not perfect.

 

[boxerman]

All very nice pens.

 

[ZanderPommo]

They look good, it sounds like you are working on you finish.

As far as out of round if you are using a mandrel the knurled nut at the end of the mandrel is most likely too tight, if you tighten it too much then you can put a bend in the mandrel. do it enough times you will ruin that mandrel. If it is not that then the second thing I would check is your bushings with a micrometer you may find that they are not perfect.

thanks just tried that and while it didnt fix the problem, it deffinately made an improvement in the finished pens

 

[MartinPens]

Especially like the HRB and purple metallic. I think if I were you, I would invest in new cigar pen bushings. Something is fishy there. Or find a way to use the calipers and get away from the bushings. Love the pens and the photos. Thanks for sharing.

martin

 

[ZanderPommo]

thank you for the comments and advice , ya i love the HRBs too

 

[Mapster]

Great looking pens! Pretty good job for no bushings. Love the purple metallic slimline.

 

[J pendragon]

grate pens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the circuit board pens are my favorit