PC issues

[Steve Busey]

OK, what am I doing wrong (or not doing right)?

Did my first pen with Toni's canes, thought it looked "OK", then I see Toni's "In the Beginning" thread, and now mine looks like a turd! :frown: (no offense intended to Curtis and his "Original Cat Turd Blank" ™ )

Mine:


Hers:


Note the fat rounded ends on mine, and the clean smooth end on Toni's.

Soooo, first, I'm guessing, I don't need as thick a base layer on my tube. Second, I need to lightly roll the decorated tube until the diameter is closer to the bushing size, getting rid of most of the lumps between my flowers in the process.

Another question I had for Toni - I used Fimo for a base layer, and it says to bake at 230 degrees, while your Etsy site says the canes should bake at 265. Thoughts on handling the gap?

Oh, and your Etsy site says "Recommended baking time is 275 F or 130 C." That might be the baking temp, but not the time. I guessed 30 minutes for the time...

So, help me out folks - what do I need to do to improve!

(PS - this is my 500th post!)

 

[Steve Busey]

Bueller? Anyone? Hello?

 

[snyiper]

I think you did a bang up job on that pen myself!!! If I am not mistaken Toni used to never use a lathe and everything was hand rolled to specs.

 

[PR_Princess]

LOL Steve I think that you are being way, WAY too hard on yourself!!

Remember that Toni has been doing PC for ten years, and this is your FIRST experience with it! Even DaVinci didn't paint the Mona Lisa the first time he picked up a brush. Have a little patience, and enjoy the voyage.

BTW, I REALLY like the colors and the way you laid out the canes on your rendition. And it certainly does NOT look anything like a Curtis turd pen!!!

 

[ed4copies]

LOL Steve I think that you are being way, WAY too hard on yourself!!

Remember that Toni has been doing PC for ten years, and this is your FIRST experience with it! Even DaVinci didn't paint the Mona Lisa the first time he picked up a brush. Have a little patience, and enjoy the voyage.

BTW, I REALLY like the colors and the way you laid out the canes on your rendition. And it certainly does NOT look anything like a Curtis turd pen!!!

That was a CAT turd, BY Curtis---let's be careful and not encourage Curtis:frown::frown::frown:. February is coming up on us

 

[Steve Busey]

That was a CAT turd, BY Curtis---let's be careful and not encourage Curtis:frown::frown::frown:. February is coming up on us

OK, that was a visual image I did NOT need, Ed...

Thanks for the feedback, folks, but I'd still love to hear from some experienced PC users to figure out how to improve.

 

[DCBluesman]

I think you did a bang-up job on the pen! The only suggestion I could give, and only if you want to flatter/imitate Toni, would be to select a thematic color and build the barrels around that color and its complementary colors, i.e.:

white and black
red and green
blue and orange
yellow and violet

 

[alphageek]

LOL.... why is the cat pen showing up all over in discussions?

Steve, I'm sure some will show up at some point ... but remember, there isn't that many PC experts on here.... That and you didn't even wait 12 hours (basically overnight for most of our membership) before "bumping" the thread again!!!

Patience... Not everyone is on here every day.

 

[Steve Busey]

Patience... Not everyone is on here every day.

WHAT?!?!? That's heresy! They need to be reported to the authorities!! :biggrin::biggrin:

Thanks Dean. I only bumped it because I'm on limited shop time this weekend and was hoping for some tips/answers before tonight.

 

[Toni]

Hi Steve ~ sorry was asleep time difference and all:biggrin:

Yes the base layer needs to be thinner. That is really all I can tell you, because its a great looking pen!!!

I only pretend to be a PC expert, Keith (creativewriting) is the True expert IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A TURD!!

As for the temperature the main temperature you should be concerned with is the cane temperatures, 130celcious or 275 for 30 minutes is what I recommend with an aluminum tent over the piece.

Other than that Great pen as I said, keep at it and in no time I can retire!