First BOW

[Sprung]

This is my first pen made from Bethlehem Olivewood. It's also the first pen I've made using the Atrax kit. I also purchased and used the parts from Exotic Blanks to make it postable. CA finish.

This is a going away gift for a very good friend who is moving away. We're both pastors and he's accepted the call to serve as the pastor of a church in Michigan. He already has two pens made by be, but this will be the nicest one yet. Tonight we're hosting a small farewell party for him and I'll be giving this to him then. Turned out so nice that it's going to be hard to give this one away!

 

[Edgar]

That really is nice!
Great job on the barrel alignment.

 

[magpens]

BOW makes a great pen, and you have aligned the grain perfectly !! I really like the Atrax kit, too !! Outstanding workmanship !

 

[Souths1der]

That looks great.

I recently did my first BOW as well. On a Celtic kit with the cross clip option. Was the easiest wood I've worked with yet. I sanded to 500 and then went through all 9 MM pads. Then I hit it with Mylands friction finish twice. It looks pretty close to my CA finished pens and was probably a quarter of the work involved. Great wood to work with.

 

[Krash]

That really is nice!
Great job on the barrel alignment.

For sure! It took me a while to get the alignment right on my Ark of the Covenant pen which also used an Atrax.

Great looking pen!

 

[RushmanHCP]

Great looking pen, good fit and finish - well done!

 

[Sprung]

Thank you, everyone!

I really enjoyed how the olive turned - and smelled while turning. (Though I only caught a short couple whiffs of the smell as I put on my dust mask right after I started turning.) I can't wait to get my hands on some more olive and get it on the lathe!

Thanks, also, for the compliments of the grain match! I'm a bit OCD about some things (it, unfortunately, runs in my family) and it would really bother me if the grain didn't match. I always assemble the lower first, then twist on the threaded portion of the cap. Then I slide on the turned piece for the cap, line up the grain, push it on so it's tight enough to not move when I unscrew it, then press it all the way in.

 

[Edgar]

That looks great.

I recently did my first BOW as well. On a Celtic kit with the cross clip option. Was the easiest wood I've worked with yet. I sanded to 500 and then went through all 9 MM pads. Then I hit it with Mylands friction finish twice. It looks pretty close to my CA finished pens and was probably a quarter of the work involved. Great wood to work with.

Keith, you can avoid the trouble of using MM pads on Olivewood. After sanding to 500 or 600 grit, just grab a pinch of shavings and press it up against the spinning blank and work it back & forth a few times. That burnishes the wood and is about the same as using MM to about 4000 or so.

 

[Band Saw Box]

Beautiful pen, spot on alignment and fit and finish. Very well done.