# 30 Pieces of Silver



## leehljp

Elegant Beauty TI Gold with Bloodwood, BOW and Holly. 30 Silver spots at the top are from core solder as representative of the silver. .5mm brass as separators between layers of wood. Named from a Biblical passage, and made for two national (Japanese) workers in ministry.

I looked for some new silver core in store locally but couldn't find high silver content that I wanted, so I used a combination solder that I had on hand - and in which I was unsure of as the the amount of sliver. I measured the core solder and drilled holes from a HF numbered bit that matched the solder diameter. Correction - the solder I used - about 10 % silver the rest is tin. Also the core is rosin, not acid. AS another add in for those who might not be aware of it - the solder dots are intentionally randomly placed instead of orderly, representing the throwing of the coins on the ground. 

Problem and unusual fix: The solder caused unusual smearing of dust, dulling the bloodwood considerably. I cranked up the lathe to around 3600 RPM, and used a very very very sharp squared end scraper (of my own making) with a very light touch - and it smoothed the whole pen as though it were sanded way beyond 400 / 600 sandpaper. No sanding done to the wood of this pen - I was very surprised at the ability to smooth so well without SP. 

Finished with 3 applications of medium CA. I did sand the CA smooth - through 12000 MM.


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## skiprat

That is fantastic!!!


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## Jim15

Absolutely beautiful.


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## angelofdeath

that pen is a real beauty


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## chriselle

Beautiful and classy Hank.  I bought 10 or so of the EB kits and the only thing I wish is that they were a little longer.


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## rherrell

VERY nice Hank!


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## VisExp

Beautiful pen Hank.  I love the color combinations.


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## Blind_Squirrel

Outstanding segment work!


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## hewunch

Very cool! I love it. The segmenting, the woods, all very nice.


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## pianomanpj

Dang, Hank! Those sure are sweet!!:biggrin:


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## LouisQC

Marvelous work!


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## dgscott

Gorgeous!


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## TowMater

That's quite an impressive effort!


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## Monty

Beautiful pen. Great work.


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## jttheclockman

Very classy pen. That is a perfect choice of kit for your work. Thanks for thinking outside the box. Job well done.


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## doddman70

Sweet!!!! very nice!


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## thewishman

Beautiful design and execution! Here's to a new motto, "No more sanding!"


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## DKF

Beautiful Pen!


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## DCBluesman

Wow!  That's exceptional!


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## SuperDave

Very, very nice instruments! They will be extremely pleased to recieve them!

D


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## fernhills

"The Pen among Pens" wow


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## avbill

There are several consistent turners on IAP that produce absolutely beautiful pens and your one of those turners Hank.

The pen is well designed as the end of the clip is just short of the end of the BOW. The three segments of Blood wood continue the balance of the blank.  THe holly off sets the blank from the silver spots.  Hank continues the design with brass segments that match the gold tone of the pen kit.  The design is busy yet well balanced and pleasing to the eye.   Hanks selection of Gold and Black titanium finishes this pen with an elegant touch. 


To the power to bees of the IAP  Maybe there should be a Hall of Fame where a judges panel critics a pen and the Best of the Best are there.  Where there is a description from the makers as how he/she made it and a description  from the panel as to why it made the hall of fame.    

This pen should be in it!!


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## Ligget

Outstanding work Hank!


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## leehljp

WOW! Thanks guys, for all of your the compliments! I appreciate it very much.

Bill, I do think it is a little too busy looking too, but I had to give it a try and was surprised at the balance. I had two different band sizes of red and white and had to choose which ones to use. I felt the ones used gave the right balance, but even that was a guess before turning. I was aiming at the clip to end on the BOW with a small space before the bloodwood. I honestly did not expect it to come out as nice as it did, so I can't take credit for "seeing" it beforehand. Luck of the draw.

Thanks again for your kind words everyone!


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## toolcrazy

Beautiful pens.


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## edman2

Hank,
Well done!


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## BRobbins629

Very lovely as all have said. Just one curiosity - there appears to be a small dimple in the silver inlays.  Intentional?


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## woodtreker

Love it....  

Can you tell me more how you segmented with the brass?  Where did you get it? How did you glue it?   At what point did you drill your holes for the "silver"?


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## Jerryconn

I typically don't respond to these, But this one deserves a comment.  
This is an absolutely stunning pen. Gorgeous


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## leehljp

BRobbins629 said:


> Very lovely as all have said. Just one curiosity - there appears to be a small dimple in the silver inlays.  Intentional?



