A Touch of Copper

[wizard]

It's been a while since I have found time to post a pen. I feel like I'm coming home to a place to rest after eventful years of my life. I have missed you guys. Kids grow up and the house gets quieter. In moments of solitude, I came to the realization that the most valuable and priceless item in my shop was time spent with my sons. Those packets too fleeting to hold or capture remain treasured memories.

Nevertheless, since my sons never fail to ask "Dad, watcha been making" ...
I though I would oblige them.... so I started of with a 1/2" round bar of copper, a Bock Fine Stainless Steel Nib and an electroplating rig, copper plating electrode and some kitless tools came up with this creation---a Touch of Copper. Hope you like it. Kind Regards, Doc

 

[Bob in SF]

Beautiful!

 

[magpens]

Welcome back, wizard !! . Sure have missed your creative expressions here.

This copper pen is magnificent to the ultimate !!!!!

 

[1080Wayne]

Looks great ! Did you finish it with anything to retard patina development ?

 

[gtriever]

Amazing work!

 

[Dalecamino]

It looks great Doc!

 

[MRDucks2]

Nice


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[SteveJ]

That is just awesome!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[robutacion]

Beautifully made, congrats...!

Cheers
George

 

[Jim15]

Awesome pen.

 

[leehljp]

Beautiful work. Perfect.

Curious about one thing: Does the electroplating of the steel nib affect the feed in any way? Not questioning your work, just want to learn from it.

 

[LouCee]

Wow, that is impressive! Great to see you posting again.

 

[Dieseldoc]

Thinking Out of the box for sure, results are awesome.

 

[ebill]

---a Touch of Copper. Hope you like it. Kind Regards, Doc

- in a word: wow !

- ebill > an impressive bit(s) of craftsmanship there Doc !

 

[Curly]

Always a treat to see your latest.

So would it be the proper pen for Copperplate style font?

 

[wizard]

Beautiful!

Bob, thank you for your kind comment.

Beautifully made, congrats...!

Cheers
George

Thanks George!

Awesome pen.

Hi Jim, Thank you as always!

Beautiful work. Perfect.

Curious about one thing: Does the electroplating of the steel nib affect the feed in any way? Not questioning your work, just want to learn from it.

Lee, I welcome questioning of my work... as sometimes I have no idea what I am doing. In answer to your question.. Absolutely yes it affected it!
That's why only the top of the nib is heavily plated and polished to allow for flow. The area below is still polished steel.

Thinking Out of the box for sure, results are awesome.

Thank you for your kind words Charlie!

---a Touch of Copper. Hope you like it. Kind Regards, Doc

- in a word: wow !
- ebill > an impressive bit(s) of craftsmanship there Doc !

William, thank you for the encouragement!

Wow, that is impressive! Great to see you posting again.

Chad, Thank you... I have missed it..

Always a treat to see your latest.

So would it be the proper pen for Copperplate style font?

Peter, Thank you! LOL...I would have to learn calligraphy.

Welcome back, wizard !! . Sure have missed your creative expressions here.


This copper pen is magnificent to the ultimate !!!!!

Mal, Thank you !

Looks great ! Did you finish it with anything to retard patina development ?

Thank you, Not yet.. Have two spray products that I am deciding on....

That is just awesome!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Thanks Steve!

Nice

Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

Thanks Mike!

Amazing work!

Art, thank you very much !

It looks great Doc!

Chuck, Thank you! Good to hear from you!

 

[lorbay]

Just awesome Doc.
Lin

 

[NewfoundlandLaw]

Simply Beautiful!!!


"Pen Turning on the Rock"

 

[Sataro]

Fantastic work! Amazing how elegant that copper looks.

 

[Paul in OKC]

Sometimes I wonder why I do this when I see pens like that! Beautiful work, and something to inspire my own future projects! Agree about the time with the kiddos. I still have three at home, which has limited my shop time, but wouldn't trade it!

 

[magpens]

Doc,

Would you be able to, briefly, offer some tips on machining copper (on metal-working lathe and mill), please.

