I have been challenged

[jttheclockman]

Well this came out of the blue today. A customer of mine who I have not seen or heard from in over 3 years emailed me looking for a pen. He specifically wants a pen with Pink Ivory and Ebony mixed in somehow. He is leaving the design to me but it has to have those 2 woods. Now most of you know both of those woods are prone to cracking. He does not want acrylic ( I tried)

To top it all off I have not made a pen in over 2 years. What a way to break back in. I will have to investigate this some more because he usually buys cigar pens. Have to see if I can upscale it more. Wish me luck because I am going to need it. How do you turn the lathe on???

 

[CREID]

You can do it. We are behind you all the way.

 

[1080Wayne]

You may want to remember how to turn the saw on first !

Segmenting those woods into small pieces would alleviate the cracking problem , I think . Pink ivory Celtic knots or scallops in the ebony ? Don`t know why I get these ideas that I will probably never try . I will look forward to a picture of your completed project to show me a better one .

 

[skiprat]

You could kill two birds with one stone....:biggrin:

.....the other day you were asking about a 360 herringbone on a Panache...


....go for it...:biggrin:

 

[jttheclockman]

You could kill two birds with one stone....:biggrin:

.....the other day you were asking about a 360 herringbone on a Panache...


....go for it...:biggrin:

For a first pen in 2 years


I was thinking scallops. Or bands or both. I have to dig out some pink ivory. Has been a while since I used that stuff. I am actually going to have to take the CA out of the freezer. Oh my. Hope it is still good.

 

[Carl Fisher]

I stopped making pens from either of those woods. Every pink ivory I've ever done has split over time. Ebony has been hit or miss.

 

[jttheclockman]

I stopped making pens from either of those woods. Every pink ivory I've ever done has split over time. Ebony has been hit or miss.

Yes Carl they can be a challenge but I will throw all my tricks at it and see what happens. I will warn the buyer that things may happen. But if I break up the pieces enough I may have a chance.

 

[skiprat]

You could kill two birds with one stone....:biggrin:

.....the other day you were asking about a 360 herringbone on a Panache...


....go for it...:biggrin:

For a first pen in 2 years

Cluck cluck...............:tongue:

 

[jttheclockman]

You could kill two birds with one stone....:biggrin:

.....the other day you were asking about a 360 herringbone on a Panache...


....go for it...:biggrin:

For a first pen in 2 years

Cluck cluck...............:tongue:

Looks like that chicken is about to get eaten for dinner. :eat:He is no pen turner. One challenge at a time sir:biggrin::biggrin:

I started limbering up and do some stretching. :bananen_smilies047::bananen_smilies019:

 

[KenV]

John,

My observation has been that when mining the stash for seasoned ebony and such, the cracking incidence goes way way down. Nothing like a few years seasoning to cut down on moisture and movement.

Have fun rediscovering treasures you find

 

[Bob in SF]

John,

My observation has been that when mining the stash for seasoned ebony and such, the cracking incidence goes way way down. Nothing like a few years seasoning to cut down on moisture and movement.

Have fun rediscovering treasures you find

My 2 cents: black and white ebony with pink ivory chips inlay

Somewhere between this:

and this:

Good luck!

- Bob

 

[jttheclockman]

I have just discovered I do not have any more pink ivory laying around. That can now pose a problem because if I order it I will have to wait on it to dry. I thought for sure I still had some. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. May have to make an email delivery and see what else I can do. Sure glad he is not in any hurry.

My go to source does not have any. This is getting interesting. Have now checked 3 reliable sources for good quality and none of them have any. Wonder how he feels about yellow heart or even bloodwood??? Wonder what bleached bloodwood looks like???

 

[Ligget]

I would tell him that these two woods are likely to crack over time, make sure he knows the risk, hopefully he will choose another two woods.

 

[Scott]

I was thinking maybe lots of thin slices of the two woods laminated together. That might eliminate the stresses that would cause cracking. Just initial thoughts.

Scott.

 

[plantman]

John; I have both Pink Ivory and Ebony that I have had for over 20 years in a climate controlled wood room. PM me what you need and where to send it. Jim S

 

[jttheclockman]

John; I have both Pink Ivory and Ebony that I have had for over 20 years in a climate controlled wood room. PM me what you need and where to send it. Jim S

The ebony I have plenty of and have some pink ivory scheduled to come in next week. Will keep you and a few others that PMed me in mind if all things fail.

Yes I will be breaking up the pink ivory with some sort of detail to relieve the stress. Will see what I can do. Thanks all.