# Burnt Copper Closed End Gent



## Kaspar (Jun 16, 2009)

For a customer: Gentlemans Pen Kit, Dawn's Burnt Copper Acrylic.  

Is there downside here?

I don't think so.


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## akbar24601 (Jun 16, 2009)

That is a gorgeous pen! Great job on finish and pic too!


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## John M (Jun 16, 2009)

Wow, that is all blank, I like it.  I bet that sucker looks good closed up.


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## Wheaties (Jun 16, 2009)

WOW! That is first class!!


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## maxman400 (Jun 16, 2009)

Very Very Nice, I have one of her blanks, Great to see what one looks like when it's finished. You did a great job on it.


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## rjwolfe3 (Jun 16, 2009)

That is a beautiful pen.


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## bitshird (Jun 16, 2009)

Yes Kaspar there is a down side!!! It's not mine! that is a beautiful pen, I like it a lot.


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## VisExp (Jun 16, 2009)

Kaspar said:


> http://www.villagephotos.com/utils/...\Burnt Copper Gentlemans Pen - open - med.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> Is there downside here?


 
None that I can see :biggrin:

Stunning pen.  I like the closed end and the custom finial.


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## Dalecamino (Jun 16, 2009)

Yes , very , very nice !


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## BigShed (Jun 16, 2009)

Superb job, gorgeous pen.


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## texasfootball21 (Jun 16, 2009)

Wow! Beautiful. 

How hard was it to make the closed end as well as the finial? I wish I could make pens like this and I might just have to give it a go after seeing that. 

Great work?


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## toolcrazy (Jun 16, 2009)

That is just gorgeous. I love that blank.


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## Kaspar (Jun 17, 2009)

texasfootball21 said:


> Wow! Beautiful.
> 
> How hard was it to make the closed end as well as the finial? I wish I could make pens like this and I might just have to give it a go after seeing that.
> 
> Great work?



The closed end part isn't hard at all.  I use the Arizona Silhouette closed end mandrels.  

The custom finial is pretty easy as well.  You can make it all out of one piece (if you have enough blank left, that's easiest), but the Gent pen is pretty long and with no centerband, I had no room to spare, so I used a piece of onyx acrylic to make a "post" that glues to the finial and seats inside the clip ring and the tube.

It can get a little harder when you try to hide the clip ring, but on a Gentlemans pen that would make an already thick cap even thicker (unless you grind down the ring a bit - which works very well.)


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## edman2 (Jun 17, 2009)

Beautiful job Eric.  It is the quality we have come to expect from your artistry.


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## philb (Jun 17, 2009)

Wow,

Love the custom final, and think that having the clip ring makes a nice definition in the blank.
So is the finial just a push fit into the brass tube like the standard kit or glue in?

Whichever way, excellent pen!

PHIL


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## artme (Jun 17, 2009)

An absolutely beautiful and classy pen!!:star::star::star::star:


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## moyehow (Jun 17, 2009)

WOW!!!  Nice job.  Very good picture also.


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## Kaspar (Jun 17, 2009)

philbaldwin said:


> So is the finial just a push fit into the brass tube like the standard kit or glue in?
> 
> PHIL



Glue in.  I got it very, very close, which you have to do to make sure it centers correctly.  I left the 'post' a tiny bit bigger where it meets the finial piece, but the glue does the rest.  

A "push in" would take a metal lathe to achieve (I'll be getting one in a few weeks) and would risk cracking or scraping the material I used and prevent a tight, clean fit.


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## leehljp (Jun 17, 2009)

Eric,

That is a classic! Beautiful work, color and finish.


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## cnirenberg (Jun 17, 2009)

No downsides here.  Eric, that is simply a gorgeous looking pen.  Great blank too. That blank gives a awesome finish.


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## hewunch (Jun 17, 2009)

Nice job! I was wondering if you had to burn 2 blanks for that. How did you do your cap threads? I would love to know.


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## mickr (Jun 17, 2009)

It's hard to come up with the proper words for this fantastic pen..gorgeous..superb..elegant..music to my eyes..it is just top notch..gorgeous lines..gorgeous finish...A#1...thanks for sharing with us


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## hewunch (Jun 17, 2009)

oh and do you have a pic of it closed?


