A Couple of Acrylics

[jcreasey]

Lately I have been working my way through some different blanks to see how they come out. The pink one is quite nice, but I'm not mad about the green one. Oh well, it's always interesting to see how they turn out.

 

[qquake]

They both look well turned and finished. Actually, I prefer the green one over the pink one. I like its visual interest.

 

[TonyL]

Both are very nice! Did you add a custom finial to the green one?

 

[mecompco]

I, too, prefer the green one. Both are nice, though!

Regards,
Michael

 

[magpens]

I like them both very much ... and you have made good use of props to accentuate the colors.

What pen kits did you use for each ?

 

[Rockytime]

Pink is not my color but I love the green!

 

[jcreasey]

Both are very nice! Did you add a custom finial to the green one?

Hi Tony, no that is what came with the kit.
The kits are SN Gent for the green one, and Tycoon Rollerball for the pink one.
The pink one is platinum coated.

I made bad mistakes on both of them. The pink one has bubbles in the glue between the brass and the blank. It kind of looks ok though because it gives it some depth. I think it looks like its made of melting pink ice.

I damaged the tube paint on the green one when I was gluing it up. I can see a shadow through the blank which I find destroys the look for me.

Each time I make a pen, I seem to find a new way of stuffing up!!
I think also my standards get higher each time.

Thanks everyone for looking.

 

[TonyL]

Thank you for the reply. I am very impatient (which is an improvement because I used to have negative patience). But being impatient in my case has its advantages. Because there is no way that I want to waste time, I:
Paint the tube and the barrels unless it is wood only AND let dry for at least 12 or more hours.
Use epoxy, unless is wood only
Use bee's wax to plug the tubes before gluing
Gently clean the wax residue from exterior of the tubes with a little DNA

I can name another 12 steps which I "hated" doing, but I really hate doing something over, repairing, disassembling or hiding defects behind clips, etc.

As I always say, I know folks that turn beautiful pens and sell them for a very good price that don't do many of the things that I do. I just can't get away with it or would really regret the error/mishap if I didn't do it. And even after I do all of the steps, I still have failures - but they are less frequent.


At the end of the day, I am a stock penturner, the least I can do is turn one or two "2-inch" cylinders and make a pen (as opposed to what the custom guys/gals do, bowl turners, "exotic" finishers, and all of the other advanced turning skills and professions).


Thanks again for the reply.

 

[Jgrden]

Watch Gear Pen

The first time piece pen was completed this afternoon. Soooo many things went wrong that it is not going to be photographed. The resin took a month to cure (it was the wrong stuff), gummed up my band saw. Even though the watch gears were wrapped, one of them was too close to the surfaced and snagged on the chisel. The chrome parts do not go ago with the grey watch gears. I wonder if it even writes.?? :rain: The tolerancves from resin to metal were far too big not even close to what I have seen others do.

Sorry,, this does not belong here. What else can go wrong??