My 2000 segment fountain pen build

[James Garwood]

Hi guys, just wanted to share with you all my latest projest, it a fountain pen that has 2000 pieces of blue dyed poplar and cherry veneer in.

This was a real challenge to glue up and also try and drill perfectly in the middle because trying to hold a 5 sided object in a 4 jaw chuck doesn't work very well!

I hope you all like it, it took about 30 hours to make, I also uploaded the video on making it to YouTube so if you want to watch it being made here is a link for you

 

[Ironwood]

Wow, that's a nice piece of work right there. I Like how you have left out the centre band and the pen and cap line up perfectly.

 

[James Garwood]

Wow, that's a nice piece of work right there. I Like how you have left out the centre band and the pen and cap line up perfectly.

Thank you, it is a triple thread so there are three different ways the cap can screw on but I know exactly the right way to put it on so it lines up everytime now it's going to be my daily pen for a while now.

 

[KenB259]

WOW, that is quite impressive. Really enjoyed the video. Thanks for posting.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[Jim15]

Awesome work.

 

[darrin1200]

Thats a fabulous job James.

 

[writeturnz209]

Thank you. I really enjoyed your video. I can see i have alot of tricks to learn and try!

 

[Dieseldoc]

Glorious blank , impressive work, well planed out.

 

[PaulWitmer]

James:
Gorgeous pen. Your patience really shows in the finished pen. Well done.
Paul

 

[socdad]

An outstanding example of segmenting, thank you for sharing. I was somewhat shocked when I saw the barrel cutter heading toward that beautiful blank. I switched to an offset sanding jig, made by rherre, years ago ...

 

[jttheclockman]

First rate, front page material. I appreciate the work that went into that. I had this idea also and probably will at some time attempt. Glad to see another player in the segmenting game. Very fine work indeed. Be proud of that one. Effort well worth it. After watching video I can say with certainty you are not a new comer to pen turning or woodworking in general. The techniques are used quite often in other patterns in woodworking. Love seeing it done. thanks for including video.

 

[James Garwood]

An outstanding example of segmenting, thank you for sharing. I was somewhat shocked when I saw the barrel cutter heading toward that beautiful blank. I switched to an offset sanding jig, made by rherre, years ago ...

Thank you all, I'm glad everyone likes it, I do not like the barrel trimmer very much, but it was new and sharp so that helped, I've lost quite a few blanks to a barrel trimmer in the past, I will have to look at that jig, do you like it?

 

[James Garwood]

First rate, front page material. I appreciate the work that went into that. I had this idea also and probably will at some time attempt. Glad to see another player in the segmenting game. Very fine work indeed. Be proud of that one. Effort well worth it. After watching video I can say with certainty you are not a new comer to pen turning or woodworking in general. The techniques are used quite often in other patterns in woodworking. Love seeing it done. thanks for including video.

Thank you very much! I will have a look at your segmenting, I've been at it for a good few years now, I do really enjoy it but finding the time is hard at the minute, I'm usually out in the workshop until 1am when filming, only chance I get but I've had a lot of time off lately to get back to it!

 

[magpens]

Amazing piece of work !!! . CONGRATULATIONS !!!

I can't believe the overall alignment success !!!

Your video is "dramatic" .... VERY well done !!!

 

[TG Design]

Thanks for sharing, not sure how you didn't glue your fingers together. Great technique for removing the center band, removing it really shows off the segmented body. Great job!


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[Monty]

Excellent pen. Very first class.

 

[northway]

That's a lovely bit of precision work, I'm happy if I'm within a 1/4". I've never been keen on the centre band of the Omega it looks so much cleaner just having the wood matching up like that, I may have a go at it myself.

 

[TattooedTurner]

I just saw this video earlier today on YT, great job!

 

[James Garwood]

Thank you everyone! I'm glad everyone likes it! I glued my fingers to the blank when I was trying to CA glue the blue strip between the staves, it was so fiddly and I kept dropping the bits before the glue set, good job I could edit that out of the video! Lol

 

[socdad]

Thank you all, I'm glad everyone likes it, I do not like the barrel trimmer very much, but it was new and sharp so that helped, I've lost quite a few blanks to a barrel trimmer in the past, I will have to look at that jig, do you like it?

Absolutely love it, I haven't touched a barrel trimmer in years. Ricks tools / accessories are outstanding. His listing on this site in the vendor forum ... https://www.penturners.org/forums/ricks-custom-tools.349/

 

[Jonkou]

Awesome piece James

 

[TattooedTurner]

Thank you everyone! I'm glad everyone likes it! I glued my fingers to the blank when I was trying to CA glue the blue strip between the staves, it was so fiddly and I kept dropping the bits before the glue set, good job I could edit that out of the video! Lol

LOL! When I watched you doing the glue up I was wondering how you managed not to have any problems like that. Thanks for coming clean, it only adds to the work you put into this one.

 

[jeff]

Looks great on the front page!

 

[jttheclockman]

Deserves to be there on the front page. Love the pen. I do have some reservations about it though and these are just my thoughts and my opinion. I am not a fan of the no centerband for a couple reasons. First there is no support on those ends now and easily chipped if banged or dropped on edge, especially cap. Plus the centerband breaks up all that same color and direct lines from body to cap. Over time those lines will not line up. That is what happens when doing straight line segmenting. I have noticed this even though many kits have a 3 point starting thread just finding the right one is a pain and they still move over time. If I were to do that type of pen I would at least use end bands to break that line of sight and also give it some support from chipping.

But these are small thoughts and take away nothing from the craftsmanship used to make this pen. The videos make it look easy but can tell you not so because I know what is involved in getting that much exactness in such a small blank. Job well done and congrats on the front page. It belongs there. It has that WOW factor for sure.

 

[JohnU]

Congrats on the front page and a great looking piece of art! I enjoyed the video as well. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Sand Mountain Designs]

Kudos on two fronts @James Garwood - first for the vision and craftsmanship it took to make such a fine instrument; second for your innate ability to CA the tubes without wearing gloves and for keeping it off your hands, shirt, work surface, camera, etc.

Well done all the way around sir.

 

[Bean_Counter]

Beautiful pen! I enjoyed watching your YouTube video on it also! Well done

 

[James Garwood]

Thank you all! I'm so happy when I looked on the forum and saw my pen there!

JT, I think the CA chipping will be ok, the shoulder was square and you don't need to tighten the lid up very tight to get the segments to line up, it's ok so far but maybe in a few years it might need attention, I dont mind there not being a centre band but I can see that it's a bit busy without them, I just had the idea in my head after I ordered some of the kits and needed to give it a try!

PoppyTee, I do get CA everywhere! It's all over my fingers but I try not to get it on my good work hoodie I had on, I only wear that one for filming in, the rest of my clothes have glue and paint everywhere