What would you do with this blank?

[SteveJ]

I have been working on a new design and am not sure it is worth assembling into a pen.

It was a fairly complicated build. First I created the block, which consisted of white, black, white veneer sandwiched between mahogany and wenge.

Then I cut triangles from that:

I glued those together to create a blank which looked like this (Taped together here)

From there I put white veneer around it and more mahogany (not shown) to produce this. (The beginning of another blank is also shown using the same triangles)

So, the problem with the first one is that the triangles are not even and in my opinion they don't look good. For the "zigzag" blank I have tried to make sure each triangle is the exact same size. Anyway, after all that, would you put the original blank on a kit or just toss it? As difficult as this blank was to make, I am not sure I would repeat it unless there is significant encouragement here for me to try it again!

 

[tomtedesco]

Steve, after all that time invested why not turn it and if you don't like it you are out a tube, no big deal. IMHO it will look great.

 

[Larryreitz]

I think it depends on what you intend to do with it. If you use it as a gift or giveaway I would keep it. Recipients are usually not as critical as we are. If you intend to make it for sale you might want to put it aside. I'm not a huge fan of complex segmenting but I rather like this one.
Larry

 

[mark james]

I would absolutely encourage to construct another (Easy for me to say!).

You can easily see the flaws in the blank with the white veneers, so you have a good idea of the tweaks you need. If it was me I also would not toss it - this is a great visual tool. I would first insure that all the triangles are as close to what you need to match the pattern, and possible consider gluing it in stages. Getting 2 triangles flush is easy, getting the alignment on 14 (both top and bottom - the side you can see, and the flip side) is a challenge.

I love the basic pattern and am happy you returned to the optical illusion/visual effect concept you started. As I have mentioned to you, I was never able to cut accurate patterned triangles on a saw. That is why I sand mine. However, you have previously had great success with your precision.

Very nice work in progress!

 

[bsshog40]

I have only done a few segmented blanks. Not as extreme as yours. Mine have never turned out exactly as I wanted them to, but I never wasted the effort. I would turn them and see what you get. As mentioned, you and the pros here will probably be the only ones who will notice.

 

[magpens]

Steve, I admire your ingenuity to try this ... I don't believe I have seen that pattern attempted before so I think it is unique.

In my limited experience, it has been extremely difficult to cut the basic triangular forms accurately, even on a Byrnes saw.
A jig helps a lot, but the correct alignment is extremely hard to get .

What you have achieved looks fairly good to me, except for a pair of triangles near the top end ... maybe cover that pair with a wide clip.
Or maybe there is a second segmentation you can do. . But it is really not bad the way it is.

In any case, I would keep what you have and complete the pen. . Overall, I think the idea is fantastic.

I really like the plain-grained lower barrel, which makes a very nice contrast with the segmented cap ... keep that feature for sure.

It is a very attractive idea .... my hat goes off to you, my friend !!!!

 

[jttheclockman]

OK Steve, these comments are only from my perspective of looking at what I have in front of me so do not shoot the messenger. You did ask. I would not waste my time putting it on a tube because you can see the flaws and you will not be happy. You have a pretty complicated design and that is cool. But right off the bat your pieces are not the same size and that will throw the pattern off very quickly. That is always the key in segmenting because you have that visual eye thing where you can compare to the piece next to it. That is why many times adding a stripe between angle segments diverts the eye and you can get away with small imperfections. Second you chose a wood (wenge) that is highly chippy and you will not be happy with the pores in it. I am not quite following the method to make the blank because of the different sizes of stripes. Looking at it if you are going to make this as a stripe and have solid woods on the sides then why not just make a square block with the angled stripes and a solid piece in the corner. Then slice off each piece and build from there. Sort to have to treat it as doing a diamond pattern.

If you want assemble and spin it to see what the design looks like in the round. I believe you will loose most of the design pattern. I love your creativity. You are going where no man has gone before. You are a pioneer in the world of segmenting. Again just one person's opinion.

 

[SteveJ]

Steve, after all that time invested why not turn it and if you don't like it you are out a tube, no big deal. IMHO it will look great.

The top photo shows the blank turned. And it is the cause of the question - I just don't like the looks of it.

 

[SteveJ]

I think it depends on what you intend to do with it. If you use it as a gift or giveaway I would keep it. Recipients are usually not as critical as we are. If you intend to make it for sale you might want to put it aside. I'm not a huge fan of complex segmenting but I rather like this one.
Larry

Since I sell very few pens, but I've still been on the fence about using it.