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## mitchm (Jun 17, 2009)

Awesome pen, the custom finial is stunning!!!!


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## fernhills (Jun 17, 2009)

Very nice, i like the look.


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## Kaspar (Jun 17, 2009)

hewunch said:


> Nice job! I was wondering if you had to burn 2 blanks for that. How did you do your cap threads? I would love to know.



One blank, but I used every inch of it.  I used the plastic sleeve that comes with the centerband.  You have to push it up in there the same distance it would be if you were using the centerband, and then fill in the tiny gap between the sleeve and tube, where part of the centerband would have otherwise been.  To get the no centerband part, you leave enough blank to cover what the centerband would have added.  This means the tube will now be shorter than the hole.  Drill for the tube (on the lathe) and glue it flush with the finial end of the blank.   Then (in the case of the Gent Pen, which uses the 37/64ths drill bit, the biggest bit I have) you have to use a tiny parting tool to clear a tiny bit of diameter for the nib coupler ring.  On smaller pen kits, you can use the next highest (in 64ths) drill bit.  You don't need much, just enough so that your "no cenertband" covers the nib coupler ring.


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## Kaspar (Jun 17, 2009)

Here's a little detailing I did for each end of the pen:








Below is the "no centerband" area.  Inside you see the thread sleeve inserted into the tube.  Then you see the "glue fill" in the gap between the thread sleeve and the tube that is left when you leave out the metal centerband.  Halfway between that and the end there's a tiny, barely visible line, where I parted off just enough material for the cap to sink down around the nib coupler ring on the pen part.  You do that last part  of this _before_ you turn it down.  As you can see, once you do turn it down, there is not much material left.   Throughout the process, you will want be very, very, very, very, very, very, very (get it?) careful at that end.  I wouldn't try this with wood, well, something like DI maybe, and maybe with a stabilized wood.  But the acrylic is strong enough to do this.  






And here she is capped:


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## ed4copies (Jun 17, 2009)

Eric,

That pen is gorgeous.   Your workmanship is incredible.

My disclaimer:  I would not trust polyresin without a centerband.  Some sort of reinforcement.  However, YOU are looking at the pen, I am not - and I think you are a good judge of materials --- just don't want to have a whole bunch of other guys try it, then tell me it doesn't work.  That is some FINE turning!!!


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## Kaspar (Jun 17, 2009)

Ed's warning is well taken.  I actually meant to leave that a bit thicker there.

You take a risk, both in turning it, and in selling it.  I have dropped one of these pretty hard, and I was just sure I had chipped that thin area, but the cap is not very heavy, and acrylic is pretty strong.  I've never done a Gentlemans though, so I am a bit worried.  Thin material over a broader area?  A bit scary.  

Naturally, in selling this, I am trusting that my customer knows how to take care of things for which he's paid a good deal of money, and in the event of an accident, I will build him a new cap. Once only, and it will be thicker at that end :biggrin:  (creating a _de facto_ centerband).     But I take the risk for the sake of the effect.  That material is really amazing.  

Also, if you try this, make sure, you have enough clearance between that thin end and the nib coupler ring, or one day you'll close the pen too hard, and that round shoulder on the ring will split that material.

Oh, and you'll need micro chisels to do this stuff.


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## ed4copies (Jun 17, 2009)

First, thanks, I LOVE your attitude.  

Second, you better buy another blank so it will match, if you have to replace.  It has always been my experience that, if you are READY for a problem, it never materializes.  IF you DON"T HAVE another piece, it will BREAK!!!


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## Rollerbob (Jun 17, 2009)

Eric, gorgeous work, very creative. Beautiful pictures of a beautiful pen, envious!


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## wolftat (Jun 17, 2009)

I think it's a great looking pen, you did a fantastic job creating it. But, I would like to see it with a thin trim piece between the cap and body. But then again, my work is years away from this. Great job.


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## Kaspar (Jun 17, 2009)

wolftat said:


> ... I would like to see it with a thin trim piece between the cap and body ...



Me too, really.  It would make it stronger.  But, "_l'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace_" - for all you _Patton_ fans out there.


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## Ligget (Jun 17, 2009)

Absolutely brilliant, gorgeous pen and a great picture Eric!


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