Casting

[cwasil]

I've got a new one here. I've read some of the threads pertaining snake skin pens and I'm a little confused as to the best way of making these pens.

I work for a bicycle maker and I've got my hands on some of the carbon fiber they use in their high end ($7000) bikes. It's very thin material and come in a cool weave look. I've attached a few pictures on how it looks on a bike and I think this will make for a very interesting look on the pen...but here is my problem. I don't know how to do it.

I think turning down a piece of wood undersized, glueing the fiber onto it, slobbering on CA glue and then finishing sounds like a pain in the butt.

It seems the article "Cast Resin Blanks" is more my speed. Please let me know if I'm heading in the right direction

 

[JimGo]

Sounds like a plan! You could try glueing the composite to the brass tube, then casting it in resin, or you could try to simply shape the composite into the size and shape of the pen barrel.

<<--- Please note --->> I haven't tried any casting yet! Just seem like logical options. Perhaps Anthony (Penworks), Frank (Rifleman), Don Ward (ItsVirgil) or some of the others can opine too.

 

[btboone]

Hi Chad, based on my experience with it, I don't think that will get very good results. As you can probably see at Trek, they get the raw graphite cloth and cover it with some nylon and heat it all up in a metal mold with an expanding bladder in the middle. I would think the slobbering of CA method would be a good second to doing it with a heated mold. I tried overmolding a wood pen with polyester and could never get it to set properly no matter how much catalyst I added. I tried with CA and got good results.

 

[lkorn]

So when do we meet Lance?[] How about demo Madones? [}] OK, just kidding, (sort of)[]. Anyway, I would go for the casting in clear resin. The folks in Art Supply stores (such as Michaels) should be able to help there. Good Luck!

Originally posted by cwasil
<br />
I work for a bicycle maker and I've got my hands on some of the carbon fiber they use in their high end ($7000) bikes.

 

[rtjw]

Sounds like a pretty cool pen to make. Show some pictures when your through.

P.S. How much glue is in a slobbering?

 

[btboone]

A slobbering is a bit more than a dribbling, but much less than a boatload.

 

[its_virgil]

Casting in PR would be the way to go. I've glued numerous things to the brass tubes and cast the tubes in resin with great success. Don't know about the fabric you think about using, but if it fails you've loss very little. The resin is cheap if purchased correctly (not a michaels or Hobby lobby)... 30 cents per pen ... sounds like you got the fabric for free....I have not tried the CA method since I get good results with PR. Wood like lacewood turned to the size of a slimline and cast in PR makes a nice pen. The curved surface of the PR and its clarity makes the lacewood pattern really magnify and look nice as it does with the snake skin. Was the article you read the one by Jay Pickens? If so, you are 85% there. He has another article about embedding things in the casting and maybe we can get it posted to the IAP site. I'm working on it.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[cwasil]

I was looking at a different article but in reading Jay's article that looks like it'll work also. My process steps will be to glue the fiber to the brass tubes and, now the part I don't quite understand, is somehow casting the clear resin around this tube. How viscous is this stuff? Do I put a bar through the brass tubes that: 1.Plug the brass tube and 2.The bar will create a guide hole for the drill and pen mill?

Not real sure on how to embed something in resin so any help would be appreciated.

btboone : your kind of close to the process but not quite. I can't explain what exactly happens but let's just say that there is no nylon in the process.

rtjw : Not sure how to define a slobbering...just envision a dog and a steak and let your imagination run.

 

[coach]

Don, do you know where the article on embedding things is? The other article changed my pen making!!!!!!!!

 

[PenWorks]

Chad, I would cast your blank in a flat mold, the sucker will want to float around, so be sure to anker it somehow. I use potatoes, basewax and toothpicks to keep them from floating in a flat mold.
You can also cast in a piece of PVC, but you will have to make a plug to keep it centered and keep it from floating. If you do it in PVC tubing, let it set for a couple days, no need to use a release agent, as it will shink and come out. Good luck.

 

[Derek]

I was just in London at the Dunhill shop and saw an amazing carbon fibre fountain pen in their new line. Something great to strive for, especially if someone here can turn it out for less than $750! ( for inspiration, you can see it at www.dunhill.com)

Also while on the trip I saw an ad for a new Omas fountain pen made of champagne barrel oak. It sells for $500 - and the finish is really rough.

Gave me pause to think about all the amazing pens I've seen in the gallery here selling for $50-$150. We really need to think more about pricing!

 

[ed4copies]

If "iridium" doesn't have to mean there is any in it and "Germany" doesn't have to mean it was made there, Why do "Omas" and "Mont Blanc" have to mean the pen was actually MADE by them??? (This is tongue in cheek, if you use these names, you are highly likely to incur a lawsuit that WILL WIPE YOU OUT!!!

But, perhaps customers will understand our pens are just as valuable, even without the name. Perhaps we can sell the quality of manufacture of the body and let others worry about prestigious nibs.

Disclaimer: The above is a statement of opinion, you are welcome to disagree.

 

[JimGo]

Ed,
There was some talk a while back about setting up a kind of "rating" system for pen turners, almost like the way belts are used in martial arts. That idea has gone by the wayside since IAP became less "formalized", but it would be an interesting way of adding value to your name. Much like being a member in the PMG, which is a great way to distinguish yourself, the "belts" could be used as a selling point, and as a means for justifying the higher cost of your pens over those of another who isn't peer reviewed, or rated at a lower "rank". It would also be a way of allowing all of us to market under a common brand. However, the idea met with some resistance in the past.

 

[wdcav1952]

Originally posted by JimGo
<br />Ed,
There was some talk a while back about setting up a kind of "rating" system for pen turners, almost like the way belts are used in martial arts. That idea has gone by the wayside since IAP became less "formalized", but it would be an interesting way of adding value to your name. Much like being a member in the PMG, which is a great way to distinguish yourself, the "belts" could be used as a selling point, and as a means for justifying the higher cost of your pens over those of another who isn't peer reviewed, or rated at a lower "rank". It would also be a way of allowing all of us to market under a common brand. However, the idea met with some resistance in the past.

Jim,

Maybe we could consider using Eagle's idea for rating. You know, using the number of stars under our names to establish how much we know about pen turning.

<b></b>I'm kidding Eagle! Don't kill me, please!!![] [)] []