Seashells By The Seashore

[jttheclockman]

Here is a different pen style I made. It is a Spring Blossom rollerball kit. The blank is made from crushed mother of pearl dust in the cap and the body is made with red seashell pieces. I think this pen has a unique look to it which I also made into a few other kits that I will post in time. I cast the blanks in Liquid Diamonds resin and polished to a nice shine. The MOP cap has a nice sparkle to it when hit the light. As always any questions or comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking.

 

[SteveJ]

Another nice pen JT.

 

[egnald]

Very Cool. I'm going to have to try my hand at casting one of these days. Liquid Diamonds seems like the way to go for getting started without spending a bunch on pressure pots and stuff. I did buy some of the UV cure stuff and a UV light a couple of years ago, but I haven't done anything with it. Even though I keep it in the dark, the resin has probably gone bad just sitting. Gorgeous Pen - Dave

 

[Alan Morrison]

That's definitely a pen of two halves. I very much like each half separately though I need to get my head around them both on the one pen.

 

[Mike]

Beautiful pen, I love the contrast. The different color materials are great together.

Mike

 

[James Smith]

Here is a different pen style I made. It is a Spring Blossom rollerball kit. The blank is made from crushed mother of pearl dust in the cap and the body is made with red seashell pieces. I think this pen has a unique look to it which I also made into a few other kits that I will post in time. I cast the blanks in Liquid Diamonds resin and polished to a nice shine. The MOP cap has a nice sparkle to it when hit the light. As always any questions or comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking.

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Beautiful pen!

 

[derekdd]

Very elegant pen with the right amount of bling so as not to be austentatious.

The blanks themselves are quite impressive.

Your photograph captured it quite well.

 

[wolf creek knives]

Really nice pen John. Love the blanks!

 

[leehljp]

Who says creativity and new ideas are for (or from) the young only? Excellent and beautiful work!

 

[Jim15]

Outstanding work.

 

[Woodchipper]

Very nice and elegant, to boot.

 

[JohnU]

Prior to feathers I spent a lot of time making sea shell blanks like these, So I know how much time you spent building them. Your efforts paid off nicely!

 

[jttheclockman]

Prior to feathers I spent a lot of time making sea shell blanks like these, So I know how much time you spent building them. Your efforts paid off nicely!

Oh there is time involved in these for sure. I have a couple others I will be posting too. They do make a nice pen though. Would have to get a good $$ for them for sure.

 

[anthonyd]

Very cool!

 

[sorcerertd]

That's a beautiful pen! I know it's hard to capture that in pictures, but these are great. It must look even more amazing in person.

I'm guessing you attached the shell/MOP to the tube, then clear cast around it? I'm pretty certain you would have painted the tubes, but what color?

 

[jttheclockman]

That's a beautiful pen! I know it's hard to capture that in pictures, but these are great. It must look even more amazing in person.

I'm guessing you attached the shell/MOP to the tube, then clear cast around it? I'm pretty certain you would have painted the tubes, but what color?

Yes that is the way I do it. No I did not paint the tube. I had someone ask me in a PM how I made it so I will give details here. Over the years I have done blanks similar and am working on a couple right now that I used sand as the base of the cap. I will copy and paste my answer here because there is no secret process. I always said any pen I make and show I will gladly share any info. That is what this forum is about. Copy any pen from me or any idea is just fine with me. Ask any questions and I will answer to the best of my ability.

The cap portion with the crushed MOP dust is a fine dust. It is not very large particles. I use the same thing as I do when I cast sand to my blanks. I use high strength 3M spray adhesive green can. I have a small container to catch the offshoot particles when I basically sprinkle the dust across the tube making sure to really lay it on as thick as I can. I do not shake the tube. I actually have the tube supported with a dowel and drape it across the container. After 24 hours I gently shake the tube to dislodge any loose particles into the container. I then pour the container back into the jar or bag for further use at another time. Set this aside for whatever time it takes for me to make the lower barrel which is a whole lot longer. Then cast them at the same time. The resin encapsulates the MOP and the tools never touch it when turned.

Now the lower barrel is time consuming because each piece is painstakingly put on one at a time and placed so it overlaps and leaves no gaps. I glue each piece on with med CA. CA blends in with resin so it is a clear adhesive. But I try to be as neat as possible. Again I treat the blank as fragile till I get it casted. I make sure that no piece sticks past the bushings. I place bushings on tube and use a jig I made to hold it in place as I work my way around the tube. All is it is a 1/4" rod and some nuts to hold in place and the rack is a couple pieces of wood with a vee notch to allow the rod to lay in and spin. I lock the rod in place with a couple wing nuts on the outside of the pieces of wood. I use that jig for many different types of blanks I make especially the watch part blanks. Hope that makes sense.

