My first segmented pen

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Here are some pictures of my first segmented pen (sorry about some of the pictures, I didn't have the energy to drag out my light tent and lights). It is a sterling rollerball Baron made from Buckey Burl, Gaboon Ebony and Holly with a CA finish. Can you tell what it is? I'll describe what it is at the bottom of the post.

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200661820414_Pen%20Cap.jpg



It took me a while to figure out how to make this with the precision that I wanted and without cutting my fingers off. I used my DeWalt sliding compound miter saw for almost everything since I don't have a table saw. Here are some pictures showing how I made it.

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2006618204924_Cut.jpg



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This pen is for my uncle who races cars as a hobby. The name of the pen is 'Finish Line'. The buckey is the closest to the look of a street that I could come up with, the white bands are the sidelines and of course the checkerboard pattern is the finish line (it only shows on one side of the pen). From what I've heard and read Gaboon Ebony is the blackest wood out there and Holly is the whitest so that's what I used.

I'm pretty happy with it. If I was going to make another one I would adjust the proportions a little to make it look closer to a real race track.

Comments welcome.

Todd
 
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Fangar

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Todd,

I would like to say that you did a good job on this one. However, that would be an understatement. The execution, photography and finish are all superb! Another example of what I mean when I say inspiring work.

Cheers,

Fangar
 

challagan

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Wow, now that is cool! You did excellent if that was your first segmented pen for sure. I have never done one and could only hope that it would turn out half as good. Being a race fan, I think this pen is awesome! Finish is great too!

corey
 

OKLAHOMAN

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Todd, you lapped the field on this one and to think this was your first, I'm also a race fan and used to own a Nascar Collectible store. Do you mind if I copy? On second thought I need a lot and I mean a lot more practice.
 

johncrane

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TODD great pen.I know what your talking about with the time and energy it takes to make a very special pen congratulations.how many hours/days did you send on it.Iwould keep that one and make another one for your uncle. JC down under.
 

punkinn

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Fantastic, really exceptional pen!! I pegged the Finish Line at first glance, too! (I can't help it if I'm a car chick - lol). Nice day to debut your pen as the 24 hrs of Le Mans concludes!

Nancy
 
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Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I had a lot of fun making this pen.

I have been tinkering around with different ways of making this pen for a while. My first couple tries (band saw and cut by hand using a razor saw) did not work. I couldn't keep the cuts accurate enough to keep the checkerboard pattern lined up. The squares are 0.075" on each side and any variation caused the pattern to drift. I finally setup a jig on my miter saw and sliced up a couple of Ebony and Holly pen blanks. Here's a picture of the result.

2006619513_Slices.jpg
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The piles in the picture are the slices sorted in groups measured to 1/2 of a thousandth of an inch (thanks to the great deal from Harbor Freight on digital calipers that I learned about hear on IAP). I only used slices that were all +- 0.001" of each other and the pattern stayed in line!

I made sure to get the cuts on the glued up stack right on the first try. Not sure how much time I spent on it overall but the glue up could be done in a couple of hours now that I have it worked out.

Todd
 

thewishman

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What a lucky uncle! Great work and excellent finish - the buckeye works well as the street and the checkered flag is right on.

Thanks for showing the process, that shows how much work went into the pen and increases my apprecication of the final product.

Chris
 
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