The Sierra's

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rlharding

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Messages
844
Location
Nr Vancouver, BC
My first Sierra's
The picture is bad and although I have a new camera I need to play around with it and learn how to use it. I used the auto fix to lighten the pic up, here it's clear it's been edited and the pic is no longer sharp.

From left:
Lace wood barrel - I decided I need to turn a bit off & yes I used Callipers.
Bubinga
Bloodwood
Maple barrel - another I will tweak.
Another bubinga
Tasmanian Blackwood
Rattlesnake.
Slim bloodwood -one appears to not have a clean opening from the pic but it' isn't anything I have noticed when in my hand.


I am still not doing the best turning on the rattlesnake. The skin looks great as I am turning, yet when I have finished I have white sections at the two ends. I dry sanded this time as well. I also can't get a clear gloss finish, it's a little cloudy.

As usual, the pic doesn't do the pens justice. They all have a nice shine and the fittings are nowhere near as bashed up as they look. There is barely a mark on them. The kits are gold/ti; gold/black/ti, Platinum/ti. I can't see the pic clearly to say which pen has which kit. I did have a pearl/silver kit made up but I took the tiniest piece of finish off while I was doing a touch up buff.....I guess it is now my pen.

I think I will turn the wood straighter on my next set, I had to adjust the clip so the cap would fit & I don't like doing that. I think it could weaken the clip joint.

Comments on pen welcome.

Sierras2.jpg
 
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Nice pens Ruth. I havent turned rattlesnake yet, or a sierra, but theyre on my future list and I hope they turn out as well as yours. John
 
Hi Ruth

I'd say they were worth the bit of hassle you had yesterday with their assembley. All look very nice.

I'm no expert on the acrylics so can't help with the rattlesnake blank issue you have, I'm sure someone will come up with a solution.
 
Ruth, there was a thread within the last week or two about similar trouble folks were having with cast snakeskin. As I recall, the problem was in the casting, not the finishing. Also, as I recall, the thread participants had not figured out cause of the problem or the solution thereto. (EDIT: I just found the thread - http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33065.)

By the way, I like your results on the other blanks and pens. Sorry you encountered so much bandsaw hassle along the way. Did blade replacement solve the problem with the "right turn" problem?
 
Thanks for all the encouraging comments. R2 you are spot on! I thought it was blackwood but since I didn't write it down, and it didn't look like it had any black in it :) I thought I was wrong and it must have been bloodwood. I will go back and edit it in.

Simomatra, Yes, I sealed the ends before turning. I remember the thread but left it before there was an answer. I will go back and review. I am going to sand much more carefully on my next as it could be the heat of the sanding that is lifting the glue.

Michael, I still don't have the new blades. I live on an island and thought I was going to the mainland but haven't bee since I posted. It's hard to justify going for two blades, as much as I want them, due to cost of ferry & gas. I AM going in tomorrow though. I ran my fingers up the 9" blade and did find that I have no teeth on one side. I'll let you know what happens but I suspect it will work great based on the feedback.

How much do you sell your Sierra's for? Having never made them before, nor seen any for sale, I am not sure which way to go. I get $25 for my slims up here.
 
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