dog collar pen.

[Chuck B]

Guys I need some help for the last 11 yrs I have been delivering mail to a house with a dog named Mamacita she's just like my own she could be her twin. She's got a great personality. Well she got sick & had to be put down that really broke my heart. I asked & received one of her old dog collars the material type (like thin yarn) I would like to make a pen for Lucy the owner. The collar is about 1/8" thick I was thinking of cutting it in half but it would unravel. Then I was thinking of seeing if someone could cast this in resin for me. I have a few questions.

1. If I have this cast in resin do you think it would work to make a pen out of it?

2. should I try to pull it apart & wrap it around a tube & CA it to the tube? I'm worried it would come apart by using it.

3. If the majority thinks I should put it in resin & someone is willing to do it for me please give me a estimate on the cost.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Chuck

 

[polarbear1]

You can put the dogs picture & name on one side of a brass pen tube and a narrow strip of the collar on the back side, or the name and picture on half of the pen and the collar on the other half. The collar will need to be glued to a tube cast in resin, then the pen turned to a diameter larger than the collar so it will all be contained within the resin. I would offer but I have a feeling it would take me more tries than you have enough collar for. One of the problems you will experience is air trapped in or under the collar and ending up in your pen blank, it's an awesome idea and would really be appreciated by the pet owner, I'm sure someone here can do it in 1 or 2 tries, but I would be afraid to take that chance.

 

[Chuck B]

Thanks Polar,
She was a good size dog about 50 lbs. I possibly have enough collar to make about 6 attempts. So the length of the collar is 17" working length.

Chuck

 

[mrcook4570]

Here are a few ideas

#1 Wrap the collar in a spiral down the brass tube and saturate it with thin CA. Then turn the blank, frequently adding more thin CA as you turn. Finish with CA.

#2 Cut the collar into 2.25" to 2.5" long strips and stack in layers. Bottom layer should be wax paper. Saturate with thin CA. Quickly add a top layer of wax paper and apply a lot of pressure with a press, vise, or clamps. After the glue cures, treat it as any other blanks, although you will probably need to add thin CA while turning. This will only work if it was a large dog.

#3 Make a comfort grip pen. Discard the rubber grip and replace it with the collar.

#4 Make a bottle stopper. Turn a groove around the stopper the same width as the collar. Turn a 3/4" to 1" larger diameter recess in the top of the stopper. When finished, put the collar on the stopper in the groove and put a picture of the dog in the recess in the top.

#5 Turn a box with the same embellishments as described in #4.

 

[pssherman]

With the collar being 1/8" thick, the outer diameter of the pen will need to more 1/4" larger than the tube you use. Otherwise you will be cutting into the collar material when you turn it. I'm sure if there is a kit where the fittings are that much larger than the tube.

Splitting the collar in half will help a great deal with the thickness. One way to prevent the material from unraveling is to apply thick or gel CA to the top so that it only penetrates the uppermost fibers. Then you can cut away the material underneath and the top should hold together. After you've cut away the loose material you can use sandpaper to even out the thickness and to reduce the thickness. Once it is thin you should be able to wrap a spiral aroound the tube and CA (thin) it place.

 

[ngeb528]

Some of the woven collars are actually folded over and sewn together. Look closely at the edges and see if you can tell if it's two layers. If it is, you may be able to separate the layers, which would make for a narrower finished pen.

 

[Chuck B]

Thank you for the advice guys. I appreciate it.

Chuck

 

[NewLondon88]

I can cast it if you like. If you want to do it in a Sierra, cigar or Jr Gent,
I have molds that will hold a wrapped tube. Send me a PM if you want to
try it.