Segmenting???

[jttheclockman]

For those that do segmenting pens such as the puzzle pens and ones with different woods and even ones with other materials combined, do you have any problems with cracks from the different materials moving at different rates??? Or is the wood too small to make a difference??? Maybe the CA stabilizes it and there is no movement. I know whenever I do any segmenting in larger pieces I have to worry about movement. Has anyone tracked their pens that have such segmentation???? Thanks.

 

[CaptG]

I have done some segmenting , not a lot, and so far no problems, that I know of, yet.

 

[GouletPens]

I had a pen that I laminated a while back that was bloodwood and ebony, and the ebony cracked and screwed up the bloodwood. Of course, the ebony was WAY too wet, I was just ignorant at the time. I guess having dry wood is the assumption in your question. Since I've done dry woods, though, no problems.

 

[leehljp]

I haven't had problems with segments on pens. Outside of pens - on flatwork, I know exactly what you are talking about and your concerns.

I have had more (but not many) problems with solid woods than segments. (This was with a snakewood and a couple of ebonies.)

 

[Sylvanite]

In my experience, the types of wood make a significant difference. Some woods "move" more than others. Katalox in particular has been problematic (so much so that I've stopped using it in pens altogether). I've had segmentations that were perfectly smooth when initially finished, but I can feel the transitions when the seasons change.

To minimize the effect of temperature and humidity change, I often try to cut my segments such that the grain of all the pieces is aligned when assembled. If you've ever made a chessboard, you already know how important that can be.

Regards,
Eric

 

[NewLondon88]

I have this one drying on the lather right now, it came back to have a
different finish put on it. It was made about 6 months ago and there's no
noticeable shifting, and from what I'm told it gets used every day.

 

[VisExp]

I think the grain orientation makes a big difference. Looking at NewLondon's coffee mug you can see that the grain of all the pieces is orientated the same way.