Slimlines with custom bands

[mmoncur]

My first attempts at Slimlines with custom bands instead of the poorly-fitting metal ones the kits come with. I got the idea and technique from Don Ward's excellent book "Turning Modified Slimline Pens."

First attempt. I think this is Maple. The band is a piece of credit card between two guitar picks.


Second attempt, a gift for my son's teacher. Tulipwood. The band is a Doctor Pepper lid between two pieces of credit card.


These were both turned with no center bushing, turning the band along with the barrels. This allows you to get a "comfort pen" shape without switching to a different kit. And it's actually easier than doing a Slimline the normal way...

 

[ALA]

Looks great! Much nicer than the usual slimline.

 

[rizaydog]

Very nice work.

 

[Hendu3270]

Haven't thought of this. So you turn with bushings as normal on ends, but have this band material in the center and turn it all down at the same time. Very cool. If you use a CA finish, how does that get worked into the process? I mean you don't want to glue the blanks and band all together.

 

[its_virgil]

Nice work on both pens but I like the Dr. Pepper/credit card sandwitch better. One of my favorite ways to do them. There is a nice selection of colors using pop bottle tops. Thanks also for purchasing the book. I look forward to seeing others.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[its_virgil]

I use med. CA and make sure the joint is nice and tight and the ends are square. I have not had any problems with the two pieces getting glued together. I can see how thin CA drizzled onto the pen blank can be a problem. I apply CA by first putting the CA on the applicator. I don't build up 10 or 20 coats of CA like some do so my CA layer is not very thick.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

Haven't thought of this. So you turn with bushings as normal on ends, but have this band material in the center and turn it all down at the same time. Very cool. If you use a CA finish, how does that get worked into the process? I mean you don't want to glue the blanks and band all together.

 

[SDB777]

It's fun being different! Well done on both, but I think I'd pick the Credit Card one up first, something about it looks cleaner....if that makes sense?




Scott (good way to get rid of credit cards too) B

 

[firewhatfire]

I am getting the book for Christmas and plan on making the whole Don line of pens over the next year. Cool pens by the way

 

[PaulDoug]

Great choice of woods and very good turning and finishing. Really like them both.

 

[Jim Burr]

That is a great way to make a fatter slim! Well done!

 

[BeSquare]

Awesome work! I have a gift to do for someone today and they wanted something slightly bigger then a slim but not as big as a sierra. I think I'm going to give this a try.

Thanks for the idea!

 

[mach9]

That bottom one may well be the nicest looking slim based pen I've ever seen. Thanks for the great idea!

 

[mmoncur]

Thanks everyone for the comments and thanks especially to Don for your comment and your great book!

Haven't thought of this. So you turn with bushings as normal on ends, but have this band material in the center and turn it all down at the same time. Very cool. If you use a CA finish, how does that get worked into the process? I mean you don't want to glue the blanks and band all together.

You're right about how I did it, the idea is straight from the book.

I did have some "adventures" with CA with both pens. There's definitely a learning curve there:

On the first (Maple) pen I glued the three band pieces to the cap blank right on the mandrel, using the knurled nut to clamp everything down. And of course I glued the entire pen to the mandrel. After trying heat guns and hammers for a while I gave up and soaked the pen in boiling water to get it to release. That worked and surprisingly the pen survived the process just fine!

On the second (Tulipwood) pen I did the same thing, but waxed the mandrel first so it wouldn't stick. I finished the whole thing including the CA finish. When done, everything popped right off the mandrel. However, two of the bands that were supposed to be stuck to the cap end were stuck to the nib end instead. This led me to confuse the two ends and assemble the pen wrong (it's a Trimline kit so the sizes are slightly different). After that I disassembled it, reglued the band pieces to the cap half of the pen, and reassembled. Again the pen survived my mistake!

Next time I'll make one without a silly mistake.

The CA finish doesn't stick much to the bands, but they look fine without it. I don't know if this would work with one of those 20-layer CA finishes since you might notice a difference in thickness at the band where the CA didn't stick.

 

[mmoncur]

Oh, by the way, I differed from Don's book slightly - instead of gluing the bands over an exposed piece of brass tube I just glued them on the end of the blank after the brass tube ends. I had a 1/4" hole in my band pieces instead of 7mm -- a standard hole punch works well for thin things like credit cards.

I imagine Don's method of doing it over brass tube is a bit more durable, especially when the pen is pulled apart to change refills, but I think my way works too. If the band came unglued from the blank it would still be secured by the transmission (like the standard metal bands are).