If you want to see jig I would have to take a photo.

 

[RichAldrich]

Great work JT. I like it! Glad you are posting pictures of your work. Thank you!

 

[sorcerertd]

Yes that is the way I do it. No I did not paint the tube. I had someone ask me in a PM how I made it so I will give details here. Over the years I have done blanks similar and am working on a couple right now that I used sand as the base of the cap. I will copy and paste my answer here because there is no secret process. I always said any pen I make and show I will gladly share any info. That is what this forum is about. Copy any pen from me or any idea is just fine with me. Ask any questions and I will answer to the best of my ability.

The cap portion with the crushed MOP dust is a fine dust. It is not very large particles. I use the same thing as I do when I cast sand to my blanks. I use high strength 3M spray adhesive green can. I have a small container to catch the offshoot particles when I basically sprinkle the dust across the tube making sure to really lay it on as thick as I can. I do not shake the tube. I actually have the tube supported with a dowel and drape it across the container. After 24 hours I gently shake the tube to dislodge any loose particles into the container. I then pour the container back into the jar or bag for further use at another time. Set this aside for whatever time it takes for me to make the lower barrel which is a whole lot longer. Then cast them at the same time. The resin encapsulates the MOP and the tools never touch it when turned.

Now the lower barrel is time consuming because each piece is painstakingly put on one at a time and placed so it overlaps and leaves no gaps. I glue each piece on with med CA. CA blends in with resin so it is a clear adhesive. But I try to be as neat as possible. Again I treat the blank as fragile till I get it casted. I make sure that no piece sticks past the bushings. I place bushings on tube and use a jig I made to hold it in place as I work my way around the tube. All is it is a 1/4" rod and some nuts to hold in place and the rack is a couple pieces of wood with a vee notch to allow the rod to lay in and spin. I lock the rod in place with a couple wing nuts on the outside of the pieces of wood. I use that jig for many different types of blanks I make especially the watch part blanks. Hope that makes sense.

If you want to see jig I would have to take a photo.

Thanks, John! Wow, that bottom barrel does sound time consuming! Trying to line them up to be flush with the end of the barrel without leaving gaps must be a challenge. Whenever I finally get around to doing some casting, I'll have to try this method with some different materials.

 

[jttheclockman]

Thanks, John! Wow, that bottom barrel does sound time consuming! Trying to line them up to be flush with the end of the barrel without leaving gaps must be a challenge. Whenever I finally get around to doing some casting, I'll have to try this method with some different materials.

There are times I may have to take a dremel grinder to get a better edge. But the key is to keep the build up below the bushing height because you do not want to hit them when turning. As I said I have a couple more in various stages on the bench. But then again I have about 10 pens that need finishing. Took a couple out of the pot a few days ago so I want to turn those. I have one that I have tried 3 times to get the cap portion just right and hoping 3 times is a charm. That is one I am interested to see how it comes out. It has some segmenting in it also. I will take a photo of the jig tomorrow too.

 

[JohnU]

When needed, I've had good luck with sanding the shell covered tube down below bushings by putting it on the lathe a day after I glued them and sand it down to thickness with 80 grit sand paper. Just be sure to wear a respirator. That shell dust can be very harmful to your lungs. It's hard enough material that it doesn't leave stay sanding marks visible when clear cast. I wipe them down with denatured alcohol to clean them prior to casting.

 

[jttheclockman]

When needed, I've had good luck with sanding the shell covered tube down below bushings by putting it on the lathe a day after I glued them and sand it down to thickness with 80 grit sand paper. Just be sure to wear a respirator. That shell dust can be very harmful to your lungs. It's hard enough material that it doesn't leave stay sanding marks visible when clear cast. I wipe them down with denatured alcohol to clean them prior to casting.

Nice tip John. Maybe able to use other tubes this way. May have to try that. Right now I have a sierra glued up and will use a Vista kit and also another Spring Blossom ready for turning. While doing these I found some blue crushed stone I had bought and want to try that on a kit too. I probably have so much other material I bought over the years and if Looked through my stash I would not be surprised to find something interesting.

 

[jttheclockman]

Here is a quick photo of my jig that I use to hold all my watch part pens as well as pens where I am building a blank such as the seashell one. Works great for me.