Need Ideas on how to Inlay an Oregon "O"

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alfa189

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This may be very easy, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this thing. I'm a basic pen turner and am slowly getting better. Mostly I have just turned PR and wood cigar and slim lines. But a friend of mine asked if I could make him a University of Oregon themed pen. And I (like many of you) automatically jumped at the opportunity to challenge myself on a new pen design, without really thinking it through first. And it slowly starting to dawn on me what I had taken on. Doh!

What I'm thinking is this: Cigar pen, acryluster type blank (his preference) in an emerald green/black/yellow combo. Wasn't able to find one, so I bought an emerald green/black accent blank and a yellow blank. My plan was to to cut and inlay the yellow blank into the green one, kind of like a celtic knot idea, but with a yellow "O" instead. I would also really like to outline the "O" in a black.

I've exhausted my tired brain trying to figure out how to do this. The only thing I've thought of is two diagonal cuts (like an X", and then rip the back half off (so it doesn't go all the way through), and then glue another uncut piece of green on the backside. Havnt tried it yet as my shop is currently undergoing a remodel. But i would like to hear if anyone else has any ideas on something like this or has tried something similar.

Thanks.

Tyler
 
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alfa189

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That thought briefly occurred to me. I have done some wooden pens for my wife's company with their logo printed out on clear labels, and then encased the pens in ca glue. But I didn't know how it would turn out on a PR pen. I suppose that would work out fine, but I was really wanting to try an inlay of some sort. Not sure if "inlay" is the correct terminology or not, but you get my point. Kinda like a cut/laminate/cut again/re-laminate type of pen blank that you end up with an "O" shape. If all else fails, I suppose the label could work, but Id really like to try and see if I can make an inlay work.
 

NewLondon88

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I think you're on the right track.
I think (I don't know, I haven't done enough segmenting) that you
would take a "V" cut out of the side of the blank, glue in your
black material (for the outline) and then glue your "V" back in
place. It will stick out.
What angles you use will affect the roundness
 

toyotaman

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Adding a "LOGO" to a PR pen is almost like a wooden pen. The only difference is you do not have to add any glue down as a base first. Wet sand your blank to 12000,add your logo and let it dry for about an hour or so and then add 8-10 coats of CA and then wet sand again to 12000. I do it all the time.
 

RSQWhite

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Tyler: Drill a hole in the side of the green blank the size you want the black to be. Turn a black dowel to fit the hole and glue it in. drill another smaller hole in the black dowel, fill with yellow material lastly drill the yellow filler even smaller yet and fill this hole with black or blank material.
For the yellow O to be on one side of the blank-only drill half way through the blank.

Tim
 

alfa189

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Tim: That is PERFECT!!!!!! I will give it a shot and report back in.

And toyotaman: Thanks for the info on the label to PR pen...If the inlay falls through, I will give that a shot.

Thanks EVERYONE!
 

wiset1

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Just a shot in the dark here, but couldn't you just turn the blank, laser engrave the logo, fill with paint, then seal with CA before doing the micro polish to smooth it all out? I did a University of Auburn pen for a friend using this method minus the paint, but I've seen it done.

5511988399_a5775d3d2c.jpg


?
 

NewLondon88

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Tyler: Drill a hole in the side of the green blank the size you want the black to be. Turn a black dowel to fit the hole and glue it in. drill another smaller hole in the black dowel, fill with yellow material lastly drill the yellow filler even smaller yet and fill this hole with black or blank material.
For the yellow O to be on one side of the blank-only drill half way through the blank.

Tim

Just be aware that this will come out oval too .. only side to side.
The larger the hole, the fatter the "O" will be. T
 

GrantH

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Just a shot in the dark here, but couldn't you just turn the blank, laser engrave the logo, fill with paint, then seal with CA before doing the micro polish to smooth it all out? I did a University of Auburn pen for a friend using this method minus the paint, but I've seen it done.

5511988399_a5775d3d2c.jpg


?

Gorgeous, and gives me a clear image of a project i'm beginning to look into. Thanks!
 

alfa189

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Grant: Thank you very much for the suggestion. I did think about laser engraving, but wanted to try an inlay possibility first before I explored other routes. Not a bad idea, I just like the look of an inlay better. If it was a more complicated design/logo/emblem, i wouldn't even consider an inlay. i would go with the laser engraving or even printed logo on clear labels type fo thing. But it's an "O", and is possible to inlay (I hope):befuddled: By the way, where did you get it laser engraved? Your pen turned out absolutely georgeous. And yeah, I just realized I have to turn in my man card for complimenting another man's work with a descriptor like "georgeous"...but it is:biggrin:

And Tim: The Oregon O is kinda ovalish. I will have to play around with different diameters and maybe even angles to achieve the desired effect. I will do some experimenting and see what I can come up with.

And a sincere thank you to everyone who has replied. This is why I LOVE these groups. Between IAP and Lumberjocks, I fear no project, mistake, success, gripe, review, triumph or failure. Because we can all learn from each others' experiences. And for that, I am extremely grateful.

