Segmented Oak, Walnut, and Brass

[Dale Parrott]

This is my latest using the techniques that Mike so graciously posted. On this Slimline I started with two 2.25" blanks, one each walnut and oak. I cut them exactly the same, swapped out the middle sections, and glued them back together with epoxy. I used .005 brass from Hobby Lobby for the metal inlay.

 

[SteveJ]

Nice work. Is that an inlay on the center ring?

 

[Dale Parrott]

Nice work. Is that an inlay on the center ring?

No, that's just the standard center ring that came with the PSI kit. I want to start making some bigger & fatter pens but have a bunch of Slims to use up first.

 

[RMayoIII]

Nice job. It only gets more frustrating from here! But oh so fun too.

 

[Dale Parrott]

Nice job. It only gets more frustrating from here! But oh so fun too.

You are soooooo right about the frustrating part. Spend an hour or 2 on something only to have it blow up or just not up to par. The items I'm not happy with usually get cut in half quickly to prevent re-thinking "how to fix it".
The days of going out to the shop to start and complete a pen in an hour are gone for me. The bar has been raised. It is fun!

 

[BSea]

I want to start making some bigger & fatter pens but have a bunch of Slims to use up first.

You can skip the centerband altogether with slimlines, and make them a bit fatter. I make mine like euros with fake centerbands. You can do so much with slimlines. Remember, just because they come with parts, and instructions, you don't HAVE to use them.

I know you mean to move up to the larger pens with bigger tubes. I do mostly larger pens, but I really like do slimlines with modifications.

EDIT: Oh, and really cool pen. I guess I really don't need to tell you about thinking outside the box.:redface:

 

[jttheclockman]

Well looky here we have another converted segmenter. Welcome to the dark side. I am sure as you did this one you were learning and documenting things that you could do better or different. It does get easier because the extra skills you are now picking up. This will help in the planning of the next one and the one after that. Good luck and thanks for showing. job well done. Mike is a good teacher.

 

[mikespenturningz]

That is a beauty Dale. Great job.

 

[Dale Parrott]

I want to start making some bigger & fatter pens but have a bunch of Slims to use up first.

You can skip the centerband altogether with slimlines, and make them a bit fatter. I make mine like euros with fake centerbands. You can do so much with slimlines. Remember, just because they come with parts, and instructions, you don't HAVE to use them.

I know you mean to move up to the larger pens with bigger tubes. I do mostly larger pens, but I really like do slimlines with modifications.

EDIT: Oh, and really cool pen. I guess I really don't need to tell you about thinking outside the box.:redface:

Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate the feedback. I bought Don Ward's new book a while back but haven't tried the centerband mods seriously yet. It's on the list. I have tunnel vision when it comes to these things until I get it figured out. I went through the same thing with Celtic knots and Pentel pencils. I may never get out of segmenting because it's such a challenge.
Dale

 

[Dale Parrott]

Well looky here we have another converted segmenter. Welcome to the dark side. I am sure as you did this one you were learning and documenting things that you could do better or different. It does get easier because the extra skills you are now picking up. This will help in the planning of the next one and the one after that. Good luck and thanks for showing. job well done. Mike is a good teacher.

I'm not sure if I have been converted or not. I feel more like I've been hooked and you more experienced wood turners are reeling me in. It's a wild ride.
One of the things that I like is the size of the project. If it goes all wrong you can pitch it and be out a few bucks. What do you do with a large project that isn't up to your personal specs? Oh, I know...

Make pen blanks!:laugh:

 

[mikespenturningz]

You know as you make more of these you will always know where the mistakes are. You will see them immediately even if other don't. As we get better we also keep raising the bar on ourselves and keep making more mistakes. I am not sure if you are hooked or if we are all hooked and John T. is not even trying to reel us in but sitting back and enjoying the slow and steady fight maybe even giving us more line to keep it going!:biggrin::biggrin: All I know is that I already have my next few pens planned out in my mind. More and more complex is what I see. More and more chances to make mistakes until the scallop seems like childs play. Cool beans hold on this train is about to leave the station....

 

[jttheclockman]

You know as you make more of these you will always know where the mistakes are. You will see them immediately even if other don't. As we get better we also keep raising the bar on ourselves and keep making more mistakes. I am not sure if you are hooked or if we are all hooked and John T. is not even trying to reel us in but sitting back and enjoying the slow and steady fight maybe even giving us more line to keep it going!:biggrin::biggrin: All I know is that I already have my next few pens planned out in my mind. More and more complex is what I see. More and more chances to make mistakes until the scallop seems like childs play. Cool beans hold on this train is about to leave the station....

Hey Mike don't blame me for this addiction:biggrin: You are presently finding out what I found out a few years ago. I hate boring pens. By doing some simple segmenting it makes the blank a whole lot more interesting and adding that WOW factor. Look how many people are checking out your next pen and can not wait to see what you come up with next. It is an adrenaline rush. You are now challenging yourself as is the others that decided to join in the fun. You accepted the challenges and you are learning along the way. I am impressed what I am seeing from many of the new segmenters. This is easy but isn't in the same breathe. It is as hard as you make it. Being hard and being challenging to me a 2 different terms.

Like I said I am going to stamp my ticket back in and started with the swirl pen. Lets get this place rocking. Who else wants to join in the fun???

 

[Dale Parrott]

Well the frustration has started, BIG TIME!

I practiced a couple of scallops and thought I had it down using the soda can aluminum. All is well. i really like he look of the thicker aluminum so I thought I'd give thaat a go and it worked also. Sunday I tried some light yellow Nigerian Satinwood with the thicker aluminum. Worked real hard to get the aluminum fitted and glued with Epoxy, twice because there is 2 inlays per blank. Both imploded during drilling. I probably did 10 last week using wood inserts and all passed the drilling stage.

