Dai Sensei
Member
Finally got time to finish all my croc pens from my first shipment from the Croc farm (see here for background and trials).
Certainly not easy, nor cheap process, but here is the process after some learnings if you want to give it a try:
All finished with CA as above and are worth $1440 to me, probably going to be a lot more to buy from farm shop :wink: Got to get myself a decent camera, I hate the way the finish looks flat not shiny, they all have a very deep and shiny smooth finish.
Cheers
Certainly not easy, nor cheap process, but here is the process after some learnings if you want to give it a try:
- Get some jaw bones (remember they are protected here in Aus, so get your permits first)
- Boil bones for 3-4 hours (depending on how old & dry they are – if not done you may get reaction to resin; see gold RH pen :frown
- Leave time enough, or bake bones in oven, until very dry
- Cast with coloured resin in vertical mold under pressure
- Mark centre of most bone area at each end and drill short hole (I use centre drill bit)
- Turn blanks between centres until round, then coat with 4-5 coats of thin CA (don't be afraid to use a lot flooding the blank for first couple)
- Drill hole for tubes, enough for tube, but not through other end
- Pour thin CA into hole and rotate to ensure it soaks bone/resin throughout, then leave overnight
- Redrill hole
- Glue in prepared tubes with high strength epoxy (black or white tubes are better)
- Sand off excess blank at either end
- Turn blank flush with bushes (sharp skew with light cuts best)
- Use non-metal cone bushes and sand through grits to 600 deliberately under sizing blank (check with callipers)
- Coat with 4-5 coats of thin CA then leave for 2 weeks (to settle blank/bone, they can move)
- Re-sand blank through grits to 1200
- Complete CA finish (I use 2 thin CA and >9 thick CA), including using 0000 steel wool afterwards, to just over size (using callipers for sizing to ensure right size – I set at fitting size and stop when callipers just catch)
- Sand ends of blank flush and true with tube (I use side of wet grind with jig)
- Sand with micromesh to 12000 then use plastic polish
- Assemble pen
- Black Ti Majestics (these are really big and heavy ) made using 2 jaw pieces due to the large tube sizes and red blood resin
- Gold Ti Roman Harvest with gold resin (advertised as gold fleck, but obviously containing more copper than gold )
- Rhodium GR Gent II with blood red resin
- Silver Baron with blue resin
- from previous gold & blood red filled Cigars and Sierra
All finished with CA as above and are worth $1440 to me, probably going to be a lot more to buy from farm shop :wink: Got to get myself a decent camera, I hate the way the finish looks flat not shiny, they all have a very deep and shiny smooth finish.
Cheers