The silver inlays were made from solder wire. Some solder have a core of acid or other material (flux) to assist the solder in melting, cleaning and sticking. The core of such solder in many of these cases is hollow, and filled with the acid or other material. That is what you see as a dimple. 

Some countries and some old world coins have a hole in the middle. Not sure about the 30 original silver coins, but they did look nice on the first pen, so I did that for the second one too.


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## markgum

AWESOME. Great work.


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## Daniel

Very nice. you have a lot of elements there for them to work together as well as they do. the design in the center band actually takes away from what you have done. it would be nice if there was just a simple smooth gold center band for this pen. pretty good work when you can outdo the pen designers.


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## leehljp

woodtreker said:


> Love it....
> 
> Can you tell me more how you segmented with the brass?  Where did you get it? How did you glue it?   At what point did you drill your holes for the "silver"?



Brass:
I buy brass sheets in .3 mm (I think that is the size), .5 mm and 1 mm over here. I usually buy 4 inch by 12 inch sheets. For my segments, I took 2 pieces of 1/2 inch thick plywood 6 inches by about 14 inches and placed the brass between the 2 pieces of ply, and screwed it together around the edges. Next I drilled holes at intervals with the size of pen tubes I wanted to have segments. Unscrew the boards, and with a heavy duty hand metal cutters (heavy duty scissors) I cut a rough circle around the holes. If any are not flat, I place them between two boards and hit with a hammer a couple of times. 

The brass 'rings' do not have to be symmetrical. I do sharpen my chisels well and take small light patient bites. It is an exercise in patience but each ring will arrive at its correct size in fine shape - with patience. I guess I took about 3 to 5 minutes per ring in turning it down on the pen. They started off as about 3/4 inch in outer diameter.

I use two methods in using brass segments:
1. I place the center piece on the tube and glue it. Turn it and square up the ends while turning; remove the blank and add brass rings to both ends, and then end pieces and glue with epoxy (for set up time). The two end pieces overhang the end of the tubes and I clamp them with hand clamps. Remove after glue hardens and trim ends, then turn to finish.
Example: http://www.penturners.org/photos/images/940/1_Best_pen.jpg

2. On the pen at the beginning of this thread, I glued the top end on first with 5 min epoxy. It was already cut to the proper length and I made sure it was flush with the end of the tube. After it set up for about an hour, I added the rest of the pieces with 5 minute epoxy. The last piece was about 1/32 inch longer than the end of the tube. I place a hand clamp on the blank and tightened. After about 30 minutes, I released the clamps and trimmed the ends by sanding. A clue here - with segments of small pieces, a barrel trimmer can catch and destroy a blank quick. Therefore I use a sander to square up the ends on delicate blanks. Then turn the blanks.

Silver:
I turned the blank down until it was about 1 mm larger than finished size and drilled the holes to the brass tube. I used mini needle nose pliers to pick up each piece and place them in. I tapped each one lightly with the pliers after placing them, then CA the solder before turning.


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## leehljp

Daniel said:


> Very nice. you have a lot of elements there for them to work together as well as they do. the design in the center band actually takes away from what you have done. it would be nice if there was just a simple smooth gold center band for this pen. pretty good work when you can outdo the pen designers.



Daniel,

I have to agree with you. I think they would look better with plain bands, if I could find them, or even the lesser designed bands of the standard TI gold Sierras.


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## Mather323

Amazing!


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## bitshird

Hank that is a fine looking pen and a great trick, did CA seal the resin in the core?? nice segmenting job,


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## Gagler

Very nice and classy


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## airrat

Hank that looks great.


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## Hayseedboy

Absolutely AWESOME!  Very very nice....

lr


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## steve_mcloon

Beautiful! Are you worried that the brass or solde will tarnish?
-Steve


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## Darley

Great pen, nicely done


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## philb

Thats a great effort, especially on such a short barreled pen!

Where did you get the kit from? As the only elegant beauty's ive seen have a emblem on the end of the top section, above the clip and have a different centre band?

PHIL


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## Russianwolf

This Smiley seems appropriate for both the context and the execution.

:worship:


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## NewLondon88

Woah!


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## papaturner

That has to be the best elegant beauty that I have seen,absolutely awesome. Photos are wonderful also. Judas would really sell out for that one.btw Thanks for your work in Japan.


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## ahoiberg

nice work hank!


