Finally, the redwood horseshoe pen stand...

[punkinn]

...is done! Here's the result. The pen's tip end is a bit shy of the hardware; ticked me off but i'd already ruined three sets of blanks by this time and was NOT going to make another one. The bottom of the shoe/base is covered with adhesive black felt. Those are real horseshoe nails; can't decide if i'm crazy about the contrasting metals or not but i wanted the nails to look authentic and the pen holder didn't come in anything but gold. oh well! Comments welcome. The design worked out exactly like I envisioned, so that was nice. The pen holder hardware is a tad shy of the 9/16" hole it called for (grrr) but it looks more noticeable in the pictures than it actually is.

Redwood burl for base and pen. The pen is sort of a custom; I used the tubes from a 7 mm Euro pen and switched them, using the long tube at the top and the short tube for the tip end. I'd have liked a longer cap end yet, but piecing tube sections together didn't work (remember those three ruined pens?). My normal CA finish on the pen. Poly / tung oil / linseed oil combo on the base.

Nancy

 

[EdwinSSIV]

Nancy I think it looks fantastic!
Great job[8D]

 

[Fangar]

It looks great. Excellent design and wonderful crafstmanship. I am not extatic about the shape of the pen, but I think that it looks fine with the base. Thanks for the great photos also, so that we were anle to really enjoy the work.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[rpasto92]

the woodworking is awesome...totally love it. the black felt peaking out in places...I'm not too hot on.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

Nancy,

your work belongs in the 'winner's circle'. Very nice design with the horseshoe. Really like this set.

-Peter-[]

 

[Tea Clipper]

Wow, Nancy! Awesome job! [:0]

 

[Radman]

Definately one of a kind. Bet you could get plenty of order for those. Great niche!

 

[thetalbott4]

That is a GREAT piece of work. Turned out way different than I imagined. Love the whole design. You should be proud of that one for sure. Could use more pictures though....[][]

 

[clewless]

Nancy,

Really great project and I like the pen shape, I would suggest green felt dots placed further back from the edge for scratch protection.

As a horseman, I see the protrusion on the front of the shoe as "incorrect" and I think it might bother other "horsey" type people. I think the design would still work great with a smooth toe curve.

The nails add authenticity but you may want to dab some clear nail polish on them as they might rust in some locales unless they were in place when you applied the finish.

 

[alamocdc]

That's actually quite nice, Nancy. I like it! Great job![^]

 

[johncrane]

G'day Nancy thats is b---y fantastic and very clever well done.

 

[huntersilver]

Awesome work Nancy!!
Breaders cup all the way[]

 

[blacksmith2461]

very nice why didn't the aussie blacksmith think of a design like that[]well done

 

[Jim15]

It's been said many times but I would like to say Great job.

 

[Penmonkey]

Nancy, THAT IS SO TOATALLY COOL! You did a great job. I have never seen anything like it.

 

[Dario]

Very nice! I like it a lot and I think it is very artistically done. Good job!!!

 

[bonefish]

Punkin:

The redwood horshoe and pen are really classy.

You mentioned that the wood is a bit shy of the tip. I have done this so many times. Like try every pen I make.

This can be easily corrected on a pen of this design. The wood tapers down to the tip. By using your barrel trimmer, you can trim just a small amount off the end of the wood and get a closer fit. Of course, you have to do this before final assembly.

The method I use to determine how much to trim off is to measure the metal tip with a micometer, then trim the wood accordingly, but leaving the wood about .001 to .002 larger than the metal tip. Slightly chamfer the wood, and you can't tell that the wood to metal joint not a perfect match.

If you make the lower barrel shorter, then the pen tip sticks out too far, right? Adjust the depth of the twist mechanism to get the correct length. Remember what I said about checking before final assembly?

If the wood is turned B2B, with no taper, and the metal is proud of the wood, then, that is another story, but there is a solution.

I had a bunch like that, but didn't show them or try to sell them. One day, I put them in a yard sale with a price of $5.00 each, and sold them all. I didn't make anything, but at least I got some of my
money back.

I am not being critical. This is offered as a helpful hint, because I have been there many times, and still go there quite often.

Bonefish

 

[punkinn]

Wow! Once again, you all blow me away! Thanks so much for all your great compliments and help! I trimmed the black felt farther back from the edges; and it looks much better. And Robert - bonefish, thank you for the ideas! Unfortunately, I had trimmed off a tad but was afraid to go too much farther because the redwood, even being burled, was still not all that strong as evidenced by the three messes I'd made of the prior pen attempts.

I have an order for an Ancient Kauri platinum gent to do this weekend - so happy turning, all! []

Nancy

 

[OSCAR15]

SIMPLY SUPURB !

 

[pastorbill1952]

Nancy, this is very creative as a holder. Looks like the felt? on the base might need a little trimming.

 

[Mudder]

Spectacular!

I think the nails add an extra touch and I would not change them.
That's a project to be proud of.

 

[Jerryconn]

Nancy, Very nice, that was a lot of work and it came out great, something to be proud of!!