Pen Engraving - Assembled or not ?

[penmanship]

When you are having a pen engraved, is it better to have the pen assembled before the engraving, or have the tubes done and assemble the pen after the engraving?
Oh yeah......Also, who knows a good engraver? I'm doing a pen for a co-workers wedding, and the lions share of the work is done. All that is left is to have it engraved.
As always, any assistance is appreciated,

 

[Daniel]

All pens I have had engraved have been assembled. an exception to that would be a picture or design that would wrap all the way around the barrel so talking to the engraver would be a good idea.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Check with Stan (mrcook4570). He has a website.

 

[hunter-27]

Check with Stan (mrcook4570). He has a website.

Stan will have you assemble the pen.

 

[Sylvanite]

The answer is "it depends". Ask your engraver how he wants it.

I use two different fixtures for laser-engraving pens: one for "flat" engraving, and one for "cylindrical" engraving. The flat method is good for putting a line of text on one or both barrels of a pen. For an image (or text) that wraps around the barrel, cylindrical engraving is necessary.

When doing flat engraving, I ask for the completed pen, preferably with a hard finish like CA or enduro. For cylindrical engraving, I ask for the unassembled pen barrel, and depending on what the customer plans to do with it, sometimes finished, sometimes unfinished.

I hope that helps,
Eric

 

[mrcook4570]

The short answer is 'It depends.'

Assembled - one or two lines of text that will be parallel to the axis of the pen; very small or long thin graphics; images or text that will wrap around the lower barrel of twist pens

Unassembled (but with finish applied) - images or text that will wrap around the pen

Unassembled (no finish) - engraving for inlay

Color fill is much easier to apply when all pores are completely sealed.

 

[GouletPens]

I have a laser engraver locally here in Richmond, Va. and I like to have all my pens engraved before I assemble them. It's easier to set up a jig to hold just the barrel rather than the whole pen, and if (heaven forbid) something goes screwy with the engraving, I'm not at risk of losing a kit, just the wood (and my time!!). The only time I engrave whole pens is when I'm selling them as ready-made and they're already assembled, then I take the risk. But that's not most of my sales.