Some stealth pens

[Dominic Greco]

Here are (3) of the stealth pens I turned over the weekend.

Starting on the left, the first is Lacewood. The second is lacewood with malachite inlays (and no comfort grip). The second is figured walnut.

If you notice, the cap on the first (2) are longer than that of the 3rd one. That's what not having the brains to look for the directions on PSI's website will get ya'! :&gt Other than looking a bit top heavy, then pens is still balance enough to use comfortably.

The pens were sanded to 12000 (using micro mesh). Finish consists of Hut wax (dark, then light), followed by Mylands Friction Polish.

My wife has snagged the 1st pen as hers. No worry here. I'm hoping that when her fellow teachers see the pen, I'll get some orders out out it. (It worked with some confetti lights!)

Comments and critiques are welcomed. (Especially since I'm a beginner and know hardly anything about pen turning).

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See ya around,
Dominic

 

[Doghouse]

Very nice. I love the look of figured walnut. Just picked up a bunch of it. Please give your inlay method. I am trying to do some inlay on wormy chestnut and it is not coming out as nice.

 

[tipusnr]

I agree. The pens are quite nice. I'm having a mental lapse on the term "stealth pen" however. Is there a short explanation I can get?

 

[Doghouse]

I have the same Q. It looks exactly like the Designer, w/o a stepped bit for the smaller tip. Bet it is just the name of the kit. I would not doubt if it is the same manuf. who makes the patriot.

 

[Dominic Greco]

Thank you the compliments about the pens!

The Stealth Pen Kit is from <b>Penn State Industries</b>. I didn't see the Stealth kit mentioned on the website, but I was able to get the directions for it's assembly from there.
http://www.penstateind.com

<b>Packard Woodworks</b> also sells the Stealth Kit. But I believe they get theirs from PSI.

The inlay is quite easy to add. The material for the inlay is fine powdered malachite and was purchased from Arizona Silhouette. When purchasing from AS, please be sure to buy some mild CA accelerant to use with this powder. I was informed by Bill at AS that the mild will wick into the powder more than the standard accelerant.

At the point where the blank is about 1/8" larger in diameter than it's final size, I cut the grooves. before I cut them, I used a pencil to define the location for the inlayed bands. Cutting was done with a 1/16" thin Crown parting tool as sold by Packard Woodworks. I went about 1/8" deep. Once these were cut, I was ready to add the malachite powder. BTW, be sure to turn off your dust collection when working with the powder!

Take a couple of pieces of ordinary writing paper and cut them into 2 1/2" square pieces. Fold them into quarters, and then unfold. Pour a small amount of the powder into the center of the paper. Add a drop of medium CA glue and mix with a tooth pick or small spatula. Now "putty" this mixture in the groove. Be sure to get it down all the way into the groove. Really pack it in. Repeat until the groove is full. Now give it a shot with the accelerant and wait until it's dry.

Turning is sort of weird. Since it's essentially stone, it's quite hard on your tools. I found that using a Glaser A-11 gouge to be the best way to trim the excess off. Shear scraping with a skew also works well. But you'll be sharpening quite often either way. Just take your time and you should be fine.

Another tip is to make a small platform from scrap plywood. This platform should be as long as your pen mandrel and about 4" wide. The platform should be tall enough so that it is only about 1" away from the mounted pen blank. The reason for the platform is to catch any stone dust that falls off the pen. This keeps your lathe bed clean, and allows you to recycle some of the dust.

I hope this explanantion helps out some. If anyone knows of a better way to accomplish this task, please tell me. I'm a real beginner when it comes to pens and need all the advice I can get.

Thanks,
Dominic Greco

 

[melogic]

They are great looking pens. Thanks for the info. on the inlay. My wife is always looking for different thingss and she really like this. Keep up the good work.

 

[bjackman]

Dominic,
Does this kit come with the rubber comfort grip section? Or did you add that from another kit.

Bill J.

 

[Dominic Greco]

Bill,
The kit comes complete with the rubber grip. You just need to cut off 1" off of your end of the long blank (near the nib), down to the brass tube. The rubber grip is slid on before the nib is pressed in place.

Thanks,
Dominic

 

[pecartus]

I second or third the comments on your work, good job and good idea on the inlay. I use inlay a lot in my flatwork, but not on my pens, guess that will change now after seeing your work.