Inspiration

[jttheclockman]

I decided to place this thread in the pen turning forum because this is one source I get when making my custom pens. I call them custom pens and will get push back from that because it is not kitless. But to me the cherry on any pen cake is the blank. It is not the thread made on the nibs and things like this. people look at the blank. There are some super talented pen makers here that make the entire pen and that is their thing. Not sure why I am defending my thoughts and work here but thought I would clarify my custom pen wording.

Anyway one source I always took ideas and thoughts from and will even do much more over the up coming years when I do get back into my hobbies and get this other work done is to look at the billiard cue industry. yes they have tools that suit their needs. But when you think about it, they are working with a round canvas just as we are. Theirs is a little larger but still same principle. But what always amazed me is what can be put in that canvas. The sky is the limit. With our casting resins and routers and other tools we can adapt many of these ideas used in pool cue making and incorporate them in pen making. Over the years I have shown many of my designs and have o say they came from pool cues. others have also shown the use of segmenting that many times imitates trim rings and center bands used in pool cues. I also many times tried to encourage others to step outside the normal boxes of turning plain jane woods or acrylics and step up to creative pen making. You do not have to make kitless pens to do this. There are so many kits that can incorporate designs.

I guess my whole point of this thread is to express my huge interest in the 2025 International Cue Collection show in Chattanooga Tennessee going on. People get jacked up to go to pen turning shows, well the interest in Pool Cue shows is just as hot. I wish I could visit one of these shows one day. But for now I am enjoying the commentary on FB. But just to see so many beautiful cues from all the top cue makers in the world show up and compete is amazing. These cue makers make cues from woods and materials just like us. They are bought by collectors just like us. And their cues are used by many major players in the game over the years just like us putting our pens in famous hands. At the bottom I will show a few pens inspired from pool cues. I will be taking my love for the billiard game to new heights when it comes to designs.

Also here is a link to one of the top cue makers around and check his web site out and just look at the details in his work. the use of real gem stones as well as real metals such as gold and silver make his cues expensive but well sought after. To me this is what we all should strive for hen doing pen making. No reason we can not.

https://www.blackcues.com/

 

[Woodchipper]

Not familiar with custom pool cues but understand that some will command a price of four figures.

 

[jttheclockman]

Not familiar with custom pool cues but understand that some will command a price of four figures.

4 figures. try 6 figures. They talked to Nick Varner and he said he started making a line of cues but his can not compete with the $200,000 cues that some of the makers do. Some of these cues are just drop dead gorgeous. The diamonds and rubies in them. Definitely have to have some throw away cash.

 

[NJturner]

Interesting that you bring custom pool cues into the discussion areas here - and that you talk to the custom resins used for pool cues. One of the vendors at the recent DC Pen Show was Atlas Supplies Link who was showing a sizable number of very cool materials that they make specifically for the pool cue industry, but that can be repurposed for custom pen making. They were doing a good business off the show floor, with their custom cue stick materials to a bunch of the penmakers attending the show, including me.

I spent a good amount of cash at their booth purchasing different rods for use in some of my custom pens. The material is FAR from inexpensive, so it might be some of the reason for the high cost of pool cues, as they use a whole lot more product than our pens do. I have not yet had enough time to play with them yet, but you are correct, the material in cue sticks is pretty much the same as what we use.

Check out their website - link above.

Kevin

 

[jttheclockman]

Interesting that you bring custom pool cues into the discussion areas here - and that you talk to the custom resins used for pool cues. One of the vendors at the recent DC Pen Show was Atlas Supplies Link who was showing a sizable number of very cool materials that they make specifically for the pool cue industry, but that can be repurposed for custom pen making. They were doing a good business off the show floor, with their custom cue stick materials to a bunch of the penmakers attending the show, including me.

I spent a good amount of cash at their booth purchasing different rods for use in some of my custom pens. The material is FAR from inexpensive, so it might be some of the reason for the high cost of pool cues, as they use a whole lot more product than our pens do. I have not yet had enough time to play with them yet, but you are correct, the material in cue sticks is pretty much the same as what we use.

