# Pinstripe Pen Blanks...to buy, or make



## jrista (Jun 11, 2022)

I'm curious if anyone knows of any pinstripe pen blanks. I'm trying to think of some kind of "upper class" style of pen blanks, have for a while actually. I have a few ideas, but after starting to re-watch House of Cards, I noticed all the upscale suits, ties, upholstery, etc. and I started getting more ideas. I noticed just how much pinstripe there is in that show. I have some casein pinstripe blanks, whiter in color, that I've picked up from a few places. They are not always perfectly strait stripes, and not always even. 

I am wondering if anyone has come across any proper pinstripe blanks, in some classy colors. Say a navy blue, with lighter pinstripes, or a charcoal gray with a lighter gray pinstripe, or even some of that lighter yellowish gold, with lighter yellow pinstripes. 

I'm also curious, as I'll probably have to make some of the more exotic designs I'm thinking of myself...how one might go about making their own pinstripe blanks. I have one idea myself, which involves casting some solid color base blanks, turning them round, slicing them in half and sandwiching some material for the pinstripe color, then slicing that in half again and repeating the process several times. I suspect that will not give me exactly the look  want, as I'm sure there will be some kind of offset problem between the size of the kerf and the thickness of the pinstripe material, etc. I'm sure there is a better, more reliable way to make such blanks. 

I also want to make blanks with stripes of alternating sizes, which I'm sure would require a more advanced technique, as well as blanks that maybe have certain shapes embedded in some of the stripes (i.e. circles, maybe diamonds, etc.) I'm starting to think, I may need a mill to do this...


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## Displaced Canadian (Jun 12, 2022)

I did a few quite some time ago. I used a table saw to cut 6 triangular pieces, glue your accent piece to one side of the main piece and glue together into a hexagon shape. The very center will be hollow and it would be best to turn round or be careful drilling it.


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## hooked (Jun 12, 2022)

If you have access to a 3D printer, you could 3D print the stripes in any color you would like and then cast them in resin. 









						Pinstripe 3D Print File
					

Digital download of the pinstripe pen size .stl file for 3D printing .stl file digital download only - NOT a printed model, blank, or pen File will be available to download after purchase Native dimensions are approximately 3/4" x 6" File can be resized in slicer program Fits perfect in 3/4" PVC...




					resinwerksstudio.com
				












						Yankee Pinstripe Pen Blanks
					

The evolution of resin cast pen blanks! These blanks are a fusion of 3D printing and resin casting to achieve a pinstriped effect in the final product. When I think of the Yankees, I think pinstripes! The Yankee Pinstripe is perfect for New York Yankee fans, and it pairs nicely with a gunmetal...




					resinwerksstudio.com


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## Painfullyslow (Jun 12, 2022)

hooked said:


> If you have access to a 3D printer, you could 3D print the stripes in any color you would like and then cast them in resin.
> 
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> 
> ...



Huh, I wish that I had known about those STL files. I ended up making my own. Just drop the finished product into a 3/4" PVC pipe and pour in your resin. This reminds me that I made about a dozen of those blanks but I don't think that I have used any yet. Time to get to the lathe.


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## Curly (Jun 12, 2022)

A long time ago member, penl8the, made a fixture for ripping wedges that he glued together with veneer to make pinstripe blanks. Might be the same way Displaced Canadian did them. His table saw jig is in the library. http://content.penturners.org/library/tools_and_jigs/jig_sucks_thin_strips.pdf

penl8the's pictures of his pens are gone in his threads, likely hosted offsite, but I did find this one another member made using one of Branden's blanks. https://www.penturners.org/threads/pin-stripes.126917/#post-1712270  I'm pretty sure one made it to the Front Page and Jeff could find it. 

You could try sawing resin blanks or use dyed wood.


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## jrista (Jun 13, 2022)

hooked said:


> If you have access to a 3D printer, you could 3D print the stripes in any color you would like and then cast them in resin.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hmm! This looks really promising. I don't have a 3D printer yet...but...maybe its just time to get one now. I have a lot of ideas for pinstripe blanks, and with printing, I suspect I could even handle variable-thickness stripes and multi-colored stripes, right?


