Amethyst and Maple Burl caps

[Darrin]

Hi folks, I've been absent for quite some time since getting my small machine shop set up but wanted to let you know I've not stopped making pens.
This is Amethyst stones set between a couple Maple Burl Caps.
Took some thinking on how to get the finish figured out, since the two mediums differ.
Dry micro-mesh then CA and wet micro-mesh with a few coats of BLO in between the two.
Hope everyone is having fun at the show this weekend thats attending!

 

[qquake]

That is really pretty!

 

[Painfullyslow]

Very beautiful!

 

[Jim15]

Great work.

 

[KMCloonan]

Excellent pen. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Alan Morrison]

Very good on the pen and also very good photography, Darrin.

Alan

 

[Sataro]

Pen looks great!

 

[LouCee]

Looks great, nice work!

 

[jrista]

Very nice, and unique.

Im curious...how do you turn the amethyst?

 

[Darrin]

Very nice, and unique.

Im curious...how do you turn the amethyst?

The stones are glued to the tube then cast in resin. If you get too close you'll kill a carbide cutter on them.

 

[sorcerertd]

I love the stone inlay. I've done a couple and definitely abused some carbide on them. One was unakite, but the other two were quite a bit lower on the MOHS scale, labradorite and septarian dragon stone (mostly yellow calcite, which melted a little with the CA I used). Resin would probably work a lot better than CA for filling the gaps.

What glue did you use to affix the stones to the tube? I'm also curious how you cast the resin around it? Was that after rounding it out since you had to glue the amethyst in place? Are you able to do this without a pressure pot?