Check out their website - link above.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin will do. Always looking for new things to play with in the pen turning world. I admire what many of the kitless people can do as well as the few laser people here that make blanks. I am limited to what I have to work with but keep my mind open to possible designs. I noticed a few cues over the years have gone to using braided materials such as stainless steel and even copper within their handles. I ran into a guy at a woodworking show and he just happen to be a vendor there selling his pool cues and long and behold he had a copper braided handle for a cue. So I happened to have one of my copper braided pens with me and we laughed. It just a crossover in 2 different fields.

 

[Dustman]

John, I think as you do. Regardless of the pen we are making it is custom. We choose the kit and then we choose which blank and then we choose which finish. We also choose whether or not to create an inlay. I could go on. So yes, we make custom pens. Thank you for bringing that up.

 

[Jim15]

John, your work is amazing!

 

[Paul in OKC]

Some of the fun part of being a machinist has been some of the side work I have done for a few cue makers. Fixtures, patterns, etc. I have always thought of doing some in pens and just never finished any. The tube with the inlays I did a several years ago for a friend. This one had some flaws so made another. It is purple heart and maple done on a cnc machine and has three 'panels'. The 'points' piece is something that has been in progress for a few years and just haven't gotten back around to it. It is fun to think about.

 

[jttheclockman]

Some of the fun part of being a machinist has been some of the side work I have done for a few cue makers. Fixtures, patterns, etc. I have always thought of doing some in pens and just never finished any. The tube with the inlays I did a several years ago for a friend. This one had some flaws so made another. It is purple heart and maple done on a cnc machine and has three 'panels'. The 'points' piece is something that has been in progress for a few years and just haven't gotten back around to it. It is fun to think about.

Very nice. I wish I were into the CNC thing but have to rely on more conventional tools and it does limit me but there are still so many things that can be done weather segmenting or casting. They become unique and usually one of a kind. I hate doing multiples and that is why I did not like selling ornaments or things like that made with my scrollsaw. One area I may get into a little is doing some of these type designs using the scrollsaw. I can still cut a straight line so always wanted to try different things that way. One day I will get back into shop and play some. I know my buddy SkipRat (Steven) did some amazing work with making points like in billiard cues and many other cool designs that I always wanted to try. I know I am physically running out of time but still want to hopefully give the effort in trying things.

 

[RichAldrich]

Great pens John!

 

[Woodchipper]

Custom is one of a kind. I built custom fishing rods for seven years. Each one was different than those on the rack at the store. Custom is different than a pack of ten ballpoint pens at Dollar Tree; actually dollar and a quarter.

 

[woodwzrd]

@jttheclockman I always appreciate seeing pictures of your work and now that you point it out I can certainly see the cue inspiration. When I was in my teens and in Boy Scouts we used to go past Schmelke Cues in Rice Lake Wisconsin every summer on our way to camp. Fast forward into my mid Early 30's when I took an interest in making game calls I remembered Schmelke's and one summer when I was at camp as an assistant Scout Master, I took a trip into town to visit their store and asked if they sold cue blanks to turners. They took me back into their shop and showed me the racks with 100's of cue blanks and I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor. I left there with several primo exotic blanks that I purchased and at least a dozen cut offs that had what they considered defects in them that they just gave me. I'm pretty sure if I dig deep enough I could still find a couple pieces of Rosewood from there.

 

[jttheclockman]

@jttheclockman I always appreciate seeing pictures of your work and now that you point it out I can certainly see the cue inspiration. When I was in my teens and in Boy Scouts we used to go past Schmelke Cues in Rice Lake Wisconsin every summer on our way to camp. Fast forward into my mid Early 30's when I took an interest in making game calls I remembered Schmelke's and one summer when I was at camp as an assistant Scout Master, I took a trip into town to visit their store and asked if they sold cue blanks to turners. They took me back into their shop and showed me the racks with 100's of cue blanks and I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor. I left there with several primo exotic blanks that I purchased and at least a dozen cut offs that had what they considered defects in them that they just gave me. I'm pretty sure if I dig deep enough I could still find a couple pieces of Rosewood from there.