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## jrista (Jun 13, 2022)

Curly said:


> A long time ago member, penl8the, made a fixture for ripping wedges that he glued together with veneer to make pinstripe blanks. Might be the same way Displaced Canadian did them. His table saw jig is in the library. http://content.penturners.org/library/tools_and_jigs/jig_sucks_thin_strips.pdf
> 
> penl8the's pictures of his pens are gone in his threads, likely hosted offsite, but I did find this one another member made using one of Branden's blanks. https://www.penturners.org/threads/pin-stripes.126917/#post-1712270  I'm pretty sure one made it to the Front Page and Jeff could find it.
> 
> You could try sawing resin blanks or use dyed wood.


Think this kind of segmenting would be possible with a bandsaw? Or would that be too inaccurate over length?


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## Curly (Jun 13, 2022)

I would think the finish off a bandsaw (smoothness of the cut) would be the biggest obstacle. With a good bandsaw and  blade along with careful adjustments you can get a sled to run parallel to the blade but it is a lot easier to get a table saw to do it consistently. If you don’t have one you dance with the one that brings you.


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## hooked (Jun 13, 2022)

jrista said:


> Hmm! This looks really promising. I don't have a 3D printer yet...but...maybe its just time to get one now. I have a lot of ideas for pinstripe blanks, and with printing, I suspect I could even handle variable-thickness stripes and multi-colored stripes, right?


You could do whatever you would want with software.  Printing multiple colored stripes would be difficult with this design.  Although, there may be some crazy commercial printers out there that could do it.  I believe most home/hobbyist use printers only print one color at a time, and it prints in layers vertically.  You would be able to alter the widths of the stripes and the number of lines, as painfullyslow showed with his mold.

I use the prints and just pop it in a 3/4 piece of PVC and fill it up with resin.  I find it works very well.  If you would like to try a test pour, let me know, and I would be happy to send you a couple of prints to test with.


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## jrista (Jun 13, 2022)

hooked said:


> You could do whatever you would want with software.  Printing multiple colored stripes would be difficult with this design.  Although, there may be some crazy commercial printers out there that could do it.  I believe most home/hobbyist use printers only print one color at a time, and it prints in layers vertically.  You would be able to alter the widths of the stripes and the number of lines, as painfullyslow showed with his mold.
> 
> I use the prints and just pop it in a 3/4 piece of PVC and fill it up with resin.  I find it works very well.  If you would like to try a test pour, let me know, and I would be happy to send you a couple of prints to test with.
> 
> ...


I might take you up on the offer, to see if investing in a printer is worth it. 

I did some poking around, and it looks like there are some "RGB" printers on the market that can pull in all three filaments, mix them into a single color, and output that one color for the print. Looks like you can vary the color over time. Not sure if you can only vary the color by layer, or if these kinds of printers can vary the color spatially as well... I would need to be able to vary the color of each stripe in each layer of the model.









						Geeetech A30T Large 3D Printer Mix-color 3 in 1 out Supports ABS/PLA Filament  | eBay
					

Keeping the good performance of Geeetech 3D printers, it aims to provide users with quality printout and satisfactory printing experience.  A30T extruder motor uses a gear train of 3:1 speed ratio, amplifying input torque and improving your printing experience.



					www.ebay.com


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## hooked (Jun 13, 2022)

That printer looks to have three extruders, and everything combines to melt into one at the nozzle. Excellent idea, and you would be able to mix gradients and make colors without buying many filaments. I have never used a printer like this, so I do not know the details about how well they mix colors. I still think that it only creates a vertical gradient.

We use filament that is color shifting so that it changes colors vertically in a similar way. So, for example, my kids get filaments like this:



			https://www.amazon.com/Voxelab-Filament-Multicolor-Changing-Dimensional/dp/B0937886WS/ref=sr_1_12_sspa?crid=2KDO9NZQFVMUG&keywords=3D+Printing+Filament&qid=1655133068&s=industrial&sprefix=3d+printing+filament%2Cindustrial%2C220&sr=1-12-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzSDBVNDVCQTdXWjQ2JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTc1NTY1MU9UTllJVjlZSVY0UyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODI1NTE3M01BRzZYVjNPRDlKRiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
		


Alternating staves... one stave being blue, the next red would be challenging to achieve with this particular design in vertical layers. To accomplish this, you need to print staves individually and then form them together.

