Shape and color

[DCBluesman]

This is the first in a series (I hope) of pens where I'm experimenting more with the use of shape and color within the confines of the (reasonably) traditional barrel shape. Feel free to comment or critique!

I'd like to thank Mike Amison for taking my design and digitizing it such that it is reproducible across a number of blanks. It sure helps to have a consistent, lasered pattern to work with.

 

[melogic]

Lou,
They are AWESOME! I don't even want to know all of the details involved in these creations. My daughter really liked them as she is a bit of a puzzle person. Great job. I love these.

 

[timdaleiden]

I like 'em Lou. I like them better than the Grecian Column pens. They may be too loud for some folks, but I like them. Great job.

 

[JimGo]

Wow, that is a really neat idea Lou! I think this particular one looks a little busy, though. IMHO, the dark lines within the puzzle pieces makes it kind of hard to tell where the pieces end in some cases (though it does give it an interesting textured look). Obviously, this critique is purely a personal taste issue, so take it for all that's worth. Fit and finish, as usual, look great!

Care to 'splain how you did it? Or will we all be waiting with baited breath until you've further enhanced the technique?

BTW, nice job Mike!

 

[btboone]

Looks good Lou. How are you getting the colors? Is that tinted CA?

 

[btboone]

I tried my original prototype puzzle pen with individual puzzle pieces of different woods. Needless to say, it was pretty tough to assemble and never did fit very tightly.

 

[Justin_F]

Aweaome, are you going to post a "how to"?[]

 

[WoodChucker]

Lou, great job on the puzzle pen, I like it!

 

[Ligget]

Lou you da man!! That is amazing!![:0][]

 

[Tom McMillan]

Wow, very sharp Lou!!! I love it!!![]

 

[GregD]

Very nice Lou. I'm working on something similar. I hope it turns out half as nice.

 

[ctEaglesc]

Can't critique but would rather quote Mudder instead:
Well DC,

"Once again your craftsmanship makes my pens look like crap!
Think I'll go back and delete my post to avoid the embarrassment."

 

[elody21]

They look great. I really like the choice of colors. Didn't it take a very long time to put all of those pieces together!!! []

 

[MDWine]

Nice, as always, Lou!

I hope the pieces don't slide out when you're writing;[]

Do we get to see this on on Saturday?[]

 

[nilsatcraft]

I love the pens, Lou. They make me want to be more experimental with pen design. Excellent work!

 

[green-eyes]

Awsome! We are big puzzle people in our family and that is a very unique pen! Great job!

 

[alamocdc]

Very puzzling and innovative, Lou! Sorry about the bad pun. [}] A bit too busy for my taste I think, but nice work.

 

[Mudder]

I like it Lou,

Only crticisim I can offer is thatI would like to see a few lighter pieces mixed in. Sure would like to see how you did it.

 

[Ryan]

Lou,

Great job! This is a good looking pen. I think I would be spending my time looking to solve the puzzle.

Ryan

 

[chrisc]

Wow
great looking pen

 

[DCBluesman]

Thank you all for looking and for the generous comments. I'll try to answer the questions as best I can.

There is only one pen--two views to show that the puzzle pieces interlock all the way around. The colors are simple Prismacolor dye markers from Michael's. There are only five colors--the rest are created by sanding and buffing to create highlights and lowlights. The color palette is from one of my favorite modern artists. I took a picture with me to Michael's and had a staff member help me pick out the colors. The assignment of the colors was random with the only rule being that no two adjacent 'pieces' could be the same color. The pen DID take a long time, but that's mostly due to my own ineptness. If I were a woodworker or an artist, I'd probably consider writing a tutorial...but I'm neither! []

 

[Scott]

Hi Lou!

I Love this pen! And I think it is the color selection that I am attracted to! You may want to look up a woodturner by the name of Steven Sinner on the Internet, and look at the effect he's getting on some of his pieces. It seems like that might be a logical progression of this kind of decoration. Excellent pen!

And by the way, if you want to do a tutorial . . .

Scott.

 

[TheHoneymooners]

Fantastic pen Lou! I just wish I was up to your level. But one thing has me "Puzzled". Did you cut the pen out on a "JigSaw"? ... Come on can't say you didn't see that coming. Oh and please don't ban me from the forum for the bad , bad pun.......lol [] I promise not to do it again........today!

 

[DCBluesman]

Originally posted by TheHoneymooners
<br />Did you cut the pen out on a "JigSaw"?

With my talent, I think I'm better off with a "hack" saw! []

Scott--thanks for the name. I looked at several photos of Steven's work and would love to think that I'll graduate to his level. His work is magnificent.

 

[Fleabit]

The design looks good to me.

 

[woodscavenger]

What is the background wood? How did you get the heterogenous appearanc in each peice? Is that from the laser effect? That was really cool!! People with be scared to drop it[]

 

[DCBluesman]

Originally posted by woodscavenger
<br />What is the background wood? How did you get the heterogenous appearanc in each peice? Is that from the laser effect? That was really cool!! People with be scared to drop it[]

The wood is very plain ash. The puzzle pieces (there are 5 different shapes plus a couple of weird ones to make things work at the wrap area) are consistently reproduced by Mike Amison using his laser. While it is possible to do the transfer to the blank one at a time by hand, I needed a way to produce a consistent result that would allow me to work the shapes and colors in a variety of ways. The heterogeneity comes from using different methods in applying stain, including pre- and post- sealing, pre and post buffing, sanding with and against the grain before staining, etc. I'm no rocket scientist but it wasn't quite as simple as "color within the lines".