What goes well with amboyna burl

[LouisQC]

Had this gorgeous piece of two tone amboyna burl for the lower section. Turned it closed end. Not sure what happened but the cap section split apart while turning

Now I have this great lower section but no cap. What do you suggest?

 

[jimbob91577]

Get yourself a piece of holly or blackwood (or ebony) long enough to make the cap. Cut it at an angle and glue a piece of Amboyna in between. Drill and turn to make your cap.

Similar to what I did here: http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=43744

 

[davinci27]

The question is what doesn't go well with it. I've tried holly, ebony, blackwood, and canary. All of them looked good

 

[LouisQC]

Get yourself a piece of holly or blackwood (or ebony) long enough to make the cap. Cut it at an angle and glue a piece of Amboyna in between. Drill and turn to make your cap.

Similar to what I did here: http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=43744

Good idea, I'll see what I can do since the tube is glued in the amboyna. Thanks for the suggestion!

The question is what doesn't go well with it. I've tried holly, ebony, blackwood, and canary. All of them looked good

As a completely different wood for the cap?

 

[davinci27]

Sorry I miss read you initial post. I didn't realize the entire cap split. for some reason I thought you just had a partial blowout on the top. I've combined Amboyna with several various woods, but I've always had some Amboyna on each end of the pen.

 

[mick]

I'm not a big fan of mixing wood and "plastics" but I think a cap out of some sort of black resin or acrylic would look good....or if you had a very, very dark piece of African Blackwood that would do nicely! Also ben had a great suggestion with the Holly if you went in the other direction.

 

[leehljp]

I had a similar problem and decided to add an ebony to each end, separated with a brass ring as seen here I was surprised and well pleased with the outcome.

 

[LouisQC]

Sorry I miss read you initial post. I didn't realize the entire cap split. for some reason I thought you just had a partial blowout on the top. I've combined Amboyna with several various woods, but I've always had some Amboyna on each end of the pen.

It is a partial blowout. I guess I could trim the amboyna cleanly with a partiung tool to the brass tube and drill out a piece of something else and glue it in place.

I had a similar problem and decided to add an ebony to each end, separated with a brass ring as seen here I was surprised and well pleased with the outcome.

Yes, the ring is a good idea to create a separation.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Too bad about the split. Burls can be naughty.
As said, what doesn't go with Ambonya burl?
Stick with a solid color, avoid another figured wood.
Good luck.

 

[davinci27]

Yep I would just part off the cracked part, but I would use a point of the skew to create a score line where the part should stop. That will help keep the parting tool from spliting the blank even further.

I actually keep a small saw at the lathe so I can make clean cuts if necessary. Here's what I use instead of the skew tip http://www.amazon.com/Xacto-X75300-Precision-Razor-Saw/dp/B00004Z2U4

 

[GouletPens]

If it's just a crack and the wood is still in tact, you could always tint some epoxy and fill the crack....do a really contrasting color like turquoise or white or something. If it's blown apart, you could always just turn another cap from amboyna. I make TONS of amboyna pens and they are quite consistent in color from blank to blank, and the grain is so radical you can mix up the cap and barrels all day long and never really be able to tell the difference (unless the 2 tone travels up the whole blank).