What a difference some pint can make

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That was supposed to say "paint". I thought I'd throw this out there for some of those new to acrylics.


Same blank. Cloudy with blue ribbon. Painted pink and yellow.


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Same blank. Cloudy white with black ribbon. Painted black and pink.


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Same blank. Translucent red with black and white ribbon. One painted red. One painted black.


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image-2991128840.jpg
 
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eliasbboy

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Wow! This is definitely news to me. I've been turning pens for awhile and have only painted the tubes white to keep the brass from showing.

I have never even considered using the paint as an added component!

Thanks so much for the visual, and beautiful work!
 

crokett

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I'm still a little confused, are you painting the blanks after turning? Or painting the tubes? Also, and forgive if this sounds like me being a wise-acre, but why paint the blank? Why not get one or cast one in the color you want?
 

Bear-31

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This is a great post. Until recently I didn't understand how much of a difference it made with what color you painted the tube (or inside of blank) A fellow pen turner brought in several yellow swirl acrylic pens with the tubes painted different colors. He used Black, White, Yellow, and Blue for the tubes. You would be hard pressed to know that they where all the same color bank to start with. Until you've seen the difference...like this post :) you underestimate the changing affect. Great Job!
 
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airrat

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A pint or two also changes the look.:eek:


As to the question of painting, there is painting the tube and reverse painting the blank (that is painting the inside of the drilled out part). You can get different looks from either. I've even painting the tube one color and the inside of the blank another color (very thin just to give it a translucent effect).


Which are you doing here the tube or inside of the blank.

Thanks for the post great job on it.
 

triw51

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WOW that is Awsome. Like so many others I did not realize how much the paint on the tube affects the finish. THANK YOU this post is very enlightening.

CROKETT: This post reffers to painting the brass tubes before glueing them into the acrylic blanks. The acrylic blank is turned so thin the color shows through
 

walshjp17

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I don't remember who, but someone here created a 'story stick' (for lack of a better term) by painting a long piece of brass tube with different colors every inch or so. He would then slide a small piece of acrylic, drilled to match the tube, over the story stick to see which color worked best for the blank and would then paint the kit's tube/blank interior. Cut out the guessing!
 
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Dick Mahany

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Excellent visuals. Perfect timing as I just learned (the hard way) that sometimes painting is needed. I'm sure I'm not the first one to have learned that, but never realized just how much different colors affect the final piece. Thanks for an enlightening post.
 

PTsideshow

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I belive those are Bear Tooth Woods Acrylic blanks, Here is their web siteBear Tooth Woods

They are also sold at W#C.

They are assorted mixture of solid ribbons, holey ribbons, with clear transparent resins which are mixed with semi opaque pearly type colored resins.
Look thru the catalog pages and you will get the idea
:clown:
 

ttpenman

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The idea of making a 'story stick' is great. But, I wonder if the color would show thru a thick blank? When the pen is turned the resin is very thin and the color really shows through. Has anyone tried the 'story stick idea and what was the success? Just curious.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin
 

BSea

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The idea of making a 'story stick' is great. But, I wonder if the color would show thru a thick blank? When the pen is turned the resin is very thin and the color really shows through. Has anyone tried the 'story stick idea and what was the success? Just curious.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin
I can't remember who it was that posted the painted dowel. But I have a dowel I painted to try this method. And you are right, if the blank isn't turned down really close to the final diameter, you really won't get a real feel for the color unless the blank is very clear itself. And if you wet the blank when sliding it over the dowel, it helps the color show through.

But those pics really help people understand just what can be done with a little accent color. I often use silver to enhance the color of the blank without changing it. I don't like using white. In most cases it washes out a lot of the color.
 

walshjp17

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The idea of making a 'story stick' is great. But, I wonder if the color would show thru a thick blank? When the pen is turned the resin is very thin and the color really shows through. Has anyone tried the 'story stick idea and what was the success? Just curious.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

Take the cut-off/waste from the blank, drill it out, turn it down and then slide it along the stick. Since it will likely be a short piece, you should be able to see exactly what the final blank(s) will look like.
 
