# 21 Gun Salute Pen Kit



## Sylvanite (Mar 29, 2010)

Another member asked if I could make a bullet pen kit for him out of an old shellcase from a military funeral.  He didn't know what caliber it was - but it turned out to be 7.62x51mm (a.k.a. 7.62 NATO - the military version of 308 Winchester) blank.  The case had been sitting around for 40 years and had tarnished quite a bit.  Here is what it looked like:






The first thing I did was remove the worst of the corrosion.  I chucked up the case on my lathe and rubbed it with 0000 steel wool until it was moderately clean:





Then I trimmed it to length, expanded the case neck, drilled the case head, and sanded out the remaining tarnish and as many of the dings as I could.  I used 400 grit, 600, 800, 0000 steel wool, and finished with ammonia-free brass polish.  This is how it looked afterwards:





Then I seated a drilled-out bullet and soldered in a 7mm brass tube.  This is the result:





Finally, I laser-marked the cartridge, polished again, and powder-coated it in gloss clear.  The completed kit looks like this:





I look forward to seeing a photo of the completed pen.  I hope this was interesting.

Regards,
Eric


----------



## Pioneerpens (Mar 29, 2010)

very! thanks for the step by step... It looks great!


----------



## seamus7227 (Mar 29, 2010)

I made a pen out of one of those blanks too, excellent use of materials. very different! I like it.


----------



## witz1976 (Mar 29, 2010)

Wow that looks awesome!  Great job!


----------



## seamus7227 (Mar 29, 2010)

I have to say, yours looks way better than mine! I love the attention to detail on the brass, I now polish the brass the same way you do when i make any bullet pen. :star::star::star::star::star: for you!


----------



## oldcaptainrusty (Mar 29, 2010)

*Neat*

Very interesting Eric thanks for posting.


----------



## jbostian (Mar 29, 2010)

Very nice.

Jamie


----------



## jocat54 (Mar 29, 2010)

That's looking really nice.


----------



## Crashmph (Jun 1, 2010)

That is one wicked cool job you did there!!! Very nicely done.


----------



## Craftdiggity (Jun 1, 2010)

Looks like a great start.


----------



## el_d (Jun 1, 2010)

You Got some great products there Eric.


----------



## Allenk (Jun 1, 2010)

It's a beauty, for sure!  Too, well done!!


----------



## mbroberg (Jun 1, 2010)

What a job.  It is turning out wonderful.  i am assuming from your title, from the fact that the shell is from a military funeral, and from the fact that the member has had it for forty years that the deceased hero was someone special.  You are doing a fantastic job with it and I'll bet that the person you are making it for will treasure it.


----------



## dogcatcher (Jun 1, 2010)

Nice tutorail on polishing the brass.

Actually at military funerals it is not a 21 gun salute, it is the firing of 3 volleys.


> PRACTICE OF FIRING THREE RIFLE
> VOLLEYS OVER THE GRAVE:
> 
> This practice originated in the old custom of halting the fighting to remove the dead from the battlefield. Once each army had cleared its dead, it would fire three volleys to indicate that the dead had been cared for and that they were ready to go back to the fight. The fact that the firing party consists of seven riflemen, firing three volleys does not constitute a 21-gun salute.


----------



## Sylvanite (Jun 2, 2010)

*The completed pen*

You can view the completed pen at: CartridgePen Special

Regards,
Eric


----------



## cnirenberg (Jun 2, 2010)

Wow, that looks great.  Can you you also laser aluminum?  i have a friend who is looking to have some work done on aluminum. You can PM me if that is something you are interested in.


----------



## Sylvanite (Jan 4, 2011)

*Another one in 30-06 Springfield caliber*

30-06 blanks are also frequently used at funerals, and can also be made into commemorative pens.  Here are before and after pictures of a similar kit in 30-06 Springfield caliber.  Note that these blanks use a standard shellcase with a crimped case neck.  The crimp leaves visible marks in the completed cartridge.  Also, the case can sometimes split when resizing.

Regards,
Eric


----------



## alphageek (Jan 4, 2011)

Eric, I'm still amazed at how well those clean up!


----------



## Curtis (Jan 4, 2011)

It look great, I would have left old and tarnished if I did it for my self, I just think it would have gave it the personality


----------



## Dudley Young (Jan 4, 2011)

dogcatcher said:


> Nice tutorail on polishing the brass.
> 
> Actually at military funerals it is not a 21 gun salute, it is the firing of 3 volleys.
> 
> ...


You beat me to it. Might I add that at a military funeral there don't have to be 7 riflemen, it can be 4 or 8 or what ever is available but they still fire three volleys.
Super job Eric.


----------

