Challenging Project Anyone???

[Timbo]

I have a request from a gentlemen who want s a custom wood pen, incorporating a cut nail from a historical building into the design. This would be challenging job suited more to some of you then me. If you're interested and have the skill set to take this on PM me and I'll supply his contact info. Thanks.

 

[Skie_M]

DO NOT attempt to turn the wood with a nail stuck in it ....

REMOVE THE NAIL and then cut, drill, and turn the blank .... MAKE CERTAIN YOU HAVE ALREADY FINISHED THE REST OF THE PEN OR THE SANDING DUST WILL RUIN YOUR WOOD! SEAL IT IN CA!!!!!


Once finished with that, take some LEAD-FREE SOLDER from the plumbing section and snip a piece off, CA glue that into the nail holes, lining them up ... once the CA has set, you can easily and much more safely turn the silver/tin based solder down to the wood. If needed, you can take a small drill bit and clear any CA blocking the nail holes before gluing the bits of solder in place.

Finish over top of the "nail" bits - don't forget to sand and polish them up before applying CA over top of everything. If you didn't seal your blank before sanding the metal, the black metal dust will infiltrate every single open wood pore ... SEAL THE BLANK FIRST BEFORE APPLYING YOUR METAL INLAY.


You can easily take on a project like this yourself, but if you really want someone else to do it, I could probably handle it around the end of February ...

 

[Timbo]

DO NOT attempt to turn the wood with a nail stuck in it ....

REMOVE THE NAIL and then cut, drill, and turn the blank .... MAKE CERTAIN YOU HAVE ALREADY FINISHED THE REST OF THE PEN OR THE SANDING DUST WILL RUIN YOUR WOOD! SEAL IT IN CA!!!!!


Once finished with that, take some LEAD-FREE SOLDER from the plumbing section and snip a piece off, CA glue that into the nail holes, lining them up ... once the CA has set, you can easily and much more safely turn the silver/tin based solder down to the wood. If needed, you can take a small drill bit and clear any CA blocking the nail holes before gluing the bits of solder in place.

Finish over top of the "nail" bits - don't forget to sand and polish them up before applying CA over top of everything. If you didn't seal your blank before sanding the metal, the black metal dust will infiltrate every single open wood pore ... SEAL THE BLANK FIRST BEFORE APPLYING YOUR METAL INLAY.


You can easily take on a project like this yourself, but if you really want someone else to do it, I could probably handle it around the end of February ...

Let me clarify...The nail is to be incorporated into the design of the pen as a clip, or possibly a button for a click pen. Not in the wood itself...I'm not that crazy! This job would require someone with some metal working skills.

 

[Skie_M]

Oh .... and how large is this nail? What's it made from?


Keep in mind that nails from historic times were commonly made of pure iron (pig iron) or accidental mild steel. It's also possible to find copper and brass nails and tacks that were used a long time ago, along with their modern counterparts.

Pure iron isn't very springy. Making a clip would be a bad idea for a pure iron nail, as it cannot be heat treated and then spring tempered... that requires steel with a decent amount of carbon content. Copper would deform a little too easily, but brass would be fairly ideal for a clip.

Any of them would do alright as a push button or bent round into a jump ring (or small coil/spring) and then turned to form the center band. Again, you could probably do most of that yourself, though if it's a pure iron nail you're going to want to heat it and bend it while red-hot, while the copper or brass would generally be much easier to bend around a mandrel form (use a spare 7mm or 1/4" drill bit shank gripped in a vice).

All three material types can be turned on a wood lathe using modern HSS tools ... sharp chisels, decently high speeds, very light cuts. Seal surface with CA to prevent or at least forestall corrosion ... it's a piece of history, right?

 

[Timbo]

Oh .... and how large is this nail? What's it made from?


Keep in mind that nails from historic times were commonly made of pure iron (pig iron) or accidental mild steel. It's also possible to find copper and brass nails and tacks that were used a long time ago, along with their modern counterparts.

Pure iron isn't very springy. Making a clip would be a bad idea for a pure iron nail, as it cannot be heat treated and then spring tempered... that requires steel with a decent amount of carbon content. Copper would deform a little too easily, but brass would be fairly ideal for a clip.

Any of them would do alright as a push button or bent round into a jump ring (or small coil/spring) and then turned to form the center band. Again, you could probably do most of that yourself, though if it's a pure iron nail you're going to want to heat it and bend it while red-hot, while the copper or brass would generally be much easier to bend around a mandrel form (use a spare 7mm or 1/4" drill bit shank gripped in a vice).

All three material types can be turned on a wood lathe using modern HSS tools ... sharp chisels, decently high speeds, very light cuts. Seal surface with CA to prevent or at least forestall corrosion ... it's a piece of history, right?

Thanks. Interesting information but I don't need it...remember I'm not taking this job. If anyone would be interested in tackling this, I'd past the potential customer's contact info on the them, they'll then be able to ask all the questions they want.

 

[jttheclockman]

Cast the nail in a kit. The Spring Blossom from (Timberbits)kit is the perfect kit for it. Plenty of room to have the wood and lay the nail on top. Then the cap can be made from the same wood and no I am not volunteering. If putting in the clip then just epoxy it to the clip. Use a kit with a flat clip. Think outside the box.