I have tried, without much success at all. . Copper seems to just grab a "normal" tool bit that I routinely use for brass and the results are terrible. . Even a simple operation like parting-off is a "grab and stick" nightmare. . Do you tailor your cutting tool in a special way ? . Is there a "special" cutting speed ? . What about cutting fluid ?

Any tips would be appreciated, please.

 

[acmaclaren]

Wow! That's beautiful!

 

[BW Design Works]

Looks great! Good to see you back around on the boards Doc! I look forward to seeing more of your work.

 

[johncrane]

Awesome pen and work Doc! copper is a real bugger to work and drill you done a great job.

 

[Aces-High]

That is amazballs!

 

[wizard]

Just awesome Doc.
Lin

Lin, Thank you!

Simply Beautiful!!!


"Pen Turning on the Rock"

Thanks Marc!

Fantastic work! Amazing how elegant that copper looks.

Billy, Thank you!

Sometimes I wonder why I do this when I see pens like that! Beautiful work, and something to inspire my own future projects! Agree about the time with the kiddos. I still have three at home, which has limited my shop time, but wouldn't trade it!

Paul, Thank you .....and you do this because you love it, you are good at it and I have an exquisite piece of tooling with two red jaws that clamp down and allow me to drill a an accurate and precise hole in a center of a pen blank. I thank you each time I do. Enjoy all three...i they want to work in shop with you.. if not whatever they are up to spend time with sounds good! !!

Doc,



Would you be able to, briefly, offer some tips on machining copper (on metal-working lathe and mill), please.

I have tried, without much success at all. . Copper seems to just grab a "normal" tool bit that I routinely use for brass and the results are terrible. . Even a simple operation like parting-off is a "grab and stick" nightmare. . Do you tailor your cutting tool in a special way ? . Is there a "special" cutting speed ? . What about cutting fluid ?

Any tips would be appreciated, please.

Mal, I truly avoided copper until I got a different type of holder and cutter for my lathe. Still have to go slow speeds no specific just go by feel, no cutting fluids to cool, shallow cuts so it cuts easy without getting gummy. It's called a diamond tool holder and is a tangential cutter. I use the round crobalt cutters. It just seems to work better for me. You may already know about them or take a look.



https://eccentricengineering.com.au/

YouTube - Diamond Tool Holder in use


Mal. PM and I can give you more details.

Wow! That's beautiful!

Thank you!

Looks great! Good to see you back around on the boards Doc! I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Byron, Thank you, It's good to be back.

Awesome pen and work Doc! copper is a real bugger to work and drill you done a great job.

John, So nice to hear from you. Thank you!

That is amazballs!

Thanks Jason!

 

[Gregory Hardy]

That is really fabulous! Plating the nib and clip to match was a real touch of class. Better start digging for some copper colored ink for that one! Beautiful work.

 

[Curly]

I like the Diamond tool too. Knew a guy that made bench rest rifles for long range shooting and he used them including for threading. He had 4 and was going to get more.

 

[magpens]

Doc and Curly ....

That diamond cutting tool video (youtube) is interesting but would be much better if photography were sharply focussed.

I am wondering how that technique differs from using a diamond shaped carbide cutter ? . Hmmmm ... seems that angles come into play ....

Not sure what "tangential cutter" means ... seems to me that all lathe cutting could be called "tangential cutting" .... ?

 

[its_virgil]

Beautiful as always..your work is awsome. Thanks for sharing.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Curly]

Doc and Curly ....

That diamond cutting tool video (youtube) is interesting but would be much better if photography were sharply focussed.

I am wondering how that technique differs from using a diamond shaped carbide cutter ? . Hmmmm ... seems that angles come into play ....

Not sure what "tangential cutter" means ... seems to me that all lathe cutting could be called "tangential cutting" .... ?

There are other videos with better resolution.

Mal the tool is a variant of tools that have been around for at least a hundred years. Instead of the tool bit pointing at the work it is held off vertical about 15 degrees towards and to one side or the other. I think the name is because the bit is held at a tangent to the work. Not really important what it's called it just works for ninety percent of the cutting.

A diamond shaped insert is more for access since it is more elongated. Because the edge is usually not as sharp as one in HSS it requires more power and rigidity from the lathe to get optimal performance. A small lathe performs better in most case with HSS.