First in a series of four

[Fred Bruche]

A long time in the making, but I'm finding more time to spend in the shop lately, so this project is slowly moving forward.
Last year I poured a few blocks using liquid diamond resin and the plan was to make "inspired" color combinations using micas and pigments.
This block was loosely inspired by the famous Van Gogh's Starry Night painting and one blank about 6x1x1 was used to make this pen.
The hardware is my beloved Blingless Harvest in rhodium plating.
C&C welcome.

 

[Jim15]

Beautiful work.

 

[TonyL]

The additional bands and finial make a big difference. Beautiful work!

 

[Lew]

Love the addition of the finial of the same material. Great job!

 

[JohnU]

Very well done Fred! The finial and bands take it to another level! Looking forward to seeing the next three.

 

[sorcerertd]

I love that pour overall and your attention to the details; the bands, finial, and even the clip. Might I inquire as to how you turned the primary center band insert? I've been wanting to do this on a kit such as the diamond knurl, but wasn't sure how to secure it for turning after drilling it out to the proper size.

 

[magpens]

Gorgeous pen, Fred !!!!! . .

 

[Fred Bruche]

I love that pour overall and your attention to the details; the bands, finial, and even the clip. Might I inquire as to how you turned the primary center band insert? I've been wanting to do this on a kit such as the diamond knurl, but wasn't sure how to secure it for turning after drilling it out to the proper size.

I typically make some kind of jam chuck using Delrin for each ring/band type. I don't have a fixed design, making it work as I go.

Here are a few pictures of the setup for the center band for this pen.

The part on the right goes in pin jaws, the part on the left has a conical hole that connects to a live center in the tailstock. The alignment is made by the mortise on the right part and the tenon on the left part. Once these parts butt together the space left is the width of the ring. Most of the shaping is done before the ring gets off the blank, small retouching and polishing is done on that chucking system


Here's a ring set on the right part. This is a finished ring I remounted but in this configuration I can square and clean up the side of the ring that was released from the blank (blue masking tape to stabilize the friction fit, very gently with a square carbide, moving towards the headstock, to reach final width, 5mm in this case).


The ring is now securely held for final shaping and polishing.

 

[Fred Bruche]

Thank you everyone for your kind comments!

 

[KenB259]

Very nice, amazingly attention to detail.