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## leehljp

philbaldwin said:


> Where did you get the kit from? As the only elegant beauty's ive seen have a emblem on the end of the top section, above the clip and have a different centre band?
> PHIL



This kit came from Bereahardwoods.com



steve_mcloon said:


> Are you worried that the brass or solde will tarnish?
> -Steve



I'm watching that. I have made several brass segments over a couple of years. So far none of the brass has tarnished. With several coats of medium CA and sandwiched between the wood segments with epoxy, they have held up fine so far.


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## Paul in OKC

Very nice!


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## sparhawk

Thats one beutiful pen. Great work.


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## Dalecamino

Great work Hank ! And thanks again for the information .


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## el_d

Very Nice Hank...


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## splinter99

Hank, That is one of the best looking pens I have ever seen. Just stunning


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## btboone

I agree with the mob. Great Job Hank.  :good:


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## broitblat

I know it doesn't add much to the conversations, but...

I like it.  A lot!

  -Barry


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## desertyellow

Elegant.
Beautiful.


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## Glenn McCullough

Hank, 
   Very nicely done! excellent segmenting work. What finish is on it?


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## oldcaptainrusty

AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME!


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## td

Sheer Artistry!


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## workinforwood

Well...best looking sierra style pen I ever saw, well done!!!!


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## GoodTurns

every time I think I'm getting good at this someone has to go and raise the bar!  cut me some slack here!  I have a partially finished "spotted" blank using tiny brass rods run through the blank....I can only hope it looks anywhere near as nice!

Gorgeous pen!


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## mobrackett

Absolutely beautiful!!!! Looks like a $500.00 pens to me!!


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## MarkHix

Stunning!  
As a maker of average pens, I also appreciate your generosity in telling us the details.  I am certain that the recipients will be pleased.


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## tipsteve

Wow Hank!  Great looking pen.  What inspired you to use solder?  What a great idea.
Thank you for posting it.

Steve


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## csb333

That pen is breathtaking!- Chris


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## Skye

Very nice. I think if you were able to get a consistent pattern to the solder rods it would have been perfect. 

Really like the brass plates in there, matches the kit well.


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## leehljp

Skye said:


> Very nice. I think if you were able to get a consistent pattern to the solder rods it would have been perfect.
> 
> Really like the brass plates in there, matches the kit well.



Skye,

The 30 pieces of sliver were thrown on the ground and landed at random. Order is for stars on a flag and such. Random was intentional. I don't want to rewrite Bible history. 

However, I do appreciate your comment as it made me realize that not everyone is familiar with this bit of Bible history. I apologize for the forgetting of people like yourself who would not know this. My bad! Ministers make terrible assumptions at times! Thanks for reminding me. As Ann Landers used to say: give me 20 lashes with a wet noodle!


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## chriselle

leehljp said:


> Skye,
> 
> The 30 pieces of sliver were thrown on the ground and landed at random. Order is for stars on a flag and such. Random was intentional. I don't want to rewrite Bible history.
> 
> However, I do appreciate your comment as it made me realize that not everyone is familiar with this bit of Bible history. I apologize for the forgetting of people like yourself who would not know this. My bad! Ministers make terrible assumptions at times! Thanks for reminding me. As Ann Landers used to say: give me 20 lashes with a wet noodle!



Ah....THAT 30 pieces of silver....I get it now! :wink::biggrin:

Kidding of course..my friend!:tongue:


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## jedgerton

*All I can say is Wow!*

Hank,

Those are fantastic.  I love the symbolism as well!  Now I have a new goal (as if I ever achieved the old goal)!

John


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## areaman

One of the most beautiful pens I've seen!


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## ldb2000

Spectacular pen Hank . I love the segmenting and the 30..... oh EVERYTHING !!!


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## Skye

leehljp said:


> I do appreciate your comment as it made me realize that not everyone is familiar with this bit of Bible history. I apologize for the forgetting of people like yourself who would not know this.



Well, not only biblical scholars know bible stories. I'm not quite how you came to categorize myself as one who "would not know of this" as I attend every Sunday as well as teach the 'Mission Friends' every Wednesday night with my wife and my Father In Law is a pastor. So, I spend enough time in church to be familiar with the story of the crucifixion.

If you're talking about Judas tossing the coins before hanging himself, I hardly think you're rewriting the Bible by putting the 'coins' in order. If you're that worried about 'rewriting', then I'd suggest not using lead to take the place of what was probably shekels made of silver. 

I think your main error you should be apologizing for is assuming to know who knows what. Just take the suggestion as what it was.


