# Ivory Inlay on a Jr. Statesman



## nilsatcraft (Oct 22, 2005)

This morning I turned this Jr. Statesman Pen. The inlay is actual Elephant Ivory from recycled piano keys.  Gary Maxx was kind enough to send it to me along with some other cool blanks.  Thanks Gary!   I don't actually know what kind of wood it is. It's been in my pile of blanks for a really long time.  I only had a little bit of Ivory so I wanted to make the most of it. The glue up is by no means perfect but from the front angle it looks alright. 




This is what the blank looked like before turning.

Please feel free to comment.  Thanks!


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## YoYoSpin (Oct 22, 2005)

Outstanding job...great photography as well!


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## Ron in Drums PA (Oct 22, 2005)

Fanstastic. 

Where do you get elephant ivory?


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## Old Griz (Oct 22, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA_
> <br />Fanstastic.
> 
> Where do you get elephant ivory?





> Originally posted by Nils
> 
> recycled piano keys


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## Daniel (Oct 22, 2005)

Great looking pen Nils.
Borrowing the photo studio again? woudl be nice, think I'm jealous.


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## rtjw (Oct 22, 2005)

Nils, That is one fantastic pen. Great lamination. never seen it that way. Very good thinking on your part.


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## Ron in Drums PA (Oct 22, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Old Griz_
> <br />
> 
> 
> ...




[B)] Guess is should read more closely.


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## Jim Boyd (Oct 22, 2005)

Hmmm... I have a nice stash of ivory piano keys.[] Your pen looks like a fitting way to use it[]


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## DWK5150 (Oct 22, 2005)

Amazing that looks great!


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## Rifleman1776 (Oct 22, 2005)

Wow! Stunning.


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## Gary Max (Oct 22, 2005)

Cross another name off the Christmas list----You done the Ivory proud.


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## pastorbill1952 (Oct 22, 2005)

That's !!!!!!


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## coach (Oct 22, 2005)

Impressive Nils!  Nicely done!


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## coach (Oct 22, 2005)

Impressive Nils!  Nicely done!


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## vick (Oct 22, 2005)

Beautiful!


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## JHFerrell (Oct 22, 2005)

Nils...Outstanding![:0]


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## Deere41h (Oct 22, 2005)

Wow Nils....That is really neat!!.  Did you use the company photographer?  The pictures are great.  Looks like something I might see in your catalog.

Thanks for sharing it with us.


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## bonsaibill (Oct 22, 2005)

WOW!!!!!!


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## alamocdc (Oct 22, 2005)

Very nice, Nils!!!! [^]


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## Randy_ (Oct 22, 2005)

Classy looking pen!!


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## woodscavenger (Oct 22, 2005)

I have a local goodwill with several really old pianos.  How do you tell if they keys are ivory?


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## ashaw (Oct 22, 2005)

Nils
[:0]  Great pen.  I do not what to say thats already bein said....


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## DCBluesman (Oct 22, 2005)

> _Originally posted by woodscavenger_
> <br />I have a local goodwill with several really old pianos.  How do you tell if they keys are ivory?


Most keys, even on old pianos, are not elephant ivory.  The stuff was expensive even way back when.  There's a lot of great info from the government, starting with http://www.lab.fws.gov/ivory/prelim.html .


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## nilsatcraft (Oct 22, 2005)

Thanks so much for all the comments!  The photography on this pen is quite funny, actually.  I literally used no lights whatsoever and I did this in our bedroom at home with my own camera.  All I did was take the bottom of the curtains and attach them to a table so they created a hanging surface.  I then set my camera to the Macro Mode and kept my shutter open a bit longer than normal.  I was using a tripod and timed shutter release so it could take in the light.  It was one of the most unprofessional photo set ups available but the pictures came out great!  I have a Fuji Finepix S7000 and I love it!


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## scubaman (Oct 23, 2005)

Very good job on the pen, and on the photo, Nils!  I'm impressed!  Those photos just came out gorgeous!  How did you make the meeting 45 deg cuts?

