Custom in Lignum Vitae

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Brooks803

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I wasn't patient enough to wait for it oxidize and turn back to green. So I'll just have to post more pics at a later date. This is another fresh off the lathe. I had a lady contact me about making her a pen with lignum vitae and even though she decided to wait for a later date she offered to send me several blanks of true lignum. This stuff is beautiful! This one is just me playing around a bit. I wanted to test the wood unfinished to see if it'll stain/hold up to daily use. This is by far my favorite non burl wood. It smells so nice I couldn't make myself put a finish over it. So this'll be mine for the time being. It's clipless and has an ebonite insert in the body only. The cap has wood threads (another test). Black ebonite section with a Schmidt nib.

Near the end of the body you can see where I got a little heavy handed turning and exposed some of the ebonite insert. It kinda adds a touch of character to the pen I think.

For those that like the technical specs:

Dimensions

Overall Length: 5 1/4"
Cap Length: 2 1/2"
Body Length: 4 3/4"

Threads

Cap/Body: 12x.08mm Triple Start
Section/Body: 9x.75mm

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Thanks for looking!
 
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Great looking pen Jonathon. The lignum vitae should hold up very well without a finish. In a past life I worked for a hydro turbine company, we actually use lignum vitae as bearings on the turbine shafts. They were completely submerged and they would last for 20+ years before being replaced. So dense it will not float.

Mike
 

SteveG

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Hi Jonathon,
I agree about this wood: this lignum v is very nice. You pen has an excellent simplicity and visual balance about it. (Even though some character in your shop added something to it. :eek: )
 

OZturner

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Beautiful Jonathon, as usual.
Excellent Profile, Great Proportions, and Line,
Superb Threading.
Even with your enthusiasm it is still Fantastic.
Brian.
 

jeff

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Very nice! I've made a couple LV pens and other implements for sailing buddies. I really enjoy working with it. I've had a chunk for 15 years that I've been nibbling away at.
 

Brooks803

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Thanks everyone for the kind words!

Very nice! Put it in a sunny window for a day and it will green right up.

Regards,
Eric

It's sitting on by the window right now...although it's a bit overcast right now :rain: It'll green up eventually.

Very nice! I've made a couple LV pens and other implements for sailing buddies. I really enjoy working with it. I've had a chunk for 15 years that I've been nibbling away at.

Thanks Jeff! Whatcha making out of the chunk?
 

BSea

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That's a nice one Jonathon. Did you do anything special in the cap for the threads? I know some people use thin CA to reinforce the threads, then chase the threads after the CA has set. But I'm wondering if LV even needs that.
 

Brooks803

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That's a nice one Jonathon. Did you do anything special in the cap for the threads? I know some people use thin CA to reinforce the threads, then chase the threads after the CA has set. But I'm wondering if LV even needs that.

Thanks Bob,
On this one I didn't do anything. If I were to do something like that I would probably soak in thin CA, chase the threads, then apply some 5 min epoxy and chase them again. The epoxy would have a bit more flex to it IMO.

BTW: Sorry I missed your call earlier. My phone was going through an update and it took forever! I'll be home pretty much all day so give me a ring later on.
 

walshjp17

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Outstanding pen, Jonathon. LV takes quite well to threading. Many folk use it for threaded inserts in boxes made from timbers not well suited for threading.
 

southernclay

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Jonathon did you ever get pics of this one after it turned green? I thought this was a really cool one and was curious how it turned out. If you haven't sold it I'd like to see.
 

Brooks803

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Jonathon did you ever get pics of this one after it turned green? I thought this was a really cool one and was curious how it turned out. If you haven't sold it I'd like to see.

Almost missed this, sorry about that Warren. I haven't taken any more pics yet, but if I can get in the shop at all tomorrow I'll take a few show the color change.
 

Brooks803

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16 days late but here are the pics! :redface:

It's almost to the same color as the raw blank before turning. LOVE this stuff!!!

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And just to save time clicking back and forth from page 1 to see the difference here's how it looked just after turning:

 
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southernclay

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Awesome pen! You didn't need to post pics, you drove it all the way down to Georgia for a personal viewing! :biggrin: I was able to get a few blanks of Lignum at Woodcraft, I'm gonna play around with some closed end stuff soon so I'll see what I can do with it.

Good to see you at the meeting and great demo as always
 
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