Bruce, That is a beautiful, detailed and creative piece of art !!! As some one that does wax carving of patterns for lost wax casting of jewelry, your wax carving and pattern is IMPRESSIVE!!! The pen is beautiful. Do you send it out for casting? I don't think people understand the incredible amount of work that goes into the process. The fitting of the casting any closer to the barrel would require making the wax pattern on an identical width barrel and sliding it off. That's maybe what you did? The clip is also amazing. What do you do to prevent tarnish? Outstanding work!!!! Regards, Doc
Thanks for the comments Doc - I currently send out my wax for casting to Cranston Casting in Rhode island. They send back a rough cast for finishing. I have done some casting myself in a class, but really don't have room for the equipment and don't do enough to make it worthwhile.
Actually, I could adjust the barrel for a closer fit, which I may do just to see how it looks. Right now, its just a friction fit. With these type of casts, you can never predict the exact shrinkage from the wax model, so I find its better to fit the barrel to the overlay. I start off with a wax tube and use a mandrel to keep it secure while carving.
I don't try to fight tarnish. I learned to accept it and can always touch it up with a quick polish. Some say that a little Renaissance wax will slow it down. There are some tarnish resistant alloys such as argentium that could be used, but I haven't gotten around to trying them. Fortunately, I bought a bunch of silver when the price was lower and have enough to keep me for awhile, so not sure I will be trying the newer stuff anytime soon.