Walnut / Ebony roller ball wooden pen

[mredburn]

Every once in a while I have a pen that it becomes a matter of principle to finish. This was one of them. It supplied me with a great deal of "design" opportunities as I went. First it was supposed to be made of walnut with Koa accents and nose cone. There isn't a lick of Koa on it. After I made the body in walnut I started in on the koa nose cone. Just as I'm finishing the tip where the refill comes out I caught a void in the koa and ripped the tip of the nose cone apart. So then I made a new tip for it out of ebony. Now it didn't match the pen. I set that nose cone aside for another pen and made the one thats on the pen now. It's in the background of the first picture with the threaded ebony connector.

I had finished the pen and was cutting the flat spot for the clip to set in when a chunk of wood blew off the pen. Horsefeathers! or something to that effect.

This was supposed to be a closed end pen. But now I had to cut the wood off down to the edge of the bottom cut.

I then took a scrap piece of ebony and made a new finial/cap for the upper tube and refinished it. Re cut the slot and flat spot for the clip and assembled it. The clip for this pen and all my wood pens are hand cut out, shaped and finished.

After I epoxied the clip on I used Dr's Woodshop "walnut oil, shellac and wax" wipe on finish on the the pen. It will go to my son in law that doesn't like CA finishes but prefers a hand rubbed oil finish look.

Comments welcome.

 

[Mapster]

Spectacular... Well worth the work

 

[wiset1]

She went kicking and screaming the whole...entire way! Glad to see that you stuck with it because it's a fantastic looking pen and had you not of shown us you wouldn't have been able to tell that this wasn't the intended design idea. Really great turn!

 

[Ruby pen turning]

Holy macaroni... you stuck with ith through all of that? I have had my share of go wrongs but all that and I would have given up. In the end though your designed and re-re-re designed pen turned out great. I really like the fact that you make your own wooden clips. The wood nib adds a whole different look to your pens.
Thanks for showing your hard earned pen.
Brian K.

 

[Dalecamino]

Great recovery Mike. I'm glad I got to see these pens today. Maybe some day I'll try something like this.....right

 

[Robert111]

I agree with your son-in-law. It's perfect with oil and wax. The tactile sense is as important as the visual.

 

[Wingdoctor]

Would you be able to offer instructions/directions on how you make the wood clip?

The pen is beautiful! With all the problems that developed you hung in there and made artistic changes to work with what you had.

I was told at work years ago that the pay was based on the ability to solve problems, not just work ethic. The bigger the problems you are able to solve, the higher the wage paid. I hope you are able to realize the proper pay scale for your problem solving for paying customers, as your problem solving skills are exceptional.

 

[glycerine]

Wow, that's very impressive. Looks like you've got some patience!

 

[firewhatfire]

HorseFeathers...............I almost ended up with a headache reading about you trying to figure that thing out after breaking it. The finished product is well worth the extra effort.

Phil

 

[dexter0606]

Good job!
Perserverance paid off

 

[bluwolf]

Um...how did I miss this? Like Dale, I saw this pen in person. They do look great. But, to see the clip as a separate part in your hand... I get tired just thinking about making one. I always tell him, better him than me.

Mike

 

[mredburn]

Bruce, The clips are easy to make. I will put together a better set of pictures when I make the next one but I start with a piece of wood the width of the clip. I draw the profile on the side and cut it out on a band saw. I then cut and shape the bottom tab and bump on the front of the clip with a jewlers saw or a file until I get the shape I want. I have a Ridgid oscillating sander I use to shape the upper angles on the clip.
I then coat the clip with CA except the bottom tab. Then hand sand the clip like you would a blank down through the grits and MM. Epoxy the clip into the hole made in the pen. It takes me about an hour to cut and shape the clip and coat it with ca.
Depending on conditions another 10- 20 minutes to had sand the CA.

 

[sumterdad]

If I could get mine to look that good after all that trouble. I would be doing pretty good. It looks good

 

[Wooly]

Fantastic looking pen! I really like that clip. Someday I hope to be able to create a pen that nice.

 

[JohnGreco]

Absolutely stunning. You make me feel like I'm cheating by using anything from a kit LOL!

 

[BradG]

very nice Mike and well recovered