Statesman Letter Opener Conversion

[Fangar]

I have been busy lately with a pretty large project for a customer. It started out as a 15lb Red Mallee Burl cap from Lee Tree works... More to follow on that later.

Anyway, My project consists of a Statesman Rollerball, a Statesman letter opener, a clock, and a slab of burl for a desk set...

The only element that I was very concerned about was the letter opener. Most of you know that there is no letter opener to go with the Statesman kit... Now there is:

Side by Each:

Here is a closeup of the connections...

The Statesman is Rhodium and the LO blade is Platinum, but next to each other, they lock identical. Nothing like diving into a 30 dollar rollerball kit, but this time it paid off. It took a lot of planning and work to make this emerge. Now all I have to do is make the rest of the set!

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[TomServo]

Very slick. Where'd you get your hands on a titanium letter opener blade? that's a nice piece of hardware...

 

[ctEaglesc]

Great Job Fang!
I like the way you thought of thinking outside the box!
The set is certainly <b>new and innovative</b>[]
Have you thought of making a matching carving set?[^]

 

[coach]

Very nice James! Great conversion!

 

[Don in phoenix]

Great job James. Looks like you have been busy!! I would think the rest of the job will be easy. Keep up the good work and lets see the whole set when it's done

Don

 

[PenWorks]

Super job James, I can't wait to see the rest of the set with the the clock & desk rest.

 

[melogic]

Way to go Fangar! I want one of the LO's! Have you thought about sending this information to CSUSA to see if they would consider this along with maybe a magnifying glass as well? This would make a beautiful set for a desk. I would be all over these things. Again, wonderful display of innovation and craftsmanship. Wonderful Job![][][]

 

[alamocdc]

Nice looking set, James! See a need, fill a need. []

 

[BryanJon]

WOW !! Just beautiful !

 

[Scott]

I think this looks just absolutely stunning!

Scott.

 

[Ron Mc]

Fantastic!!

 

[Dario]

Wonderful looking fair!!!

The finish is excellent as always...and I love the wood [].

I want some of that too! [}]

 

[Fangar]

Thanks to all,

It was late when I posted. The blade is actually platinum. I said titanium. I did purcahse it at CSUSA though. CSUSA could easily make a kit out of their Statesman rollerball. The only extra parts I used were an 8mm letter opener kit. It would have made my life much easier of course. I would be happy to speak with CSUSA. All they would have to do is make a LO blade with a threaded bolt that fits into the cap coupler like when you normally assemble the pen.

Also, with my conversion, and 8mm magnifying glass would work. No problem. There is a lot of work to the conversion though. Definately requires a caliper and a lot of day dreaming to work things out in your head.

I cut the blanks for these as well as a clock face and the desk set base out of a solid burl. Here are the images. Not finished of course. THe slap has amazing figure to it's burl. Looks like a brain. dusty in the photo. Also, the slab is sitting on a 12" floor tile. That gives you a size reference. More to follow if anyone is interested.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[ldimick]

Spectacular!

 

[GregD]

Nice set James. No wonder you haven't had time to make pin chucks.

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by GregD
<br />Nice set James. No wonder you haven't had time to make pin chucks.

Exactly right!

Fangar

 

[nilsatcraft]

Fantastic looking set, Fangar! I'll be showing this to our Product Development Manager to see what he thinks. Almost as impressive as the creativity is the finish on these- it looks absolutely flawless! What did you use? Anyway, nice work and thanks for sharing.

 

[JimGo]

I agree with Nils - that finish looks amazing James! I can't tell which is shinier, the pen or the metal!

 

[Dario]

And you guys just noticed that on this set? []

I thought almost all his work shine this way...my wife even calls my best finished pen a "Fangar" pen. []

 

[jdavis]

Super workmanship

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by nilsatcraft
<br />Fantastic looking set, Fangar! I'll be showing this to our Product Development Manager to see what he thinks. Almost as impressive as the creativity is the finish on these- it looks absolutely flawless! What did you use? Anyway, nice work and thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the kind words Nils,

I would be happy to chat with the PD Manager if needed. Honestly, I have tried various kits over the years but this is my first Statesman. A wonderfully plated and made kit.

The finish is CA, no BLO. Sand the wood up to 12000MM, Myland's Cellulose Sanding Sealer, then 4000 - 12000MM Again (Or Sometimes 0000 Steel wool). Two coats THIN CA lathe at 500 rpm. One coat MED CA. One to Two Coats THICK CA. Lathe speed back up to 1800 Finish Sand, 400 Grit, 600 Grit (Sometimes starting at 240 grit depending on the angle of the dangle). Back Through MM to 12000. Buff with White Diamond, on my buffing system. Sometimes a Hut Plastic polish at this point. Always finish buffed with TSW.

I realize that a few of my grits overlap and there are times where I am stepping back a notch (Like from the 12000MM to the White Diamond), but I have worked on this finish for a while and seem to get the best results this way. NO BLO though.

This sounds like a long process, but it actually goes very quickly You are not applying a ton of pressure with the MM and only for a short few passes. Especially if I am wearing my turning frock! []

Thanks for your interest

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by Dario
<br />And you guys just noticed that on this set? []

I thought almost all his work shine this way...my wife even calls my best finished pen a "Fangar" pen. []

Dario,

You crack me up. Thanks for noticing.

Fangar

 

[gerryr]

Great looking set. I like Eagle's idea of a carving set.[]

 

[Darley]

Really good James, sell your idea to CSUSA for the letter opener and live on royalty, nice piece of work, well done A++++

 

[dfurlano]

that is a really nice set.... and one heck of a slab of burl.

 

[Thumbs]

Beuatiful set! Beautiful workmanship! Beautiful burl! Only one problem! Has anybody else found that style of letter opener works lousy as a letter opener? The flat dagger style works much better for opening letters but is not as attractive as these but a whole lot more effective. Maybe the ones I got were cheapies but they couldn't cut hot butter! Anybody with better luck? Is there a brand with a better edge for cutting paper than others? These are much too attractive to be called useless![]