BTW some people asked about recycled piano keys.  I've used those for a few years, they can be bought from people restoring pianos.  I buy from http://www.walkerpiano.com/Ivory_For_Sale.htm


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## Darley (Oct 23, 2005)

Nils this is an awesome pen very good work on laminating, your top barrel is in 2 parts ins't it?




> _Originally posted by scubaman_
> <br />BTW some people asked about recycled piano keys.  I've used those for a few years, they can be bought from people restoring pianos.  I buy from http://www.walkerpiano.com/Ivory_For_Sale.htm



Very good site Rich, but they don't send to OZ land, if not will take a dozen of it


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## wdcav1952 (Oct 23, 2005)

Nils,

I give up.  I have tried to find the proper superlatives for this pen, and I cannot.  Truly awesome work!


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## gerryr (Oct 23, 2005)

Fabulous piece of work.  I need to find an old piano.


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## swm6500 (Oct 23, 2005)

Fantastic work Nils. Keep up the great work.


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## csb333 (Oct 23, 2005)

Thats a really great looking pen !


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## jvsank (Oct 23, 2005)

Very nice Nils


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## bonsaibill (Oct 23, 2005)

You guys scare me!!


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## Jim in Oakville (Oct 24, 2005)

Hi Nils,

I love the total package, so crisp and elegant!!


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## nilsatcraft (Oct 24, 2005)

In response to Richard's (Scubaman's) question- To make the design, I just cut at a 45 halfway into the blank (to about the center) and then backed out.  They were cut with a bandsaw but each cut needed to be widened a bit.  After each cut I glued in the ivory, cut off the excess and then cut the next side, glued, trimmed etc until I got all the way around.  A coworker just pointed out that a better way to do it would be to cut from both sides, making a v-cut, then glue in the inlay and glue it back together.  I could then do a v cut on the other side(s) and glue them up.  That way you could use whatever thickness you want for inlays and it would always match up.  Maybe I'll try some more some time with varying angles, it could be really cool.


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## Johnathan (Feb 20, 2006)

Well, I can tell what my next project is. As I collect restored, and restore myself old grand pianos, I have always kept the original ivory. Now I know what I can do with it! Thank you.[]


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## UKpenmaker (Feb 20, 2006)

Simply Stunning[:0][:0][][][][]


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## Ravenbsp (Feb 20, 2006)

Wow! There is really nothing more to be said.  Beautiful.  Whoops, I guess there was! 

[]


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## mick (Feb 20, 2006)

Nils...Absolutely beautiful pen! I love the color contrast between the ivory and the wood. Now you've made me have to head out to the shop .... []


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## Huzzah (Feb 20, 2006)

First let me say the obvious, that is a beautiful pen.  Secondly, as a beginner who has only done simple bushing to bushing pens let me also thank you for taking a picture of what the glue up looks like and explaining how you do it.  I appreciate having a chance to learn from your mini-tutorial []


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## ed4copies (Feb 20, 2006)

Nils,

It's all been said, but I have to "pile on".  This is too good to overlook.

GJNP!!


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## terrymiller (Feb 20, 2006)

Nils you say it looks alright.  But that is a beautiful pen very nice use of the Ivory.


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## nilsatcraft (Feb 20, 2006)

Thanks, folks.  I haven't seen this thread for four months (it started in October and was resurrected today).  This is actually the pen I use every day and carry around with me everywhere.  I'm really happy with how it's held up and it makes a great demo pen to show people what fun you can have with a pen.


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## Gary Max (Feb 20, 2006)

Heck I had forgotten that I sent you the Ivory.  As soon as the weather gets better I need to turn some of it myself. I just can not turn pens when it's down in the teens in the morning. Spring is coming-- I just wish it would get here.


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## Jim15 (Feb 21, 2006)

A great looking pen, I wouldn't be able to sell or give that one away (it's a keeper).

jim


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## gerryr (Feb 21, 2006)

This was one of the early pens I saw after I found this place and it got me looking for old piano keys.  I still have a picture of Nils's glue-up and plan to borrow the basic shape.  It is one of the most elegant and beautiful pens I've seen.


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## realgenius (Feb 21, 2006)

WOW!!!!!WOW!!!!! I just hope someday I can do work that good.  WOW!!!![^][^][^]

Debra


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