Sierra Copper Mine

[Ravenbsp]

Hi all,


love copper plating, so I orderd a few different kits, including thi sierra. I couldn't find a blank that I thought would go well, so why not go all copper! The barrel is just a piece of 3/8" copper watter pipe with the brass tube epoxied into place. There is a little wiggle room between the copper and the brass so the alignment was no initially perfect, so I just turned the outside copper on the metal lathe once the whole thng was assembled on the mandrel. The accents are spare bits ot amboyna burl left over from a previous project. I finished the copper portion to a very fine brushed / satin then CA'ed it to a gloss. It will be intersting to se if the finish holds. If notm it was only a nickels worth of pipe

 

[mike_l]

Cool looking pen! Great idea.
Mike L[8D]

 

[dfurlano]

Looks good. How well does the copper parts match? Would be good to clear coat the parts with a power coat?

 

[wdcav1952]

Bryan,

That is definitely thinking outside the box. Neat idea, I hope it holds up for you. Interesting thought, can copper be powder coated?

 

[jogregmon]

Nice.

 

[Ravenbsp]

The copper matches quite well, nearly perfectly. We'll see how she stands uo though[?]

 

[low_48]

Ooh, I really like that. Do you know anyone with a powder coat gun? That would be the perfect coating for the pipe. Harbor Freight has a cheap one. I'm going to post an idea in the tricks and tips to help you get the tube centered next time.

 

[Ravenbsp]

That would be a good idea, I've never done it before though. Can you powder non-ferrous materials?

 

[csb333]

That looks great! Where do you find copper kits? I like the wood accents too.- Chris

 

[Ravenbsp]

I got the kits from Bear Tooth Woods

http://www.beartoothwoods.com/catalog/

 

[low_48]

Powder coat will work on anything that will transmit electricity. It just needs to take the current and the heat to set the clear coat.

 

[chigdon]

Very nice and great idea!

 

[alamocdc]

That is way cool, Bryan. Mind if I borrow the idea? [8D]

 

[Ravenbsp]

Sure thing, Bill. Just keep in mind when you are micro-meshing the copper, use very clean MM. I found out to late that little particles from prior finishings will cut grooves into the metal, which will send you back to 400 grit sandpaper for a re-do[:0]. Good luck !

 

[Jim15]

Brian, neat idea. It looks great to me.

jim

 

[gerryr]

Very nice looking pen.

 

[UKpenmaker]

Nice work Bryan, very good idea. I like the pen a lot.
Just hope it stands the test of time.[]

 

[pete00]

very cool idea.......

 

[Ravenbsp]

Just a quick update. I gave the pen to my fourth grade daughter:

For the last 3 days at school and the finish is still holding up just fine. Not bad for a habitual pencil muncher []

 

[wdcav1952]

Bryan,

Something tells me that little lady can get most anything she wants from dear old Dad!

 

[rtgleck]

I really like the wood bands on that. Makes it stand out even more so. Great job.

 

[PenWorks]

Great looking pen Bryan, super job.