Gagler
Member
After the power went out for a while in the Houston area due to Hurricane Ike, the wife and kids went out of town for some electricity, air conditioning, and TV. I, ever the dutiful husband, stayed home to protect the castle from the beautiful new hole in the roof Ike was kind enough to leave us as a parting gift.
Seeing as how there was no power, and I was one of the few who didn't have a generator in the new Generator Capitol of the World, I was unable to spin anything or make funnels on the lathe. So, I pulled out my trusty Betsy Ross pen kit while there was daylight and started applying the CA glue to the stars and stripes and assemble the kit. The stars were very tedious, and while my vision is still intact I really could have used one of those magnifying lamps you see in the dentist office or for people who do fine needlepoint work like my Mom.
Anyway, as usual, I digress.
This is dyed curly maple and the pieces were cut out with a laser by my new friend Ken at Kallenshaan Woods in Las Vegas (in reality he wouldn't know me from Adam, but he does some cool stuff and the next time I go to Vegas I am going to try to go to his studio) - check out his website for some really neat kits for your unique Christmas or holiday gift giving: http://www.kallenshaanwoods.com
After gluing all the pieces, it took me a week to find time to use two-part epoxy to glue it on to tube. After another couple of days, the next step was to square it up with your disc sander. Someone once told me a poor craftsman blames his tools, and I blame my disc sander because I am too stupid to pull out or make a jig to "square" it to the sander as I, being a graduate of Texas A&M, felt like I could eyeball that sucker to the brass tube.
That was a mistake, as the results were something like a texas university vs. Texas A&M graduate would create.
There is a slight gap if you peer up close and personal to it next to the nib. I purposefully backed off from the focus of the camera so you couldn't see it, but seeing how honesty is the best policy I thought I would come clean with each of you. My backing off the camera and cropping the photo has some depth issues - let me work on the lathe issues first, then I'll concentrate on photography!
I feel better already after this moment of confession.
After cursing a bit because of the faulty (craftsman) disc sander, I put it on the lathe, pulled out the skew, and brought that new blank down to size for the Sierra pen. Sanded and micromeshed to 12,000 grit, then applied the now-trusty BLO / CA glue finish. I let the finish cure for 24 hours (a) because I was tired, and (b) I didn't want to screw this pen up. Besides, I've never spent two weeks making a pen before. After it was all dry, I MM'd through 12,000 again.
This is my first post-Hurricane Ike turning, and I felt like I was going through withdrawal. Sorry for the long-winded post. As usual, your comments and suggestions are appreciated!
Regards,
Michael
Seeing as how there was no power, and I was one of the few who didn't have a generator in the new Generator Capitol of the World, I was unable to spin anything or make funnels on the lathe. So, I pulled out my trusty Betsy Ross pen kit while there was daylight and started applying the CA glue to the stars and stripes and assemble the kit. The stars were very tedious, and while my vision is still intact I really could have used one of those magnifying lamps you see in the dentist office or for people who do fine needlepoint work like my Mom.
Anyway, as usual, I digress.
This is dyed curly maple and the pieces were cut out with a laser by my new friend Ken at Kallenshaan Woods in Las Vegas (in reality he wouldn't know me from Adam, but he does some cool stuff and the next time I go to Vegas I am going to try to go to his studio) - check out his website for some really neat kits for your unique Christmas or holiday gift giving: http://www.kallenshaanwoods.com
After gluing all the pieces, it took me a week to find time to use two-part epoxy to glue it on to tube. After another couple of days, the next step was to square it up with your disc sander. Someone once told me a poor craftsman blames his tools, and I blame my disc sander because I am too stupid to pull out or make a jig to "square" it to the sander as I, being a graduate of Texas A&M, felt like I could eyeball that sucker to the brass tube.
That was a mistake, as the results were something like a texas university vs. Texas A&M graduate would create.
There is a slight gap if you peer up close and personal to it next to the nib. I purposefully backed off from the focus of the camera so you couldn't see it, but seeing how honesty is the best policy I thought I would come clean with each of you. My backing off the camera and cropping the photo has some depth issues - let me work on the lathe issues first, then I'll concentrate on photography!
I feel better already after this moment of confession.
After cursing a bit because of the faulty (craftsman) disc sander, I put it on the lathe, pulled out the skew, and brought that new blank down to size for the Sierra pen. Sanded and micromeshed to 12,000 grit, then applied the now-trusty BLO / CA glue finish. I let the finish cure for 24 hours (a) because I was tired, and (b) I didn't want to screw this pen up. Besides, I've never spent two weeks making a pen before. After it was all dry, I MM'd through 12,000 again.
This is my first post-Hurricane Ike turning, and I felt like I was going through withdrawal. Sorry for the long-winded post. As usual, your comments and suggestions are appreciated!
Regards,
Michael
:wink:
