I've been wanting to try some of the abalone blanks I've seen but did not want to pay the $40+ online per blank! Found a company called MudHole Tackle that sells micro flex abalone sheets. I cut the sheets into strips and mounted them on the pen tubes and cast in clear Alumilite.
The first one I did I did not paint the tube black so it shows through on some of the gaps between the strips but the green heart which is my second I painted the tube black and he result was much better. I also kept the green heart strips in sequence and lined up the patterns in the shell as I mounted each strip.
I've bought several other sheets in various colors and a bunch of extra tubes! Pretty excited to have this opportunity without the huge cost of buying them online!
The first one I did I did not paint the tube black so it shows through on some of the gaps between the strips but the green heart which is my second I painted the tube black and he result was much better. I also kept the green heart strips in sequence and lined up the patterns in the shell as I mounted each strip.
I've bought several other sheets in various colors and a bunch of extra tubes! Pretty excited to have this opportunity without the huge cost of buying them online!