# A scallop too far?



## skiprat (Oct 25, 2012)

My job up north in Scotland went quicker than I thought, so I rushed home and finished off this pen. :biggrin:
Here is the finished results of the 'Couple of Scallops' or 'Loads of Scallops' question. 
I'm still not convinced that lots of scallops works as well as just a couple. 
What do you reckon?  Any criticism, comment or suggestions are welcome.:wink:

Unfortunately, due to operator error I had to make it closed ended.  This of course messed up my spacing at the ends. 
I included a pic of the original white one for comparison.


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## terryf (Oct 25, 2012)

very nice rot (Afrikaans for rat) 

I actually prefer the second one closed end with more scallops. Great work, and thats with CA glued scallops? Impressive!


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## D.Oliver (Oct 25, 2012)

I can't decide which one I like better.  They are both beautiful pens.  I do like the closed end on the black one though.


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## Dalecamino (Oct 25, 2012)

Well.....better than I envisioned it would be. Not keen on the sharp edge on the closed end, but what do I know? :biggrin: Just a matter of taste. The pen looks nice with scallops. Thanks for posting comparisons. Two nice pens Steven.:wink:


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## turbowagon (Oct 25, 2012)

I like the closed-end one best, and the full-scalloped design looks great to my eyes!

I've made a similar style kit before (fountain version), and found that closed-end is the only way to go.  The short threaded finial was WAY to easy to cross-thread while posting... there isn't a long enough tenon to guide the threads into proper alignment.  Not sure if you have a similar experience on this particular component set.

The thickness of the brass is perfect as well...  it adds to the elegance of the artistic pattern you've created.


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## joefyffe (Oct 25, 2012)

Yeh, Skippy:   It looks pretty bad.  Let's talk about what I don't like about it.  It's still in your homeland, whence it should be enroute to joefyffe in Indianapolis, IN.  :tongue:  I think it looks great.  I don't feel like the longer space at finial end is an issue, at all.  I am jealous of your artistic talents!  :biggrin:  :biggrin:


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## joefyffe (Oct 25, 2012)

Yeh, Skippy:   It looks pretty bad.  Let's talk about what I don't like about it.  It's still in your homeland, whence it should be enroute to joefyffe in Indianapolis, IN.  :tongue:  I think it looks great.  I don't feel like the longer space at finial end is an issue, at all.  I am jealous of your artistic talents!  :biggrin:  :biggrin:


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## skiprat (Oct 25, 2012)

Joe, I agree completely about the posting. I also find those finial threads to end abrubtely and they seem quite sharp on the end. But I hardly even actually post any pen, I find all of them off balanced when posted. 

Terry, yep CA and more CA and even more CA. :biggrin:
See the sequence of pics. You can see that I've added tons of the shavings to make a hard shell on the outside then made it round. 
I then added dozens of layers of CA and then added electrical tape before drilling. This time I really did use many drill bits. 
I had a dilema that might benifit others in a similar situation...
if you look at the little triangle/scallop and the drill bit pics, you can see that depending on which way you drill from, determines the angle that the cutting edges of the drill bit cut through the brass. Having the brass in the same direction as the drill bit means that the cutting is trying to cut at an angle and therefore takes much longer to get through. This of course means dreaded heat, which will ruin the joint. 

Half way through turning this, my lathe motor went BANG !!
I've had this before so knew where to look. 
The insulating brush mounting plate is fixed to the motor end plate with several screws but periodically carbon from the brushes builds up between the screw and the brush. 

Edit in; In pic 5 you can see why I had to go the closed ended route.:redface:
To add insult to injury I drilled too deep too, which meant that the closed end was also too long, as Joe F so kindly pointed out !!:tongue::biggrin:


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## BRobbins629 (Oct 25, 2012)

I favor the long one as well.  Now could you please make one in white so we can really compare:biggrin:


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## skiprat (Oct 25, 2012)

BRobbins629 said:


> I favor the long one as well. Now could you please make one in white so we can really compare:biggrin:


 
Hummph!!!!  Ya know Bruce, I could go off you in a hurry !!:tongue:

I won't be doing another one, I can assure you!!  Although when I showed my darling  aaaarghh - wife -- aaargh  she just said;
'Mmmmmm, you should have done it with that blue you made and with silver scallops.'

