Montana pen for Dad's Christmas. . . . . Thanks Seamus!!

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BSea

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This was really a fun project. Partly because both Seamus & I were doing something new. He had never done a clicker coin blank, and I had never done a naked centerband. :eek:

Before the critics delete this post, I'll say that is a tube with only a centerband, and no other wood. This was done because He was doing 2 quarters. The Montana State Quarter, and the Glacier Park National Park Quarter. We discussed it at length, and since he'd never done a clicker, and I like putting a fake centerband on my clicker pens, it made sense for a quarter on each end of the pen.

Here's the link where the planning was happening.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87032

Normally, I like to use aluminum on each end of a centerband to give it some separation between the different woods. But in this case, I didn't think the bare aluminum would look right next to the clear resin. So I put the aluminum in the middle of the centerband. I used bloodwood burl. I only had a small amount, but I think it's really good looking.

Here it is on it's way to Seamus.

nakedcenterband.jpg



We also decided on a navy blue background for the pen. So Seamus worked his magic cutting the quarters. He sent me some proof pictures along the way to keep me up to date with how everything was going. Anyway, I received it this afternoon. As soon as I could, I headed to the garage.

Here it is before turning.

theblank.jpg



And the finished pen.

finished2.jpg


In case anyone is wondering, the Great Northern Railway is where my Grandfather and a few uncles worked. Even though my Dad didn't work there, he grew up around the railroad, and most of his Dad's, and his brothers friends worked for the railroad. So I thought it would mean something to him to have it on a pen that depicted where he grew up.

This is going to be his Christmas present. I'm pretty sure it will be a hit.
 
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seamus7227

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Wow! Bob that turned out fabulous! It really was quite a challenge, but everything lined up well and ultimately, you turned out a beautiful pen that your Dad will cherish for years to come!
 

BSea

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Looks great. Just curious - I never did a long click before either. Did you cast over the center band as one piece?
Well, Seamus did the casting, but the answer is yes. The centerband is purely ornamental. Seamus had done the long click, just not casting his quarters on one. When we were discussing the pen, originally it was not going to be a clicker, but something else. But one thing led to another, and during our discussion, we discovered that we were both fans of the long click, and that led to doing two quarters.
 

seamus7227

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Looks great. Just curious - I never did a long click before either. Did you cast over the center band as one piece?

I think Bob answered your question, but I think what your question is, is did i pour two separate cavities or one solid blank and the believe it or not, that CB was just under the size of the mold, so it poured as one long blank. this was quite a challenge because of the many variables, but overall, I think the end result looks great!
 
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