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I'm still a little confused, are you painting the blanks after turning? Or painting the tubes? Also, and forgive if this sounds like me being a wise-acre, but why paint the blank? Why not get one or cast one in the color you want?

No forgiveness needed. I reverse paint the blanks, not to come up with a desired color, but to hide the tubes and glue. It is a necessity with many blanks. Since they do have to be painted, however, this gives me the chance to make the blank I want. I can take 20 of those black ribbon blanks, and make 40 completely different looking sierra style pens, just by using and mixing different paint colors.

If you buy a blank that is the color you want, but has any translucency, it will not likely turn out that way if you don't paint the blank or tube. As for casting, not every body has the means or desire, and you still have the same issues if you don't cast the blank opaque. Opaque casting brings its own issues, as they tend to lack depth to me. One bad spot on an opaque blank can let the brass show through, and ruin a lot of hard work.
 

Dick Mahany

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The idea of making a 'story stick' is great. But, I wonder if the color would show thru a thick blank? When the pen is turned the resin is very thin and the color really shows through. Has anyone tried the 'story stick idea and what was the success? Just curious.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

Take the cut-off/waste from the blank, drill it out, turn it down and then slide it along the stick. Since it will likely be a short piece, you should be able to see exactly what the final blank(s) will look like.

Great idea! Simple and clever.
 
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This is a great post. Until recently I didn't understand how much of a difference it made with what color you painted the tube (or inside of blank) A fellow pen turner brought in several yellow swirl acrylic pens with the tubes painted different colors. He used Black, White, Yellow, and Blue for the tubes. You would be hard pressed to know that they where all the same color bank to start with. Until you've seen the difference...like this post :) you underestimate the changing affect. Great Job!

Yup. You can make many different pens from the same simple blank.
 
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A pint or two also changes the look.:eek:


As to the question of painting, there is painting the tube and reverse painting the blank (that is painting the inside of the drilled out part). You can get different looks from either. I've even painting the tube one color and the inside of the blank another color (very thin just to give it a translucent effect).


Which are you doing here the tube or inside of the blank.

Thanks for the post great job on it.

Thanks. I reverse paint the inside of the blank.
 
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I belive those are Bear Tooth Woods Acrylic blanks, Here is their web siteBear Tooth Woods

They are also sold at W#C.

They are assorted mixture of solid ribbons, holey ribbons, with clear transparent resins which are mixed with semi opaque pearly type colored resins.
Look thru the catalog pages and you will get the idea
:clown:

WT117.jpg

WT116.jpg

Here are a couple of the blanks before turning, you can see the variation in the amount of transparency
:clown:

I already showed the blanks I used. except for the red, all of the color came from the paint. Even when using the blanks you pictured, you can still vastly change the final product by reverse painting different colors.
 
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If you go the story stick route, so you know exactly what your blank/paint combo will look like, it's a good idea to try and turn a scrap piece down as thin as your final piece will be, and even polish it if you can.
 

r1237h

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What paint do you use, and how do you get it in the hole? A Q-tip seems logical but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best idea...

I like Delta Ceramcoat. Some use q-tips. I like acid brushes and the tiny paint brushes.

Thanks. One more question. Isn't there a danger that the connection between the tube and the blank might be weakened? Since there is paint there?
 
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What paint do you use, and how do you get it in the hole? A Q-tip seems logical but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best idea...

I like Delta Ceramcoat. Some use q-tips. I like acid brushes and the tiny paint brushes.

Thanks. One more question. Isn't there a danger that the connection between the tube and the blank might be weakened? Since there is paint there?

Never had that issue. Just let the paint dry completely. If you've never done the reverse painting, you should do a search of it on here. There's a wealth of info on it.
 
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