Churchill Bros.

[BRobbins629]

Left - Abalone & Ebony; Right Ambonya Burl

 

[Jerryconn]

Those are really nice, I really like the Abalone and Ebony

 

[alamocdc]

I love the Abilone, Bruce! I've been experimenting with it, but thus far have not been real successful. That stuff is HARD! At least mine is.[^]

 

[JimGo]

VERY nice job Bruce!!!

 

[angboy]

Originally posted by alamocdc
<br />I love the Abilone, Bruce! I've been experimenting with it, but thus far have not been real successful. That stuff is HARD! At least mine is.[^]

OK, now after reading some other posts, my mind is just on things other than pens[}][}]... But it is a nice pen. How did you do the abalone?

 

[chigdon]

Those are great. Love the Abalone and the Amboyna has great color.

 

[melogic]

They both are fantastic, but I like the amboyna the best. Great job on both of them!

 

[BRobbins629]

Originally posted by angboy
<br />

Originally posted by alamocdc
<br />I love the Abilone, Bruce! I've been experimenting with it, but thus far have not been real successful. That stuff is HARD! At least mine is.[^]

OK, now after reading some other posts, my mind is just on things other than pens[}][}]... But it is a nice pen. How did you do the abalone?

Thanks for all you comments. For the abalone, I just take thin strips, put a few dots of CA on one side, and glue it right on the tube. After a little filing I cut and file the next piece to fit. When I've made it all around the tube, I blacken some epoxy and fill in the spaces. Then its off the the lathe with progressive grits of sandpaper with some good dust collection. Its not hard, just a litle time consuming.

 

[angboy]

Originally posted by BRobbins629
<br />

Originally posted by angboy
<br />

Originally posted by alamocdc
<br />I love the Abilone, Bruce! I've been experimenting with it, but thus far have not been real successful. That stuff is HARD! At least mine is.[^]

OK, now after reading some other posts, my mind is just on things other than pens[}][}]... But it is a nice pen. How did you do the abalone?

Thanks for all you comments. For the abalone, I just take thin strips, put a few dots of CA on one side, and glue it right on the tube. After a little filing I cut and file the next piece to fit. When I've made it all around the tube, I blacken some epoxy and fill in the spaces. Then its off the the lathe with progressive grits of sandpaper with some good dust collection. Its not hard, just a litle time consuming.

Thanks for the explanation. How do you get the thin strips of abalone? Do you buy them somewhere like that, os are you somehow able to cut them to that thin? Have you tried the same thing with any other types of shells or materials?

 

[BRobbins629]

Originally posted by angboy
<br />

Originally posted by BRobbins629
<br />

Originally posted by angboy
<br />

Originally posted by alamocdc
<br />I love the Abilone, Bruce! I've been experimenting with it, but thus far have not been real successful. That stuff is HARD! At least mine is.[^]

OK, now after reading some other posts, my mind is just on things other than pens[}][}]... But it is a nice pen. How did you do the abalone?

Thanks for all you comments. For the abalone, I just take thin strips, put a few dots of CA on one side, and glue it right on the tube. After a little filing I cut and file the next piece to fit. When I've made it all around the tube, I blacken some epoxy and fill in the spaces. Then its off the the lathe with progressive grits of sandpaper with some good dust collection. Its not hard, just a litle time consuming.

Thanks for the explanation. How do you get the thin strips of abalone? Do you buy them somewhere like that, os are you somehow able to cut them to that thin? Have you tried the same thing with any other types of shells or materials?

The strips I used for these I've had from years ago when I made a few musical instruments. You should be able to get them from a luthier supply place. I've done some pen inlays with other shells, mostly mother of pearl shapes from www.luthiersupply.com . They have a ton of shapes and also sell blanks you can cut yourself. You have to be a little careful not to go too wide with pen inlays or you can build up a few layers so you don't lose the edge around the curve of the pen. My best ones are when I cast resin around the inlay instead of trying to cut it out. Then the lines become very crisp. Think there are a couple examples in my photo album.