Tyler
 

cwolfs69

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Tyler: Drill a hole in the side of the green blank the size you want the black to be. Turn a black dowel to fit the hole and glue it in. drill another smaller hole in the black dowel, fill with yellow material lastly drill the yellow filler even smaller yet and fill this hole with black or blank material.
For the yellow O to be on one side of the blank-only drill half way through the blank.

Tim

Just be aware that this will come out oval too .. only side to side.
The larger the hole, the fatter the "O" will be. T
i do this all the time. i have my engraver cut whatever i am putting on the pen, i fill with the color i want and then CA over. works great and a good thick coat of CA almost works like a magnifying glass and gives the appearance of whatever you have engraves suspended in the pen. we are doing a tru-stone pen now with a dolphin on the top.
 

alfa189

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does your engraver just remove the outline material, or are you talking about he removes all of the material WITHIN the logo and you fill it with your own color? Kinda curious about this. And who do you use for your engraving? Thanks for the info!

Tyler
 

cwolfs69

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depends on the item. with very big items it si hard to get full burn and would not look best. names, logo outlines etc come out great.
 

doddman70

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Howdy Tyler from another Oregonian! I will say that the O should be Orange outlined in Black but to each his own LOL, As for Laser engraving I have never used him only because I have never had the need but i have several friends use him and he does terrific work and he is a member here at IAP http://www.lazerlinez.com/

I Don't do much segmenting but i do a ton of casting so if you need some help there just give me a shout I'm only about an hour south of you, Good luck and keep us updated on your project, Even though it's not Beaver Orange I would love to see it when you are done LOL
 

paintspill

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i've had close to 30 pens laser engraved (as of christmas) and i find the engravings to be very clean and sharp. that is the route i would go. the engravers may even have the logo on file. however i haven't had an acrylic pen done. only wood and antler.
 

wiset1

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Tyler,

I had the University of Auburn logo done when I was still in Wiesbaden, Germany working on the base. They had a simple engraver in the wood shop so I did the graphic in Adobe Illustrator so I could give them a vector line drawing and then I made a little stand for the pen to sit in while they engraved it so it wouldn't move during the process. I imagine anyone who has a a laser engraver could do this if you did the prep work for them. Some of the more expensive places have the 360 rotational axis lasers...but for this...low budget won out.
 

OldGrumpy

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Remember that iif you use a logo you are taking a chance on copyright violation. Many schools aare very agressive in ther enforcement,
 

okiebugg

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Jenks, Oklahoma
There is a way to do it that will create four O's

There is a thread on advanced turning about scallops. In those instructions you will see an example of an X being inlaid or segmented into a pen body. This is the basic explanation of how to jazz up a pen using segments. You could do this using a good bright yellow wood such as Bois d' arc (Okla spelling) and I do have a ****load of it almost dry I do this technique frequently. I thing that he calls for 30 degree cuts for the scallops. Using a 45 degree cut is much more user friendly. If you want to see pictures of a few I've done, I'd be willing to help you. You would only owe me your firstborn! J/K

Email me at okiebugg200@cox.net
 

alfa189

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Howdy Tyler from another Oregonian! I will say that the O should be Orange outlined in Black but to each his own LOL, As for Laser engraving I have never used him only because I have never had the need but i have several friends use him and he does terrific work and he is a member here at IAP http://www.lazerlinez.com/

I Don't do much segmenting but i do a ton of casting so if you need some help there just give me a shout I'm only about an hour south of you, Good luck and keep us updated on your project, Even though it's not Beaver Orange I would love to see it when you are done LOL

An hours outh of me puts you in EUGENE...IN the HEART of Duck Country. Actually, I'm an OSU guy myself, but my buddy is die hard UofO, and the pen is for him. Just as a joke, I should keep the blank emerald green and black, and the "O" orange...that would be awesome.:biggrin:

As for castings, I was JUST thinking about that. I've been wanting to try my hand at that and have been watching online videos for months, but have been kinda chicken to try it. But I have a LOT of cool pen blank ideas I have that I would love to experiment with. Maybe you can show me how to do it one of these days. I'm just sick of paying $5-$8/blank at Rockler.:eek:

Later my friend...

Tyler
 

alfa189

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Salem, Oregon
Remember that iif you use a logo you are taking a chance on copyright violation. Many schools aare very agressive in ther enforcement,

I thought about that already...but there is NO WAY I can turn that exact "O". And if I can actually pull it off, I'll gladly pay :biggrin:

But even with laser engraving, I'll alter the "O" somewhat to stay out of trouble. But thanks for the heads up!
 

alfa189

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Salem, Oregon
Tyler,

I had the University of Auburn logo done when I was still in Wiesbaden, Germany working on the base. They had a simple engraver in the wood shop so I did the graphic in Adobe Illustrator so I could give them a vector line drawing and then I made a little stand for the pen to sit in while they engraved it so it wouldn't move during the process. I imagine anyone who has a a laser engraver could do this if you did the prep work for them. Some of the more expensive places have the 360 rotational axis lasers...but for this...low budget won out.

Love the idea. But like I said, I'm gonna take a few whacks at trying to inlay the thing first. If I fail miserably and start throwing things around the shop, I'll probably go the engraving route. And it would be AWESOME to have it done on a 360 rotational axis. But it would be the most expensive pre-turned pen blank EVER:beat-up:
 
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