Started over again with Rosewood, Aluminum and Epoxy yesterday. One turned out OK but the other imploded. When I drilled the slowest my lathe wold go I think the bit actually caught the aluminum and that's what took it down. Today I bumped it up a notch to about 800 RPM and only lost one.
I don't I'm drilling to fast. I spend at least 10 minutes drilling a 2" hole. Used compressed air to keep the bit extra cool.

Things to try are,

ditch the brad point,
try CA glue,
start the drilling with a smaller bit.


Dale

 

[BSea]

Things to try are,

ditch the brad point,
try CA glue,
start the drilling with a smaller bit.


Dale

Hey Dale, all good ideas, especially ditching the brad point. And depending on how you drill, you may be able to wrap the blank with tape and/or rubber bands to help hold it together.

 

[Karl_99]

Very nice looking pen!

 

[Dale Parrott]

Things to try are,

ditch the brad point,
try CA glue,
start the drilling with a smaller bit.


Dale

Hey Dale, all good ideas, especially ditching the brad point. And depending on how you drill, you may be able to wrap the blank with tape and/or rubber bands to help hold it together.

THanks for your suggestion Bob but that brings up another question. I did wrap one of the blanks in a couple layers of tape before putting it in my 4 jaw (pin jaws I think). Durimg drilling the blank still came apart but was contained. Am I wrong to assume that at that point it's "done for" like a broken glass? With the scallop all the way to one end of the blank which end should I start the center hole?

Here is another option. Because some of the segmented blanks really need to be drilled very straight I found it to be more accurate if I turned my blanks round between centers and if they survived then drill down the middle. In rethinking this maybe this just weakens the joints.
Dale

 

[jttheclockman]

Things to try are,

ditch the brad point,
try CA glue,
start the drilling with a smaller bit.


Dale

Hey Dale, all good ideas, especially ditching the brad point. And depending on how you drill, you may be able to wrap the blank with tape and/or rubber bands to help hold it together.

THanks for your suggestion Bob but that brings up another question. I did wrap one of the blanks in a couple layers of tape before putting it in my 4 jaw (pin jaws I think). Durimg drilling the blank still came apart but was contained. Am I wrong to assume that at that point it's "done for" like a broken glass? With the scallop all the way to one end of the blank which end should I start the center hole?

Here is another option. Because some of the segmented blanks really need to be drilled very straight I found it to be more accurate if I turned my blanks round between centers and if they survived then drill down the middle. In rethinking this maybe this just weakens the joints.
Dale

I will throw my 2 cents worth out here.

I do not know about the blank you mentioned. I highly suggest you get the PSI pen drilling chuck if you are going to drill on a lathe ( Dedicated Pen Blank Drilling Chuck at Penn State Industries ). This chuck is well worth its weight in gold. The problem with standard pin chucks is they do not grip the blank properly all the way down. They now will have a tendency to let the blank shift ever so slightly when drilling and that is all it takes to cause those segmented blanks to blow up.

I suggest you soak the blank in CA before drilling. I prefer to leave the blank square to give it more material as you drill. This is more glue surface to help with the pressure of drilling. I always like to drill into the scallop from the front of it.

 

[Dale Parrott]

Thanks John for the suggestions. You have given me some good things to try. I just placed an order for a set of collects so I'm not sure the dedicated chuck is in the budget. It's on the list though.
Dale

 

[BSea]

THanks for your suggestion Bob but that brings up another question. I did wrap one of the blanks in a couple layers of tape before putting it in my 4 jaw (pin jaws I think). Durimg drilling the blank still came apart but was contained. Am I wrong to assume that at that point it's "done for" like a broken glass?

I've been able to re-glue the scalloped pieces after they came apart. Seems like the glue gets hot and fails rather than the scalloped piece. Now I have had them that were ruined when they blew up. But more often than not, I can fix them

With the scallop all the way to one end of the blank which end should I start the center hole?

I always start drilling into the end that's going to be scalloped 1st. That way you know that the scallops will be even around the hole. If your bit drifts, and comes out the other side out of center, the scallops won't look right.

Here is another option. Because some of the segmented blanks really need to be drilled very straight I found it to be more accurate if I turned my blanks round between centers and if they survived then drill down the middle. In rethinking this maybe this just weakens the joints.
Dale

It all depends on how it came apart. Here's how I do scallops:

I round the ends of the blank leaving the sides square. This way I can use my disc sander to cut the angle s for the scallops. It's really inportant to have a piece squared, or as close as possible.

Before I cut the blank for the scallops, I drill the blank with a small bit that will go all the way through the blank. Usually a 7mm. And I start the drilling on the end where the scallops are going to be.

I then use my disc sander to cut the blank for the scallops. Then glue on the scallops. Be sure & leave a little extra of the scallop material on the end. It may make the blank about 1/8" longer than when you started. You will remove it after re-drilling.

Then round the end with the scallops. (use lots of CA at this point) Don't take it down, just back to round. The end with the scallops should be able to go into your collet chuck.

Now put the blank into the collet chuck scalloped end toward the head stock. Now you should be able to chase the same hole and drill out the scalloped material. Be gentle when drilling. The extra scallop material is just a safeguard against blowout.

Now drill your blank with the proper sized bit for your pen. You might use a few bits and work your way up to the final size. DO NOT let it get hot. But your probably know that.:wink:

I hope this is clear.

 

[Dale Parrott]

As a follow up JT I chose not to get the dedicated drilling chuck for cost reasons. I opted for a new set of drilling jaws for my Barracuda II from PSI. I think they work the same way and was much easier on the budget. They work very well.

I also bought a few regular end 7mm bits.

 

[mikebpeters]

you did a very nice job - nice and clean on the segments. Much nicer than my first attempt!