First two Imperials

[leehljp]

My first two Imperial RBs. I am a little surprised by the photos. They seem to make the pen barrel section look slimmer in the middle. I guess what takes me back is the care that I took on these two pens in using the calipers. I have never taken the time to make it perfect in size from one end to the other and matching the fitting diameters to a .000 tolerance.

These two are for the fathers of a couple on our team. Normally, I would charge 3 to 4 times the base cost, but in this case, the couple were hand picked by us. They work the the way everyone _dreams_ for a "team" to work. So I can only charge the cost of the pens.

These were a joy to make!

The Amboyna was made from 3/4 inch stock and I was a little skeptical if I could do it. However, I drilled the hole on the lathe and it worked fine.

The Ebony is not nearly as dark once outdoors as it appears in the photo. Inside, it does appear all black, but outdoors lots of dark brown streaks are readily visible.

CA finished. Only sneezed twice from CA fumes and dust. Dust Collector, mask and gloves used extensively.

 

[gad5264]

Very nice Hank, I really like the Amboyna

 

[igran7]

Beautiful pens Hank, I have yet to make an Imperial pen but after seeing these beauties I'm going to give them a try. Fantastic workmanship!

 

[Dalecamino]

Beautiful pens as usual Hank ! You've peaked my interest in the Imperial as well . Thanks for sharing ! [8D]

 

[LanceD]

Great job on the turnings and matching the plating to the wood.

 

[Marc Phillips]

Those look great Hank.... excellent job!

 

[drayman]

hank, great fit and finish. you did great, well done.

 

[markgum]

excellant, and the matching of the plating to the wood is perfect.

 

[mitchm]

Superb work Hank, stunning pens![8D]

 

[Ligget]

Beautiful pens Hank, the finish is awesome, I have never made these styles either but you may have tempted me to order a few kits![]

 

[workinforwood]

They look fantastic Hank. We all know that photo's often don't do the real pen justice. Yours are a bit pixelated is all. Happens to us amatuer photographers all the time.

 

[papaturner]

Outstanding.....Craftsmanship is awesome.

 

[DCBluesman]

These are magnificent, Hank. The apparent bow in the lower blank is simply distortion from the angle of the lighting

 

[johnnycnc]

Wonderful pens,Hank.
Your time and care shows in the photos.
You did an outstanding job on both,
I'm sure the recipients will be thrilled!

 

[ed4copies]

Very well done, your recipients should be THRILLED!!!!

(I would be!)

 

[Randy_]

Very nice work. I really like the ebony version!!

Did you use true ebony or one of the look-a-likes?? Since ebony has a rep for cracking, did you do anything special in an effort to reduce the possibility??

 

[leehljp]

Randy,

I used Japanese persimmon - which is classified as an ebony. No I did not do anything special to it. It has been in a 7/8 by 7/8 stock for 6 years, so aging should be fine. On the ebony pen, I drilled it, waited a few days, glued with epoxy and waited about a week before turning it. Then I finished it - one coat and one sanding at a time, about twice a week over 3 weeks. It had a fair amount of time to settle. But that in itself won't always stop the cracking.

Time will tell. The owner has a standing offer for fixing it if it does crack. The owner (to whom it is going) is a person I know well and he does take good care of things like this. It won't be abused either physically or in heat/humidity extremes. This will be a good test.