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## leehljp

Skye said:


> I think your main error you should be apologizing for is assuming to know who knows what. Just take the suggestion as what it was.



I never wrote that I used "Lead". That was just an assumption that many people make when they think of solder.

I do appreciate your suggestion, but random is random and it was intentional. If I wanted orderly, it would have been orderly. Perhaps you can do the orderly one. That would be great! You do great work and it would certainly challenge us all to higher standards. I was wrong to assume that you were not a church goer, so I apologize publicly for that. I wrongly thought that way because of your original statement of making "orderly" that which is obviously random in the story. I now apologize for assuming that you would know that as a church goer.

When I made the pens in the photo, I used what solder I had on hand that I used in electronics. I also knew that it was a combination of content for electronics use. The tube was small and only had the mfg number of 55 - S, which I just found out meant 55% silver. Most people who construct electronics with solder do not use pure lead or acid, so while I did not know the amount of silver content, I knew that it had silver in it. I just was not going to make statements that I was not 100% sure of. I should have chased it down before writing it up.


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## PenWorks

Stellar looking pen!!


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## nava1uni

Wow!!! A truly beautiful piece of craftsmanship.  I would be willing to try the pens out for you to make sure that they work properly.  I can send you my address if you need it.


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## george

woow ! great work !


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## Richard Gibson

I just ran across this thread and had to add WOW!  This is really inspirational Hank and beautifully done.


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## G1Pens

Absolutely beautiful pen. They symbolism of the design and woods used are perfect. I don't think this could have been done any better. One of the most impressive works I have seen on here in a while.


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## glycerine

What is this, a two year anniversary thread revival?!?!?
That IS a nice pen though!


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## seamus7227

glycerine said:


> What is this, a two year anniversary thread revival?!?!?
> That IS a nice pen though!


 
LOL, i know, i thought, where did this come from, then i saw the date! UNBELIEVABLE CRAFTSMANSHIP!!! I really enjoy when people did up old threads and repost. It helps to re-inspire! :biggrin:


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## IPD_Mr

Glad to see this revived.  Lee is an excellent craftsman and did a heck of a lot with little to no space when he lived in Japan.  This is some good inspiration for a lot of folks.


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## D.Oliver

seamus7227 said:


> glycerine said:
> 
> 
> 
> What is this, a two year anniversary thread revival?!?!?
> That IS a nice pen though!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> LOL, i know, i thought, where did this come from, then i saw the date! UNBELIEVABLE CRAFTSMANSHIP!!! I really enjoy when people did up old threads and repost. It helps to re-inspire! :biggrin:
Click to expand...

 
The whole time I was reading this thread I was wondering how I missed it last week. It wasn't until I got to the end and seen your comments that I realized it was from October *2008*!  Wow, what a beautiful pen!  Its like one of those Disney movies..."It's been digitally remastered and re-released for a short time. Get a good look now, because at the end of the week it goes back into the vault".


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## chris63

*kit*

is that from a standard kit  that is  beautiful , so nice..


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## MSGMP

One of the best I have seen on here. I really like them


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## mark james

*Another I admire!*

I have flagged this as one I would like to try!  My skill set is close...

Enjoy!  (Hank - Join in!).
EDIT:  YES, an older post, but worth the view!


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## BKelley

Outstanding!!  This pen just oozes with class.

Ben


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## GaryMGg

Beeeaautiful!


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## SteveG

It is nice to bring up and feature samples of truly excellent work by members of IAP from days long since past. This was first posted in 2008, about a year prior to my joining the family.  Do others here miss Hank?


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## mark james

SteveG said:


> It is nice to bring up and feature samples of truly excellent work by members of IAP from days long since past. This was first posted in 2008, about a year prior to my joining the family.  *Do others here miss Hank*?



He was active before my time also, but yes, I would love for some of these folks to comment, critique and poke us to do better!  But... we can continue on the path they paved for us!!!  This pen I will attempt this summer, with a few variations!


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## papaturner

I remember Hank posting this pen and yes even today it is still stands out.
Hank if I recall was a missionary in Japan at the time he posted 30 pieces of silver. A gentleman from the word go. Always kind and helpful.
Not really sure where he ended up on his return to the States.
If you are out there Hank join in with us again. Love to hear from you.


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## mark james

papaturner said:


> *I remember Hank posting this pen* and yes even today it is still stands out.
> Hank if I recall was a missionary in Japan at the time he posted 30 pieces of silver. A gentleman from the word go. Always kind and helpful.
> Not really sure where he ended up on his return to the States.
> If you are out there Hank join in with us again. Love to hear from you.