Think of this design as a 759-floor building. You build one floor at a time from the bottom up. It doesn't print one wall up to level 759 and then return the print head to level one and start again with a new color. It would topple over.  At least no way that I know of with a 3D printer.  I am just a hobbyist and I use freeware for slicing.  Maybe there is more advanced slicing software that has this capability.

If you are looking at printers, I highly suggest looking at the brands Creality and PRUSA. Both have large user communities and quality after-market upgrades available. I have experience with both and find that the print quality is quite high with both.

I just saw this article about different methods of mixing colors:  https://all3dp.com/2/multicolor-3d-printer-3d-print-multiple-colors-method/


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## SteveJ (Jun 13, 2022)

Quite a number of members have made pinstripes in wood. JTtheclockman and Mark James have both shown some really nice ones.









						ED5A6250-4D5C-43BC-B7E7-F5017D0798B4.jpeg
					





					www.penturners.org
				












						A segmented Zen pen
					

This is a segmented Zen pen. The blank which I made is BOW and black acrylic. The finish is 6 coats of Med. CA. This is the first Zen pen I made. I was trying out the magnetic cap which I am still a little undecided on. May have to use the pen to...



					www.penturners.org
				




I've done them a couple of different ways. Cutting a square blank in half and gluing in veneer and repeating until you've got four pieces of veneer (eight stripes) works but isn't very accurate.

Using a round blank cutting slots for the "stripe" is more accurate. I believe both JT and Mark have shown pictures of the process they have used. Each uses an indexing wheel on the lathe and a means of pulling the cutter across the length of the blank.


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## jrista (Jun 13, 2022)

SteveJ said:


> Quite a number of members have made pinstripes in wood. JTtheclockman and Mark James have both shown some really nice ones.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, this was what I was thinking when I was writing the original post. That I might need some kind of mill to cut slots, and glue in some material into each slot. Seems much more accurate than slicing and adding a layer of veneer and slicing again.

I did find this rather amazing 3D printer:









						RoVa4D Full Color Blender 3D Printer Pre-Order
					

RoVa4D Full Color Blender 3D Printer




					www.ordsolutions.com
				




Sounds like it can do just what I need...for the low, low price of $7500.  Maybe this will herald the next era of 3D printing, though...CMYKW printing sounds awesome, looks like it can print multiple colors per layer, and is simpler to use (no need to constantly swap filaments for each piece). Hopefully the cost will come down in the future...would love to get into this kind of 3D printing!


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## Curly (Jun 13, 2022)

jrista said:


> That I might need some kind of mill to cut slots, and glue in some material into each slot. Seems much more accurate than slicing and adding a layer of veneer and slicing again.


All you need is the lathe that you have, a way to index and a router with a slotting bit. https://www.amazon.ca/Yonico-12101q...er+slotting/grooving+bit+1/16+,aps,164&sr=8-5   You make a platform that sits on the bed of the lathe to position the router at close to the right height and then fine tune the height with the router to cut along the centre line of the blank. 

Don't overthink. It only leads to failure and overspending.


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## jrista (Jun 13, 2022)

Curly said:


> All you need is the lathe that you have, a way to index and a router with a slotting bit. https://www.amazon.ca/Yonico-12101q-16-Inch-Slotting-Cutter/dp/B07W4XDCXQ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=PMFXX3C87XN8&keywords=router+slotting/grooving+bit+1/16"&qid=1655165669&sprefix=router+slotting/grooving+bit+1/16+,aps,164&sr=8-5   You make a platform that sits on the bed of the lathe to position the router at close to the right height and then fine tune the height with the router to cut along the centre line of the blank.
> 
> Don't overthink. It only leads to failure and overspending.


Ah, the wonderful router! I guess I have two key tools I still need: A table saw, and a router!  Thanks much for the tip!

I had been holding out for a job site SawStop...but the prices just keep rising (I think those are now $1600 or more!!), and I can no longer keep up. I may have to get a smaller table saw, just so I have one...and just careful beyond measure to preserve all my fingers. With the price of even the smallest sawstop table saw as they are now, I could probably get a job site table saw, router, and router table for LESS!


