Some complex construction paper inlay work

[Drstrangefart]

This is soft maple, and all of the inlay is black or red construction paper. I made the cuts on the scroll saw, and glued 3 layers of paper in on each cut, one at a time, soaking them with thick CA as I went. Took all morning to make, and I like it, but pressing the tranny in caused a split on the opposite side of the pen. I'm scared of taking it apart to fix it as it will likely pile more damage on.

 

[workinforwood]

Looks pretty interesting, that's for sure. Are you aware that you can control the lines? Now that you've done this a few times you can clearly see what happens when lines leave the sides on an angle. You know how long and how wide your pen is. Now you can physically lay out your pen on a piece of wood. Draw a center line on each side, then box it out from the center so you have a rectangle in the center on both sides of the blank. Now you can draw lines inside the boxes and all lines will stay inside the pen, or you can have most or some lines in the pen and others that leave which causes that circular effect. Controlling the lines by drawing them in the box you can actually create symmetrical designs. Eventually you can progress to a 6 or 8 sided pen blank and with controlling the lines of symmetry you can create cool effects like spiderwebs or fireworks on a pen. It's kinda like those gears with the holes in it and you stick your pencil in the hole creating infinite designs but all designs are symmetric, not random. Nothing wrong with random, but symmetry is more eye pleasing.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Looks pretty interesting, that's for sure. Are you aware that you can control the lines? Now that you've done this a few times you can clearly see what happens when lines leave the sides on an angle. You know how long and how wide your pen is. Now you can physically lay out your pen on a piece of wood. Draw a center line on each side, then box it out from the center so you have a rectangle in the center on both sides of the blank. Now you can draw lines inside the boxes and all lines will stay inside the pen, or you can have most or some lines in the pen and others that leave which causes that circular effect. Controlling the lines by drawing them in the box you can actually create symmetrical designs. Eventually you can progress to a 6 or 8 sided pen blank and with controlling the lines of symmetry you can create cool effects like spiderwebs or fireworks on a pen. It's kinda like those gears with the holes in it and you stick your pencil in the hole creating infinite designs but all designs are symmetric, not random. Nothing wrong with random, but symmetry is more eye pleasing.

Good idea. I was kinda expecting to keep hacking at it until I got a feel for it. As the scroll saw is at Dad's place, opportunities will be fairly limited. I do want to keep exploring the construction paper, as it seems to have a LOT of potential. Also, I need to develop a steadier hand with the saw.

 

[thewishman]

That is a really interesting pen. I like the segmenting, it creates a nice pattern.

 

[workinforwood]

Be the saw. Cut slow, slow feed rate, slow blade speed, lots of tension on the blade, turn the wood not the blade...after a while it's like riding a bike. Construction paper is ok, but pop cans are much better! Nice and thin, you can cut them with scizzors and they spin easy. Be sure and rough them up real good before gluing them in.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Be the saw. Cut slow, slow feed rate, slow blade speed, lots of tension on the blade, turn the wood not the blade...after a while it's like riding a bike. Construction paper is ok, but pop cans are much better! Nice and thin, you can cut them with scizzors and they spin easy. Be sure and rough them up real good before gluing them in.

I HAVE done a good bit of aluminum work, and it looks great when finished. That may be a near future project.

 

[Powerstroke 7.3]

I like the pen and all of the advice - I am new and have not made attempts at anything like this and with the advice I will but a blank on the scroll saw tomorrow and try one ... Once again I like the pen and design because it is different...

 

[Drstrangefart]

I like the pen and all of the advice - I am new and have not made attempts at anything like this and with the advice I will but a blank on the scroll saw tomorrow and try one ... Once again I like the pen and design because it is different...

If you use construction paper, SOAK it with CA. If you use wood veneer, use thin veneer, shallow curves, and soak with wood glue. There is more than likely a how-to somewhere online.

 

[Craftdiggity]

Very cool, nice, original design. Good thinkin.

 

[randyrls]

Allan; I like the concept!

I sometimes have crack prone or delicate material that will not stand up to pressing fittings in.

I will insert a transfer punch 1/4" into the bare brass tube and apply a twisting motion to expand that last 1/4" so the fitting is a slip fit. After turning the tube, put a drop of thick CA on the inside of the brass tube and insert the fitting with a twisting motion. Done, and no splits.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Allan; I like the concept!

I sometimes have crack prone or delicate material that will not stand up to pressing fittings in.

I will insert a transfer punch 1/4" into the bare brass tube and apply a twisting motion to expand that last 1/4" so the fitting is a slip fit. After turning the tube, put a drop of thick CA on the inside of the brass tube and insert the fitting with a twisting motion. Done, and no splits.

I normally just run a razor around the inside at the edge to guide the tranny in. I'm at Dad's, and his pressing rig is a lot more challenging for me. I'm not sure I want to put any CA in around the transmission.

 

[boxerman]

Another cool pen. I need a scroll saw.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Another cool pen. I need a scroll saw.

I'm trying to figure out how to use my jigsaw to do these. I have a few odd ideas bouncing around, but nothing really seems worth the effort.