First attempt at a closed end

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cbonner

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Well, just put together my first attempt at a closed end/ standing pen. It is made of stabilized red malle burl, with maple accents and a cocobolo base. Overall I am happy with it and it should serve me as my signature pen at work.

Unfortunately, the blank had a few visible fissures in it, which are visible in the finished product. Fortunately the stabilization process filled the fissures (still obtained a smooth finish), but the filled in areas are white, not clear.

The finish is numerous (at least ten) coats of lacquer, both sprayed on and dipped. After sanding, I buffed out the finish with automotive polishing compounds. Unfortunately my camera work is not good enough to show the depth and brilliance of this finish. If I am going to try an angled end again, I need to figure out a a better way to assemble it. I slightly chingered the finish on the top end when I was pressing the piece together. I am guessing that I will need to use a larger and padded hole to support the end in when pressing it together.

Anyhow, this website is great. I would have never thought of making something like this had I not seen all the pictures submitted by everyone else. What a great place to pick up and generate ideas!
 
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Firefyter-emt

Firefyter-emt

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Not bad, personaly I would of left off the maple but that's just me.

I have been watching this process (OK, drooling really) and about to pull the trigger on the mandrals from AZ, but you raise a VERY good point. Just how do you all solve the problem with pressing them togather without damage to the finish?
 
gerryr

gerryr

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A lighter background would really help the pen stand out more, but it looks like a nice job. As far as pressing the parts together, I make sure to chamfer the tube opposite the closed end and then pad the closed end with some stiff closed cell foam, leather would probably also work and proceed slowly and stop pressing as soon as the metal parts are snug. So far, fingers crossed, I haven't damaged the finish on one.
 
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BigRob777

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Totally awesome. Does it tip easily? I've never done one, but always wondered how the panache (I'm assuming here) pens stay upright on a busy desk.
I like the mixed woods effect you have created.
Rob
 
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cbonner

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If I had it to do over again, I would probably not have used the maple to the degree I did. I also used maple sheet material, which means I have end grain showing which is darker than and lacks the vibrance of the edge and face grain. One of those things where I was just playing around to see how the wood colors played together.

As for its propensity to tip, it is pretty stable. The cocobolo base is almost entirely solid, placing the majority of the weight down low. This one is actually a Berea Sedona kit, but I have also made a Panache (CSUSA) pen and found it to be pretty stable.

I really like the lacquer finish, but it was a long (two week) process. Dipping the pen had a propensity for runs that had to be sanded out. Spraying caused less runs, but did not put as thick a coat on the pen. I have tried the CA and CA/BLO finish techniques a few times and wasn't quite happy with the gloss and/ or thickness of the finish (just call me plastic man). I just received samples of the Enduro finish and am optimistic about its ability, but I am guessing it will be hard to beat the nice, thick, and polished out lacquer finish (just be prepared for the multi week process).

Anyhow, all the great information from this website is sure to keep me trying new stuff :)
 
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