Two takes at Lapis Barons, thanks to Murphy

[JimGo]

I had a friend who saw the first lapis TruStone pen I made, and asked me to make one for her mother (the first one had a small crack in it). So, I ordered a blank, and started turning. The lower barrel looked great, so I moved on to the upper barrel. Somehow, I managed to shatter it all the way down to the brass tube. D'oh! So, I parted it off, and glued on part of the cut-off. But the joint wasn't hidden well enough, so I tried masking the joint with a burn line. But the line looked pretty junky, so I filled it with black embossing powder using thick CA.

I wasn't thrilled with it, so I bought another blank and started again. I made sure everything was carefully sharpened, and it turned very well. I assembled everything, but couldn't get one of the parts for the lower barrel to squeeze in together (the last piece). So, I decided to glue the trim ring to the barrel. Well, the CA spilled over onto the lower barrel, and when I tried to wipe it off, the CA stuck to the rag. I had to hand-sand with MM to get everything off after I disassembled everything. Thankfully, everything looked great. So, I went inside and assembled them again. Of course, the lower barrel decided it didn't want the parts again, and I wound up breaking my clamp in the process. It went flying one way, and the barrel when the other - right into my coffee table, whereupon it cracked. SO, I took the bottom barrel from one pen and combined it with the upper barrel from the other pen to give me ONE successful pen. The other one here is goin' back on the lathe to have the cracks turned off, and I'll probably have complimentary burn lines turned into it.

 

[JHFerrell]

Well Jim....at least the gold looks nice with the blue...isn't it funny how sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't? Ya just never know do ya?

 

[Fangar]

Jim,

Sorry to hear about the luck. I hate turning that stuff. Nice pen.

James

 

[pastorbill1952]

Jim, the pens look nice. Hate that you had so many probs but prefer that you keep Murph at your place rather than mine. Why don't we all send him somewhere else, away from all of us until at least 2006

 

[rtjw]

Wonderful looking pen.

 

[chigdon]

Sounds like you have the same method of turning that I do. (Sorry about that)

 

[DCBluesman]

You showed a lot more restraint than I would have, Jim. I'd still be sweeping up shards or Tru-stone all over my basement. You at least got one very nive pen!

 

[Doghouse]

Some days go that way.

 

[alamocdc]

Jim, what Lou said! [] Sometimes my temper gets the better of me at times like these. Which is sad really, because it usually causes more damage in the long run. [:I] Good save!

 

[nilsatcraft]

Sounds like a frustrating process but I actually really like how the top pen turned out. I think the black powder adds a very sharp accent to the pen. It looks very intentional and planned. Great recovery!

 

[JimGo]

Thanks guys! Lou, the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that it was for a good friend's mom!

The top pen's lower barrel (if that makes sense) will be re-shaped too, to better match the upper barrel.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

 

[swm6500]

Nice looking pen Jim.

 

[atvrules1]

Wow Jim. What a day you had. Makes me laugh just because it brings back some nightmares that I have dealt with. Finished result looks good, keep up the good work.