# My "Best of" Casting Entry



## Buzzzz4 (Sep 30, 2012)

I attempted an entry again for this year's Best of IAP Contest in the casting category.

It is a Cherry Pit in red resin cast with a suspended cherry pit in clear on the end. It took lots of slow delicate turning and filling to create this. The metal parts are a mix of Jr. size pens I found. The other new thing for me was creating a hidden clip.

I hope it does well, and it was fun to do something quite different. The best part was learning some new techniques.

Thanks for looking!!!


----------



## jrap (Sep 30, 2012)

good job that pen is awesome


----------



## jasontg99 (Sep 30, 2012)

Holy cr@p Eric!!!  That is awesome.  I would have been nervous turning that.  Great looking pen.

Jason


----------



## wiset1 (Sep 30, 2012)

I've seen these blanks, but you really bring it to life!  The small detail like the clear cast on the lower barrel just add to the overall presentation.  Truly awesome!!!


----------



## paintspill (Sep 30, 2012)

thats insane. it looks like a picture. i hope you take that as a compliment


----------



## Glenn McCullough (Sep 30, 2012)

perhaps there should be a thread to keep these all together?!!


----------



## Glenn McCullough (Sep 30, 2012)

Eric, this is a spectacular blank, then the surprise of the floating pit adds another dimension!!
way to go!!


----------



## CHARLES STOPCZYNSKI (Sep 30, 2012)

*Very well done!*

Eric,

Your cherry pit pen is outstanding!

Are you willing to elaborate on the turning process.   I'm sure there is much more to turning this than super sharp and light cuts.

That ought to win you a prize, very impressive.

Charlie


----------



## firewhatfire (Sep 30, 2012)

thats a beauty for sure.


----------



## John Smith (Sep 30, 2012)

Great looking pen. Love the clear cast pit in the end.


----------



## mikespenturningz (Sep 30, 2012)

I definitely like that blank. Nice pen!


----------



## plantman (Sep 30, 2012)

Eric; Fantastic example of recycleing !! For those of you who want to see the work that goes into turning one of these blanks, Ed Brown from Exoticblanks.com, has a video showing the turning of Eric's Cherry Pit blank on his site. All I can say is it's time consuming, but the end result is worth the effert !! Seem like the story of life. If you want to get the most out of it, you need to put the effert into it !! Great looking pen !! Jim S


----------



## Carl Fisher (Sep 30, 2012)

Love the suspended pit in the clear acrylic.  Very nice job all around!


----------



## joefyffe (Sep 30, 2012)

That should be a winner, unless of course, there's not enough color in it!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:Great looking cast!!:tongue:


----------



## ironman123 (Sep 30, 2012)

Eric, that is a fabulous pen and blank.  What everyone else said also.

Ray


----------



## LarryDNJR (Sep 30, 2012)

You sir have a very sick pen!


----------



## bobjackson (Sep 30, 2012)

Great job Eric.


----------



## InvisibleMan (Oct 1, 2012)

Really cool!  Very nice looking pen.


----------



## Bowl Slinger (Oct 1, 2012)

Awesome work!


----------



## Dai Sensei (Oct 1, 2012)

Love it


----------



## Wright (Oct 1, 2012)

Great color combination. Great pen!


----------



## LL Woodworks (Oct 1, 2012)

simply - awesome!  love the clear cast barrel finial


----------



## mredburn (Oct 1, 2012)

Excellent entry. Good luck in the contest.


----------



## Buzzzz4 (Oct 1, 2012)

Wow! Thank you all. It really did take light cuts and stopping frequently to see what the pits were doing. When turning these, you can get the center of the pit to let lose and then there is a void to fill. I often stopped to seal it with CA, made a couple passes then stopped again. When there was a larger void inside a seed, I filled it with colored epoxy. With these, I use the Alumilite red dye to color the epoxy. Overall, it took about a week to create this pen with one failure in the middle when I had to recreate the cap due to the buffer catching it and flinging it against the wall.

I hope that gives a bit more insight into working with these blanks. Thanks again!


----------



## dgscott (Oct 1, 2012)

Spectacular!
Doug


----------



## cnirenberg (Oct 1, 2012)

Great looking pen.


----------



## Fishinbo (Oct 1, 2012)

An epitome of a fabulous pen.


----------



## Mrs Rojo22 (Oct 2, 2012)

Stunning!

Robin


----------



## Buzzzz4 (Nov 7, 2012)

Thank you for all the kind comments. I can't wait to get it back and see it again.


----------



## Displaced Canadian (Nov 7, 2012)

Looks cool. Who had to eat the cherries and how hard was it to get them that clean?


----------



## Lucky2 (Nov 7, 2012)

It's a real beauty.
Len


----------



## mikespenturningz (Nov 8, 2012)

Really nice. Great job.


----------



## skiprat (Nov 8, 2012)

Displaced Canadian said:


> Looks cool. Who had to eat the cherries and how hard was it to get them that clean?


 
The cherries were eaten whole and nature did the cleaning. 
Sorry, couldn't resist !!:biggrin:

It certainly is a fun looking pen and I also think it's cool!!:biggrin:


----------



## SDB777 (Nov 8, 2012)

That's a LOT of cherry eating right here


Well thought out and turned...the pit in the end is a really cool touch.  Was it all one blank?






Scott (pretty awesome) B


----------



## Buzzzz4 (Nov 8, 2012)

I have access to lots of cherries being in Michigan. The cherry pit on the end was cast separately and segmented on.


----------



## MartinPens (Nov 8, 2012)

Eric - A very festive pen and well deserved recognition! And to think I've been throwing my cherry pits away all of these years! I love how it's bursting with colors. The proportions look great and the hidden clip looks flawless. You stuck with it and now you have a fantastic little work of art to hang on to. Congrats!


----------



## toyotaman (Nov 8, 2012)

That's absoutly awesome looking. Down right beautiful. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## jeff (Nov 11, 2012)

Looks great on the front page :biggrin:


----------



## johncrane (Nov 12, 2012)

A BIG Congrats on making the front page Eric! well deserved mate :biggrin:


----------



## Paul in OKC (Nov 12, 2012)

looks awesome


----------



## ALexG (Nov 13, 2012)

From now on I'll save the pits, I like to try this, beautiful both the blank and Pen


----------



## ghostrider (Nov 14, 2012)

Congrats on the contest and front page. That loos like one sweet pen and I hope I get a chance to see it in person some day.


----------



## nappy155 (Nov 16, 2012)

that is dope!!!!!


----------



## walshjp17 (Nov 16, 2012)

One of the coolest pens I've seen. Well done, sir!


----------



## 76winger (Nov 17, 2012)

Wow, I missed it when this one came through. That's really beautiful the way it came out!


----------

