This will be my second pen.
I have just over six hours cutting and fitting the pieces. I still have to glue up everything and I hope the end result is worth all of the time I have invested.
I just wondered how much time does one invest into a segmented pen on average? Of coarse the elaborate pens will undoubtedly require much more time.
I never expected to spend so much time on one pen, but I have a new respect for those that do segmented pens.
Hello John
I commend you for trying any type segmented pen blank as a second pen. As far as time goes that is not the way to approach doing a segmented blank. As with anything in life the more you do something the better and faster you wil get at it. The use of proper tools will go a long way in making any segmented blank. Good clean and repeatable cuts is key. Jigs are made all the time when doing any type segmenting at all. Figuring out design patterns and knowing the results before hand are products of doing it for a while and testing and learning from your mistakes.
Yes you will make mistakes and at times you may get a blow up or two but do not be discouraged and learn from them. There are ways to prevent many of the hazards and many have been talked about here. I started a thread a few years ago called "why blanks go boom" you may want to check that out. There are some good suggestions there.
To your question on time, there is no answer and never will be. many factors go into building a pen blank. But you are creating as opposed to those that just take a plain wood blank or acrylic blank and turn it round. Not much creation there. So take your time and plan your work. As far as the seam shown it is fine. Unless the pen is in someone's hands you really do not know how well the blank was built. If it passes your eye test is what counts.
Good luck and look forward to seeing what you will do now and in the future. Keep records so it shows you how well you have progressed and check out the segmenting forum here. There is some great work shown.