Oh I drool at some of the cue blanks these dealers have. They get museum grade stuff. I have a bunch of A+++ round maple blanks that I may use some day. They are as straight and clean grain as can be. Watching and looking at some of the cues from that show I linked I have gotten a few inspired ideas. I see one cue that I wish I could do the inlay that was on this cue. It is making me want to get a Beall Pen Wizard. Just that there is another whole lot of learning and not sure how much more learning I have left in me. Something to think about.

 

[leehljp]

Speaking of Inspiration, I can usually visualize difficult assemblies, designs and new ideas in my mind. Two problems that I did have were:
1. the herringbone, although I had the beginnings in my mind - a 3 piece version that KenB recently mentioned that he might try. That is what I saw from the beginning but never did try it.

2. the one I never could figure out was one of "Eagle's" in which there were bandsaw cuts that went straight, curved a bit and came back. That is not the proper description, but when one looks and sees it, there is something that doesn't add up to these eyes.

I enjoy reading of other's inspirations and what triggers the specific designs.

Speaking of inspiration and the way I visualize things, here is a router table that I made when I was in Japan. I designed the table for a 2 router set up. I need one for a bit to stay in at the same height and the other router for changing bits out for different cuts.

The router center is below. The reason I brought this in - is because I designed the whole thing in my mind, every cut, every dimension. I saw the whole thing before I started cutting or building. Inspiration and Visualization are 1st cousins! But I can't do that now. I have to write numbers and dimensions down. Even with pens, I have to write my thoughts on what I plan to do or I will certainly mess up.

 

[jttheclockman]

I hear you Hank and right there with you about visions. I see a project and my mind goes into warp drive and the ideas and thoughts start to center around this project. I have to say my the proudest piece I ever did and it was one of those moments where I started the project and every step of the project require a jig or a plan to make the cuts or how I was going to connect things and that was the Pool Table pen box which I shown here and have over many times, just the rubber bumpers needed 3 different cuts to get the shape needed. But I even amazed myself I was in such a zone things just worked out first time and was spot on. The compound angles of the sides required some trial and error but zeroed in real fast. yes I have a pool table that I was drawing reference off and ideas and that helped.

But I take joy in doing things like that and that was why I was so high on and got the Pen Box and Pen Stand contest pushed forward to become a mainstay in the Bash contests. But to my dismay the desire to do this kind of things was not there. Thus the contests did not last. I get the making pens thing here but there is so much more than that and having a creative mind is within us all. Over the years I had hoped some of my work would INSPIRE others to try. That was what I thought was what I wanted to be remembered for here. There are many talented woodworkers here as well as pen makers, not only kitless but also kit pens. There are talented blank makers and also jig makers here and they will leave their mark. The different category of blanks being made is inspirational. I believe I still have alot to try to do with the time I have left. Hopefully just maybe I touch one person and inspire them. Just look around us, there is so many things that can inspire us and wake up our design features rolling around in our heads. Hopefully some new ideas will appear this winter. But in the mean time here are some more inspirational items I made for the contests.

 

[jttheclockman]

Interesting that you bring custom pool cues into the discussion areas here - and that you talk to the custom resins used for pool cues. One of the vendors at the recent DC Pen Show was Atlas Supplies Link who was showing a sizable number of very cool materials that they make specifically for the pool cue industry, but that can be repurposed for custom pen making. They were doing a good business off the show floor, with their custom cue stick materials to a bunch of the penmakers attending the show, including me.

I spent a good amount of cash at their booth purchasing different rods for use in some of my custom pens. The material is FAR from inexpensive, so it might be some of the reason for the high cost of pool cues, as they use a whole lot more product than our pens do. I have not yet had enough time to play with them yet, but you are correct, the material in cue sticks is pretty much the same as what we use.

Check out their website - link above.

Kevin

I buy from them all the time.