Recent pens inspired by IAP posts

[keithncsu]

Here are some recent pens I've done and wanted to share here because they were all inspired by the IAP, or I learned how to do them from posts/articles here.

The first one is an Elegant Sierra and display stand made out of an old church pew. Had been asked to make this before the Summer Extravaganza and couldn't settle on the appropriate display. Then I saw the results of the pen stand contest and was inspired by one of the entries. This was my take on it.

The others here were my first attempts at rifle casing pens. A friend of mine has a .30-30 and I asked him to save me some spent casings the next time he shot the gun. I told him I would give him a few pens once I figured out what I was doing. I have a special project coming up that I will post later that these were the trial run for.

Interesting note about the casing pens...the first one I made, the tube did not stay centered while the glue dried. Mainly due to the fact that the .30-30 neck opening is slightly larger than the standard .308 most often used. Figured out on the next ones that if I wrapped some metal foil tape (like you use on your dryer), I could build up that difference and it worked great. Finished with some Brasso and then a few coats of Brass Lacquer from Mohawk Finishing. These guys are a customer of mine at work but even that said, this stuff works great. Time will tell regarding durability, but short of a home powder coating setup, this is a super quick product and appears to be holding up great so far.

Thanks to the IAP for the wealth of knowledge that helped me make these!!


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[Magicbob]

Wow. That is the best looking bullet pen I've seen yet

 

[McKenzie Penworks]

For what it's worth, the case mouth should be the same... If your friend reloads, have them size the case prior to giving it to you. Better consistency that way. Nice work!

 

[keithncsu]

For what it's worth, the case mouth should be the same... If your friend reloads, have them size the case prior to giving it to you. Better consistency that way. Nice work!

He doesn't reload, and my other buddy who does, only reloads handgun calibers. It could just be his gun, but when compared to a .308 round I had, the .30-30 opening was clearly larger. Worked out either way! Thanks!!

 

[keithncsu]

Wow. That is the best looking bullet pen I've seen yet

Seriously?! Thank you Bob! That is a mighty large compliment that I'm not sure I deserve!

That said, I'll give you a shameless plug. The wooden pen there was turned with none other than the Magical Skew. The tool I use 99% of the time, and one of only 3 turning tools I even own.

 

[McKenzie Penworks]

Probably a bit more of a generous chamber on that rifle then. As a reloader myself I always cringe when I get the 50 cal casings for the 50 cal flip pen. Is it THAT hard to size them round and chamfer them a bit?!

I'm just up the road so if you ever need to run those casings through a die to get them round let me know. Plus I probably just a few pieces of brass around here....

 

[keithncsu]

Probably a bit more of a generous chamber on that rifle then. As a reloader myself I always cringe when I get the 50 cal casings for the 50 cal flip pen. Is it THAT hard to size them round and chamfer them a bit?!

I'm just up the road so if you ever need to run those casings through a die to get them round let me know. Plus I probably just a few pieces of brass around here....

Thanks for the offer! I'll definitely keep that in mind. The special project is that I have the shell casings from my grandfather's military funeral that my family wants me to make things out of. The first few I've done, I just cut off the neck opening since it has the star crimp from the blank load. I'm 50/50 on whether I like the shorter neck or the visible crimp lines even if you can get the neck re-shaped. So far I haven't really given it much thought.