 

[SteveJ]

I would absolutely encourage to construct another (Easy for me to say!).

I certainly learned a lot from this one. If it didn't take so long for me to construct it I would be more inclined to make another one. Plus, I've got at least a half dozen other patterns floating around in my head.

 

[SteveJ]

Steve, I admire your ingenuity to try this ... I don't believe I have seen that pattern attempted before so I think it is unique.

In my limited experience, it has been extremely difficult to cut the basic triangular forms accurately, even on a Byrnes saw.
A jig helps a lot, but the correct alignment is extremely hard to get .

What you have achieved looks fairly good to me, except for a pair of triangles near the top end ... maybe cover that pair with a wide clip.
Or maybe there is a second segmentation you can do. . But it is really not bad the way it is.

In any case, I would keep what you have and complete the pen. . Overall, I think the idea is fantastic.

I really like the plain-grained lower barrel, which makes a very nice contrast with the segmented cap ... keep that feature for sure.

It is a very attractive idea .... my hat goes off to you, my friend !!!!

Thanks. I am using a Byrnes saw and you are right, it is pretty tough to get those angles correct - and I did it without building any jigs. Perhaps I should start using them.

The lower barrel is cross cut padauk and doesn't really match the top barrel. I'll probably match it with another barrel, if I do this pattern again I will use padauk on the top barrel and use it. Fortunately I've got a bunch of extra tubes so I can store this one away until I've finished a better top barrel.

 

[SteveJ]

OK Steve, these comments are only from my perspective of looking at what I have in front of me so do not shoot the messenger. You did ask. I would not waste my time putting it on a tube because you can see the flaws and you will not be happy. You have a pretty complicated design and that is cool. But right off the bat your pieces are not the same size and that will throw the pattern off very quickly. That is always the key in segmenting because you have that visual eye thing where you can compare to the piece next to it. That is why many times adding a stripe between angle segments diverts the eye and you can get away with small imperfections. Second you chose a wood (wenge) that is highly chippy and you will not be happy with the pores in it. I am not quite following the method to make the blank because of the different sizes of stripes. Looking at it if you are going to make this as a stripe and have solid woods on the sides then why not just make a square block with the angled stripes and a solid piece in the corner. Then slice off each piece and build from there. Sort to have to treat it as doing a diamond pattern.

If you want assemble and spin it to see what the design looks like in the round. I believe you will loose most of the design pattern. I love your creativity. You are going where no man has gone before. You are a pioneer in the world of segmenting. Again just one person's opinion.

No offense taken, and I certainly wont shoot you! It is already on a tube and turned, but I've got plenty of tubes, so that isn't an issue.

I got in a bit of a hurry when assembling and didn't even think about making sure the pieces were identical in size. And it did throw off the pattern quite a bit, which is why I was hesitant to put it on a kit. The Wenge actually didn't chip out when turning and finished pretty smoothly, but I normally wouldn't use it for that very reason.

I'll see if I have a picture of the block before cutting, but I'm not sure I took one, might have a short left over piece. I'm having a difficult time picturing your suggesting.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[jttheclockman]

No offense taken, and I certainly wont shoot you! It is already on a tube and turned, but I've got plenty of tubes, so that isn't an issue.

I got in a bit of a hurry when assembling and didn't even think about making sure the pieces were identical in size. And it did throw off the pattern quite a bit, which is why I was hesitant to put it on a kit. The Wenge actually didn't chip out when turning and finished pretty smoothly, but I normally wouldn't use it for that very reason.

I'll see if I have a picture of the block before cutting, but I'm not sure I took one, might have a short left over piece. I'm having a difficult time picturing your suggesting.

Thanks for your comments.

Sorry Steve, right now I am so tied up doing some scrollsaw work for my shows or else I would have run a sample piece to show you. My tablesaw is tied up too. As I mentioned before some time at end of Dec I should switch focus to pens if I do not get any big orders from shows. Being I am not entering any Bash contests any more I will have time to play with some ideas. Will see. Keep up the great work. From every failure new ideas emerge and new methods.

 

[TellicoTurning]

I don't think I would ever try that in a pen blank... pieces are way too small for me to work with, but I like the concept... might try that in a pepper mill blank... I'll have to give it some thought though. And would probably want to change the woods some what.

As to your original question, I agree that you should assemble the pen and see what you have... you can always dis-assemble it and save the components. I've even in the past turned wood away from a tube and save the tube.