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## jttheclockman (Jun 14, 2022)

I have posted my method quite afew times here. I use a platform, an indexing  wheel, and a router with true router bits. I do not use slicing blades because I make all different sized slots. The Zen that was referenced was done that way. If you want to see my setup the thread I started with it was.

https://www.penturners.org/threads/my-jig.104253/


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## jrista (Jul 10, 2022)

jttheclockman said:


> I have posted my method quite afew times here. I use a platform, an indexing  wheel, and a router with true router bits. I do not use slicing blades because I make all different sized slots. The Zen that was referenced was done that way. If you want to see my setup the thread I started with it was.
> 
> https://www.penturners.org/threads/my-jig.104253/


John, sorry for the late response, but thanks for this. This looks like an awesome setup. I want to be able to do different sized slots as well, so this is quite intriguing. It is also another darn good reason to get a router! 

It appears as though you are inserting layers of wood of constant thickness, which would mean that the more you turn down your blank, the less base blank material there would be between each band of alternate wood. I imagine this takes some careful thought and plannig to make sure that you don't cut channels that are too fat (touch or merge) closer to the center of the blank that they merge when turned down? You do seem to have created some fairly wide bands in some of your pens, so I'm curious how you approach that. Do you just cut all the way through the blank and insert a thicker piece of wood all the way through? Or is there another technique you use?


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## jttheclockman (Jul 11, 2022)

Jon I always turn my blanks down to about 1" in diameter. Using that measurement gets me close to finish size anyway. From there I figure out how many slots I want. I do not cut all the way through. Here is an example. I can make slots starting from 1/16"" up to whatever I want. I think anything less than 1/16" is just not worth it and if you do then better to slice the blank from a square blank and insert material. As I get back into it in the future I will do even more with smaller slots. Also with varied size slots. It really does not matter. I would never put a blank like these on a slimline even if I ever made one. I  should mention the 3 blanks shown on the bottom page are still sitting on the bench. The black and aluminum with the dots was an experiment I tried. I later refind it to my liking and that too is sitting on bench. This one I may use for a sierra kit or something like that. The dots are not symetrical enough. I worked that out better.

I should mention, the more slots you make the more your blank becomes fragile. Also your infill better be dead on or you will run into trouble on the final few slots. Now those blanks made with the printers is a whole other animal and that is not for me. I do not need to spend big$$ on something to make a few blanks. If you sell your blanks then maybe a good idea. But with that same thought as a printer you could cut slots thin and use epoxy resin as infill. May try that some day.


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## jrista (Jul 12, 2022)

Thanks much for the insights, @jttheclockman! I appreciate it! 

I think this is the approach I am going to take, for wood and resin, to use a router with a jig like you have to cut slots, or drill holes, etc. I have several ideas that involve circles...keep meaning to try that out. 

I also couldn't ever see myself using such a blank in a small, thin pen...that would be so hard to deal with...wow. I haven't turned a slimline in a while now either. I tried turning some "New Series" rollerball pens this weekend...first time in a while I've turned a pen that cheap. I wasn't expecting it, the pens look nice in online stores...but actually handling them, they are very small, not much larger around than a slimline, and they had no protective plastic sleeve that keeps the nib from scratching against the brass tube. The threading was rather poor. 

I've definitely become a "high end pen" snob.  But, I really like the fatter pen designs. Especially rollerball and fountain pens...they just have a feel to them, and a balance the way they sit in your hand when writing, that I really love. That extra thickness to the pen seems like it would help a lot when making segmented blanks like this.

I also love your use of holly and ebony. Can't really get much more contrast than that! I have a few ebony blanks, I'm going to have to pick up some more holly and give some of that high contrast a try.


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## jttheclockman (Jul 12, 2022)

jrista said:


> Thanks much for the insights, @jttheclockman! I appreciate it!
> 
> I think this is the approach I am going to take, for wood and resin, to use a router with a jig like you have to cut slots, or drill holes, etc. I have several ideas that involve circles...keep meaning to try that out.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I too love the real stark contrast to the two woods. I recently picked up a bunch of aspen which is just about as white as holy. At some time I will play around with it to see how it compares. When I use holy I like to bleach it to realy keep it white. Because even with CA finish it will turn a yellowish. Have to see how aspen takes to finishing and see what difference is if I bleach it as well.
The top pen has bleached holy. The second pen does not. Was in a hurry to make that one and did not take my usually time and skipped some steps. The blanks are without a finish on and that is the color you strive for with wood. Now if using acrylics that is easier.


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