Segmented Twist Fountain Pen

[darrylm]

I've spent several hours over the past week working on this pen. I have been hoping to finish it in time for my local turners group meeting that we had tonight.

I finished the upper barrel during lunch on Monday.
Today during lunch I had hoped to complete the lower barrel. It didn't work out so well... This pen should have included a total of 234 segments.

When I tried to part off that little section at the end of the blank it all flew apart. As I returned upstairs and sat on the couch to finish my lunch my wife says "it broke, didn't it". "Yup" I said and finished eating.

here are a couple pictures to show what I've got.

The first picture (with the elephant) shows the color the best. I used Russ' CA/BLO method as a finish.

I'd also like to thank all the members that have previously posted here on IAP. I am one of the guilty ones that have been lurking for quite some time. My friend GaryMGg convinced me to finally sign up.

comments and critiques are welcome. I won't get any better thinking that I'm currently doing everything right.

 

[Mather323]

If it does not kill you it is bound to make you stronger! That is some awesome work! Wow!!!!

 

[Ron Mc]

Very nice! Is it Walnut/blood wood/maple?
Do you plan on making another top portion for it?

BTW.....You said you "finished eating"....Always complete your meal before turning.[]

 

[darrylm]

oh sorry, it's maple, jatoba and walnut.
I do plan on finishing the top. not sure if I'll make another segmented piece or just use a solid piece though... still deciding.

Thanks for the compliments. This is definatly the most complicated pen I've made (or attempted!)

 

[Stevej72]

Hey Darryl, Sorry to hear about your pen blank flying apart. I really like the design and what you finished looks great. Thanks for sharing the tutorial in another post, I hope to try one someday.

 

[bitshird]

Looks like a heck of an undertaking, and a good effort, some times the pen gods just throw you a curve, that's too bad it blew, it would be a very nice segment job.[]

 

[gerryr]

That's a real shame. The part you finished looks very good. I think you had a glue failure from the looks of it.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

If it were me, I would make a solid black cap for it. There are a lot of old pens where they had just a solid black cap on it and they look very fine like that.

 

[badger]

Looks great, the part that didn't blow up. I did my first segmented pen for the challenge the other day, and I now have a new appreciation for the work that went into this.

 

[R2]

I admire your patience and its outcome! lovely looking pen.[][][^]

 

[jwoodwright]

Wow! That's some pen. Does look like glue failure from here. Nice job on the segments...

 

[Ligget]

Now that is fantastic segmenting, one of the best I`ve seen in a long time![]

 

[GaryMGg]

Darryl,

Good of you to come out of the closet and share your work. [:0]
[)] oooh, there's a line ready for misquoting. [}][]

Seriously, it's been a pleasure to watch this one develop and to see you pushing your craft.
Your method of learning by doing is the best way to understand the nuances of such work.
Frankly, I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Cheers,
G

 

[darrylm]

thanks for the compliments guys. it means a lot considering the pens you all have posted. I think I'm going to see if I can save some of that segmented cap and finish it up. I'll post the final results.

 

[Freethinker]

Looks like nice start on a pen, and an admirable try,....too bad it blew up.

May i ask what kind of glue you were using, how long it was held/clamped, etc??

I very often have failures with CA glue ups that other people seem to have no problem with. I am fairly fastidious about trying make sure the parts mate well, that the glue is fresh, that it is applied evenly, that the pieces are held securely for a long enough time.......but still, failure after failure.

It is extremely frustrating to have to use epoxy or other, slower glues all the time.

 

[darrylm]

to build the blank, I used thin CA and held each piece anywhere from 5-10 seconds before moving on to the next. I did try and make sure I had good mating surfaces and the CA is new.

for the brass tube, I used a 2 part epoxy and after my discussion with GaryMGg, I think my problem is that I only coat one half of the tube and then slide the glued portion in first assuming that the excess will coat the remainder of the tube as it goes in.