I bought this prairie rattler skin from a local taxidermist and in talking with him and telling him about my pens (he had someone else's on consignment in his shop) he gave me a handful of antlers and pieces he had on hand. I told him that if I ended up making something cool out of the antler I'd bring him one.
I made the antler bolt action first. I finished the pen with some thin CA to fill the small voids in the (pith?) center part of the antler. Then used medium to build a little so i could smooth it all out. The upside is the finish came out great, the downside was the antler look with the plastic feel. I think I'll try for a more "natural" finish on the next. The taxidermist was blown away by the pen when I gave it to him, he even offered to pay, which I declined, as a promise is a promise.
The next is a sierra click made with the prairie rattler I just bought. It's black ti and platinum or rhodium (can't remember which). I had the hardware sitting around from a pen I made previously but screwed up on so I had to tear it down. When I tore it down I shredded the plastic click mechanism beyond all recognition (on accident, not cuz I was mad
). So I bought some of the 10" cut-your-own tubes and the le roi click mechanism (from smittys) to rebuild. The click isn't exactly the same as the original, but fits well enough to do the trick. The only thing is the click mechanism is shorter than the original, so I had to shorten my barrel to make it all work in the end.
I super glued the snake skin to the tube trying to be careful not leave any big gaps. I used a disposable scalpel (extra sharp) to trim the skin on the tube. I still ended up with a little gap showing in part of the seam (which got covered with the clip so the final look is good). I'm impatient, so in order to make the pen I used several coats of thin, then probably 12 coats or so of thick CA to build up. I then turned the pen down to dimensions and finished with the plastic buff stuff from caswell.
Thanks for lookin and readin, C&C welcome and appreciated,
Joe
I made the antler bolt action first. I finished the pen with some thin CA to fill the small voids in the (pith?) center part of the antler. Then used medium to build a little so i could smooth it all out. The upside is the finish came out great, the downside was the antler look with the plastic feel. I think I'll try for a more "natural" finish on the next. The taxidermist was blown away by the pen when I gave it to him, he even offered to pay, which I declined, as a promise is a promise.
The next is a sierra click made with the prairie rattler I just bought. It's black ti and platinum or rhodium (can't remember which). I had the hardware sitting around from a pen I made previously but screwed up on so I had to tear it down. When I tore it down I shredded the plastic click mechanism beyond all recognition (on accident, not cuz I was mad
). So I bought some of the 10" cut-your-own tubes and the le roi click mechanism (from smittys) to rebuild. The click isn't exactly the same as the original, but fits well enough to do the trick. The only thing is the click mechanism is shorter than the original, so I had to shorten my barrel to make it all work in the end.I super glued the snake skin to the tube trying to be careful not leave any big gaps. I used a disposable scalpel (extra sharp) to trim the skin on the tube. I still ended up with a little gap showing in part of the seam (which got covered with the clip so the final look is good). I'm impatient, so in order to make the pen I used several coats of thin, then probably 12 coats or so of thick CA to build up. I then turned the pen down to dimensions and finished with the plastic buff stuff from caswell.
Thanks for lookin and readin, C&C welcome and appreciated,
Joe
