First pen using a decal

[pensmyth]

I've been wanting to try making some pens using decals on tubes and then casting them in clear resin or turning a blank and using decals on it. A friend of my wife asked if I could make a pen for her husband as an anniversary present and make it a Navy theme for his service in the Navy. Here's what I came up with. I used a Church Hill kit and a blue dyed maple pen blank. I searched the internet for free clip art of Navy logo's.
I turned the blank to size and sealed it with some thin CA and let it cure over night. I printed the logo on some Testors decal paper, trimmed and applied and then allowed it to dry for several hours then went back and applied 10 coats of Medium CA, MM'd and polished and this is what I ended up with.

 

[shepardscross]

Very nice.

 

[ckn702]

Thats very neat!

 

[Steve Busey]

Andy, what size (diameter) was your decal? I have a friend asking if 1.5" is too big. I'd like to send him your pic and dimensions to give him an idea of how it would look.

 

[Pioneerpens]

Very Nice! I've been wanting to try decals myself...You did a beautiful job! I'm sure your friend will love it, the blue blank is a nice compliment to the decal.

 

[jbostian]

Looks great and I am sure he will love the pen.

Jamie

 

[JimB]

Really nice. Can you feel any transition over the decal or is the CA built up enough that you can't feel it?

 

[RyanNJ]

where did you get the decal paper?

 

[pensmyth]

Andy, what size (diameter) was your decal? I have a friend asking if 1.5" is too big. I'd like to send him your pic and dimensions to give him an idea of how it would look.

Steve, the diameter is 1.5" and was a perfect fit for the Church Hill body

Really nice. Can you feel any transition over the decal or is the CA built up enough that you can't feel it?

Jim, The decals are very thin so there was no feel of an edge when applied. I did the 10 coats of CA to be sure I wouldn't sand through and ruin the decal. It might have been some over kill but it was my first time trying this and I didn't want to screw up!

where did you get the decal paper?

Ryan, I went to the modelers section (cars,planes & etc) of our local Hobby Lobby. Look for the Testors model paint display and it should be just above the paint. Its called Decal Paper and comes in clear or white background. You'll also need a can of the Decal Bonder spray located with the model paints. I also want to add that the paper made by Testors is designed to be used with an inkjet printer only. I've heard they made it for lazer printers too but I haven't seen any yet.

 

[pensmyth]

Here's a couple of links I found that were helpful for me....

www.decalpaper.com

http://lumberjocks.com/Kerux/blog/3811

Hope this helps, any questions just ask!

Andy

 

[broitblat]

That is really sharp looking.

I would have tried to use a smaller diameter decal, but you've shown that I would have been *wrong*!

-Barry

 

[louie]

Great looking pen.

I have a question about the decal paper, did you use white or clear?
I am told that printers can't print white, so since your image has white
in it, I assume you used the white decal paper. But now I wondering how you trimmed away the white around the outside around the rope. I cannot see any white on the outside, very nice.

Lou
NJ

 

[AceMrFixIt]

Sharp pen Andy. Dig the emblem. I have been doing decals for a while, they work great. I am making ship crest pens for my old shipmates. The possibilities are endless. Keep postin...... These folks sell 8.5 x 11 sheets of decal paper. www.decalpaper.com

 

[pensmyth]

Great looking pen.

I have a question about the decal paper, did you use white or clear?
I am told that printers can't print white, so since your image has white
in it, I assume you used the white decal paper. But now I wondering how you trimmed away the white around the outside around the rope. I cannot see any white on the outside, very nice.

Lou
NJ

Hi Lou,
I actually tried both and your right the white background did not print on the clear. The clear will work best on light colored blanks & tubes where you want the background color to show through in spots.

So I printed it on the white background decal paper and used a very sharp pair of scissors and took tiny little bites as close to the edge as I could. If you look really close you can see some white on the edge but it didn't distract the overall look. Did I mention I had a really good cup of coffee before I started cutting!:biggrin:

 

[louie]

You did a great job, no white is visible to me. Your friend is really going to love it.
Thanks for sharing the pics and the info.

 

[thewishman]

Amazing - especially for a first try! Very nice work.

 

[NewLondon88]

If anyone has an Alps printer tucked away in the basement, garage, attic etc.
those can print white, gold and silver (and some other colored foils) which are
perfect for decals. (model makers use them for this all the time) and there are
decal papers meant for the dry ink ribbins like the Alps and others.

 

[knifecut]

Well done!

Thanks for the brief tutorial.