Making the blank for the middle pen consisted of the following steps:
1. Cut a blank in half lengthwise. In the pen above, I used Gold BEB.
2. Take another blank of a different color (blue BEB, in this case) and cut some slices lengthwise - about 3/16-inch to 1/4-inch. I think I made mine about 3/16-inch slices. You will need two slices. These should be about the same lengths as the first blank.
3. For each of the two slices made in step two, glue on an thin strip of inlay material. I just used some black plastic strips. I used thick CA glue for this and then set the pieces in a clamp to dry.
4. Now you have 4 pieces - the two halves of the first blank, and the two laminated strips. Now glue one laminated strip between the two halves of the first blank. You're making a sandwich. Clamp and let dry.
5. After the 'sandwich' dries, cut it in half, lengthwise, down the middle. Then glue in the other laminated slice. Clamp and let dry. Make sure the laminated middle inlay of the two halves line up.
6. You now have a blank that has an 'X' cross section of laminated inlay segments (blue BEB) on your blank. Cut a couple pieces of Gold BEB for the ends. Cut a length of the segmented blank, taking into account the width of the two end piece, so that all three pieces together are the length of your tube. DO NOT GLUE the end pieces on yet!
7. The CRITICAL PART: drill a hole through the exact center of the segmented blank. I tried using my drill press at first, but the hole would come out off-center on the other end. I then used my lathe to bore the center hole. This worked much better, as others will tell you.
8. After drilling the laminated blank, glue one end piece one (with black strip inlay material sandwiched in between the segmented blank and end piece. Let dry. Drill the hole through the end piece - going through the hole of the segmented blank first.
9. Repeat Step #9 for the other end piece.
10. Turn your pen blank.
It's a rather labor intensive process, but the result is nice.