It's only been kicking around the shop a year

[jskeen]

So I finally got around to trying to do something with it. Well, not actually kicking around. Even thought he was not one of the "big boys" I still would not have wanted him underfoot while I was working.

I did not cast this one first, it was all done dry on the lathe with lots of CA and some of the stuff I traded the guy at the hardware store out of when he was cleaning out from under the key duplicating machine. Not sure that is the optimum approach as I lost some of the detail of the upper tube that I might have been able to keep had it been embedded in alumalite. Not that the individual socket structures were all there to begin with, but there was more than ended up in the finished pen. Live and Learn. It did eventually smooth out and take a nice polish, but I used LOTS of ca. Anyway, let me know what you think!

 

[maxman400]

It Looks Pretty Cool, You didn't say what it was other than key brass unless I missed it.

 

[jskeen]

Sorry, it's the lower jawbone from an East Texas Alligator, also known as a 4 legged garbage disposal. They work great for keeping the poodle population in check too.

 

[RAdams]

I think i am gonna talk to my brother in Florida and tell him to keep his eyes open for some jaw bone for me... I gotta try this stuff one of these days!

Super cool pen btw!!

 

[fiferb]

Very nice! The brass shavings really make the tooth sockets stand out.

 

[skywizzard]

I like it. The brass did good.

 

[moyehow]

love it!!, I guess i need to go to the Okeefeenokee swamp and find me a gator.

 

[workinforwood]

Great looking pen!

 

[David Keller]

Nicely done. Gator bone is definitely an interesting pen material.

 

[andyk]

If you get rid of to many poodles what do you use to punt with??? Pen looks good!!

 

[jskeen]

If you get rid of to many poodles what do you use to punt with??? Pen looks good!!

Out here, Raccoons. Little bastards can climb trees, gators can't. They make a hell of a mess if they get at the trash cans too. Wife limits me to conventional warfare on them, so no gunpowder, and they are usually too smart to trap and haul down across the tracks to cracktown.

Actually I moved out of chambers county where all the gators are about 6 years ago, and live up in the woods away from the bayous. Thought I would get away from the skeeters that way, but that didn't work either.

 

[Rfturner]

nice pen

 

[boxerman]

Very cool pen.

 

[phillywood]

James, buddy, I am lost you only live out side the loop 610 in Houston area. where did you get the gator from. I lived in Houston and I don't remeber gators unless you guys let them in after 1986 when I left. Heck, who knows what you can find in Houston nowaday. Anyways, You said it' sthe jaw bone then, where the brass spots are, should be the teath cavities? Ok, then, can you explain how you did this pen on the lathe dry???????????? how much CA did you slap on there to make the hills and vallys go away? Or, am I not getting it.
On the other hands, the pen came out realy cool. It's very unusual.

 

[jskeen]

I live on the east side of lake houston. Almost up to 1960. Before I moved here I lived in Anahuac, over in Chambers County, where there are more gators than people (really). They have annual gator season over there, the squirrel sheriffs hold a raffle each year to see who gets one of that years quota of tags. Last weekend of the season is the annual Gator festival, with beer, longest gator contest, beer, heaviest gator contest, beer, zydeco music, beer, who's wife has the most teeth contest, more beer, you get the picture. They have a licensed gator buyer from somewhere over in Louisiana bring in a refer truck and he buys everybody's catch that brings them in for that year. Of course this makes acquiring the jawbones a little more challenging. Fortunately, there are always those individuals who don't win a tag in the lottery for a given year, but who don't let that stop them from bagging one every now and then. Those guys can sometimes be convinced to part with the jaw bones by the sight of enough cases of bud light stacked in the back of a pickup truck, if they know you well enough not to shoot you as soon as you roll through the gate at their house.

Me, of course, I buy mine nice and legal off the internet.

As for how to make a pen out of one without casting it in resin first, I cut the sections and squared the ends, then glued a slice of 1 inch dowel to each end. Then turned the whole thing close enough to round that I could get it in my scroll chuck and drilled through the wood on the other end and through the bone . I then cut the wood off and slid the tube in, and glued it into place with thin ca. Then I piled the brass shavings into the holes and soaked them down with med ca. let dry, turn down, repeat till all voids are filled. Sharpen skew repeatedly! bring to final shape with 80 grit gouge, and mike ends with dial caliper till they match components. Sand with 220, and refill any newly discovered voids. eventually it will get smooth enough to sand to 320, then apply finish coats of med ca, mm to about 8000, buff with eee and white diamond, then polish with meguiars swirl remover.

 

[CaptG]

Great looking pen. Nice job of using the brass shavings to fill the tooth sockets.