Olivewood n' Ebony duo

[Tom McMillan]

Here's a pair of pens I made of Olivewood with Ebony center bands and finials. These came out with more of a satin finish. They were a little duller before I put on the Renaissance wax. Previously I hadn't buffed other than by hand---but, due to recent posts I used a different method which worked out well. I used my dremel tool with the extension and a buffing attachment----this worked quite well---in fact I rebuffed my inventory of pens and it improved them remarkably!!! Anyway, I do love the Olivewood to work with---it is a pleasure!!

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[Doghouse]

Very nice. I like it. Do you have a problem with ebony cracking?
I realy have to say those realy strike my taste

 

[timdaleiden]

Tom,

I really like these two. The one on the left is my favorite.

The custom finials and CB's are really nice. Did you glue the finials onto the kit finial, or do they friction fit into the brass tube? Or???

Once again, well done. []

 

[Tom McMillan]

Actually I've been pretty lucky with the Ebony I've used. There was one piece I was going to use for a centerband that was already cracked, so I didn't use it---but, I've done a few pens and a number of centerbands and haven't had trouble with them. I realize that Ebony can be a problem.

 

[Tom McMillan]

I turned the finials down to fit inside the brass tube and glued them in. Yes, I did the one on the left second, I prefer the shape of it too---was experimenting with new shapes.

 

[tipusnr]

Great job on the pens. Matching the clip to the finial in color must have been fun.

 

[jwoodwright]

Really great. I must try the finial touch myself. I'm glad you did, now we're all inspired.[]

 

[Bev Polmanteer]

What kind of chuck do you use to hold the wood for the finial?

 

[Tom McMillan]

Hi Bev---I've done the finials a couple ways. One is to use a 4 jaw chuck---I do the major turning first and then turn down the part to insert into the tube, and part it off. I've also turned it down to a smaller dimension on a 4 jaw chuck(I bring the part to go into the tube to final dimension---a bit longer than I need to insert into the drill chuck) and part it off and used a drill chuck to hold the part and do the finish turning.

 

[smoky10]

Very nice pens Tom.