You gotta love them really!!:biggrin:


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## 1080Wayne (Oct 25, 2012)

Yes , too far , but my pocket wouldn`t reject it .


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## mredburn (Oct 25, 2012)

I prefer the white one with less scallops. Although the black pen is interesting I find it a bit to busy.  My opinion is the white one with less scallops is the "less is more " pen.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Oct 25, 2012)

I much prefer the closed end with full scollops & agree that if you would have just slightly rounded the edge of the closed end it would look better in my opinion, but everyone knows that with an opinion and $5.00 you almost get a cup of coffee at Starbucks..


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## Jim Smith (Oct 25, 2012)

Akippy,

Amazing work as usual.  Beautiful design and outstanding execution!.  I think I like them both equally well, although I also agree with your wife, blue with silver would look stunning:biggrin:

Jim Smith


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## ve3bax (Oct 25, 2012)

I'm diggin the full length scallops... reminds me of scales... looks neat!

--Dave


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## Gilrock (Oct 25, 2012)

They are both awesome.  I kinda prefer the white one.  I like the hardware on the end of the white one.  Guess I like to see more metal now that I'm working with it.  I've browsed you're website a few times the last couple weeks and you do so well with the metal parts I can never tell what you buy versus what you make.


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## alamocdc (Oct 25, 2012)

Stephen, I like the 2nd one best as well.  And I like it closed ended.  That said, you could have done two less scallops at the nib end to even out the look.  So yes, you used too many (IMHO), but only a few.


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## maxman400 (Oct 25, 2012)

The way you did it was the right way, or you would have done it differently. LOL
Both look stunning, but maybe in emerald green and brass?


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## Jim15 (Oct 25, 2012)

Amazing work. I like the second one best. Both of them are beautiful.


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## Displaced Canadian (Oct 25, 2012)

I think on that kit the scallops going the full length looks good. On a different kit it would be too busy.


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## joefyffe (Oct 25, 2012)

skiprat said:


> Joe, I agree completely about the posting. I also find those finial threads to end abrubtely and they seem quite sharp on the end. But I hardly even actually post any pen, I find all of them off balanced when posted.
> 
> Terry, yep CA and more CA and even more CA. :biggrin:
> See the sequence of pics. You can see that I've added tons of the shavings to make a hard shell on the outside then made it round.
> ...



Skip:  You should post more often.  I think ALL members consider your work a needed inspiration!


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## jttheclockman (Oct 25, 2012)

Why do you need to choose???  Both are abit different so both are individual pens. One has nothing to do with the other except for the fact you used the same method. I think another possibility is to do front and back and have the center blank. To me both look good and are up to your exceptional standards. Thanks for showing.


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## plano_harry (Oct 25, 2012)

Skippy, thanks for posting the in progress pictures.  I will proably never attempt this, but love seeing what you did.  Beautiful pens. Would give either one a good home and never sell it.  What are you holding in reserve for the contest? :wink:

Harry


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## mikespenturningz (Oct 26, 2012)

Just beautiful pens thank you for sharing them.


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## junosdad (Oct 26, 2012)

I like em both....for different reasons.

Loads of scallops looks like dragon scales.

Very cool stuff




sam


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## skiprat (Oct 26, 2012)

Many thanks for all the comments. !!:biggrin:




jttheclockman said:


> Why do you need to choose??? .....


 
Hi JT, no reason really. It was just that when I recently posted the original white one, many folks said it would look better with a full length pattern. 
But like you said, now that it's done, they are two different pens anyway. 
Worth the experiment, but I'm unlikely to do another one. ( Unless my better half *tells* me to !!:biggrin: )


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## Kretzky (Oct 26, 2012)

Both are superb imho. If I had to choose one... I think I'd go for the closed end full scalloped one.
Great job as usual.
David


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## rizaydog (Oct 26, 2012)

I like them both.  Nice job.


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## bluwolf (Oct 26, 2012)

Skip,

I know this is going to sound stupid like I won't pick a side but... I agree, the black one has too many. On the other hand, the white one doesn't seem like it has quite enough. How's that for wishy-washy?

Also, I'm biased and I like blue, I agree with your wife, blue with silver scallops and silver hardware would look terrific. But that's a personal preference thing

Mike


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## RogerBean (Oct 26, 2012)

Really like the design in both pens.  Any concerns regarding the strength of CA to attach metal to resin?  Seems like a relatively small contact area, and I never thought of CA as particularly strong.  Maybe I'm just a belt and suspenders kind of guy. 
Roger


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## SDB777 (Oct 26, 2012)

Looks like it should either be all or one....really digging on the black.  Can't even being to think of how long it'd take to do all those(and get it right).  Well done!!!





Scott (scallops are tasty treats) B


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## Gilrock (Oct 26, 2012)

Ok that first photo in the series of pictures has been bugging me. What is that gold piece I'm seeing? I attached a copy with the part circled. All I could figure is it's some type of milling head and it appears to be at a 45 degree angle allowing you to use it to mill out the angles for gluing in those pieces. If so that's way too unfair...  Plus if that's what it was used for it sure seems like it would put a lot of force on the sections already glued up as you get further away from the chuck. I'd love to see a photo showing a wider view of that setup...


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## bluwolf (Oct 26, 2012)

Gilrock said:


> Ok that first photo in the series of pictures has been bugging me. What is that gold piece I'm seeing? I attached a copy with the part circled. All I could figure is it's some type of milling head and it appears to be at a 45 degree angle allowing you to use it to mill out the angles for gluing in those pieces. If so that's way too unfair...  Plus if that's what it was used for it sure seems like it would put a lot of force on the sections already glued up as you get further away from the chuck. I'd love to see a photo showing a wider view of that setup...


 
If just the router bit rattles your cage, wait until you see the articulating arm setup that it's attached to. Something Skip built that looks like he stole it from NASA:biggrin: I know there's pictures of it somewhere, I'm just too lazy to look. I'm sure he'll post a pic.

Mike


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## MartinPens (Oct 26, 2012)

Steven... Two very beautiful pens! I too favor the black closed end, although both are wonderful. I always look forward to your posts and out of the box creations. Fantastic!

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner


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## creativewriting (Oct 26, 2012)

I have to vote for the white, but I liked the closed end on the black pen.  Both are amazing as usual!!


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## Donovan (Oct 26, 2012)

If the white one was a closed end then yummy yummy I would like that a lot


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## skiprat (Oct 26, 2012)

Gil, Mike is correct. It's just the router bit that I used to cut the Vs for the scallops.
In this instance, it's just my palm router mounted in the toolpost, but sometimes I use a different method of holding it. 
Here is a pic of how I used it for this pen, but I can't find the pic where it uses the articulated arm that Mike mentioned. 



Thanks again for all the comments. Looks like most prefer the black one !!:biggrin:


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## ericofpendom (Oct 27, 2012)

Steven,  If my operator errors came out that well I would be very happy:biggrin:
 What a stunning pen!  If you decide to make the blue and silver version I have a lovely piece of your blue PR that would do the job:wink:

Thanks so much for sharing the process and the results, INSPIRED:smile-big:

Eric...


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## Rmartin (Oct 27, 2012)

I love the full scallops. Thanks for posting the router pic. It was really bugging me how you made the 'V's with out cutting all the way through.


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## wiset1 (Oct 27, 2012)

Here's a link to more images of his rig:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/black-subtle-golden-waves-100427/index2.html

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/cue-blanks-yet-another-method-79294/

Some pretty amazing stuff here!


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