Shoot Perry, you REMEMBER this post!  I'm happy if I remember yesterday's dinner (Uhmnnn.. never mind..).

If I was impolite I would comment on your apparent "elderly status on IAP", but why point that out! :wink:  

This is a nice pen design to try to work with.  For a future post this summer!


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## jttheclockman

I do remember this pen. In fact it got me into thinking about segmenting with dots. I will be watching for your creation. I too am on a mission to take some of the older pens and give them a try and maybe do things my way but keep the concept there. I have a few bookmarked. Good luck.

I love looking back at some of these older posts and remembering some of the characters we had here. Hank was a real great guy.


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## vwa3guy

I love this pen!  it's beautiful!   did drill for the solder before or after turning round?


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## Bill in Buena Park

I've admired this pen as well.  And although Hank hasn't posted much in the last two or so years, he does log on still - latest time about a month ago.


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## gimpy

Shut the front door, that is absolutly gorges


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## leehljp

Bill in Buena Park alerted me to this thread.

I have been absent for the most part since being back in the States (since 2011) due to work. I usually log onto a woodworking forum usually every other day for a few minutes. But just over a month ago we had 14 to 15 inches of rain in the area (NW Mississippi) and numerous houses flooded and I have been working with Disaster Relief crews since then. 

A couple of Disaster Relief workers asked me about that specific pen that I carry around with me (on occasion). I would love to get started back into pen turning, and for this pen in particular. It has special meaning to me.

One reason that I have not started pen turning since getting back from Japan is that I haven't completed my Dust Collection in my small shop. I have severe allergies to CA fumes. I do mean severe. I need both a DC system and I do have some very good chemical masks. I can work around mold with little reaction but CA fumes bring flu like symptoms and sometimes double vision. 

I appreciate your comments. Thank you!


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## leehljp

Bill in Buena Park said:


> I've admired this pen as well.  And although Hank hasn't posted much in the last two or so years, he does log on still - latest time about a month ago.



Thanks Bill for alerting me to the comments here. I appreciate it.


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## papaturner

leehljp said:


> Bill in Buena Park alerted me to this thread. Thanks Bill.
> 
> I have been absent for the most part since being back in the States (since 2011) due to work. I usually log onto a woodworking forum usually every other day for a few minutes. But just over a month ago we had 14 to 15 inches of rain in the area (NW Mississippi) and numerous houses flooded and I have been working with Disaster Relief crews since then.
> 
> A couple of Disaster Relief workers asked me about that specific pen that I carry around with me (on occasion). I would love to get started back into pen turning, and for this pen in particular. It has special meaning to me.
> 
> One reason that I have not started pen turning since getting back from Japan is that I haven't completed my Dust Collection in my small shop. I have severe allergies to CA fumes. I do mean severe. I need both a DC system and I do have some very good chemical masks. I can work around mold with little reaction but CA fumes bring flu like symptoms and sometimes double vision.
> 
> I appreciate your comments. Thank you!



Good to hear from you Bro. Hank. I hope all is well and look forward to you posting pens again.


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## Wood Butcher

Astounding creativity and execution, well done.  You can read this part of the story at
Matthew 26:15.  These will be cherished for a long time.
WB


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## mark james

Hi Hank: 

You are an IAP member that I have read comments from as I browse the threads from "Yesterday."  As a "newer" member to IAP, it would be wonderful to read your comments on current matters, as you have the benefit of "experience" (I'm trying to be polite to an IAP Elder!!!  NOTE: years contributing...  Not necessarily age! )   Whenever you see fit, until you have your shop/dust collection issues in place, we would be better for your presence!

Best Regards, Mark


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## pianomanpj

I remember when Hank first posted this pen; it's just as beautiful now. Mark, I've seen (and now own!) some of your segmenting work - I KNOW you have the skills to execute this blank, and I can't wait to see your finished pen!


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## Jim15

Nice to hear from you again Hank.


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## jttheclockman

Hello Hank.

A blast from the past. Great to hear that you still check in now and then and that you are back in the states safe and sound. Hopefully you get back into creating more fantastic pens. Also hope to read some of your stories when you get a chance. Things are still kicking here. getting many new members as I mentioned in Marks post it is always good to go back and read some of the older posts and see the names that came through here. Anyway be good and hopefully we see more from you.


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## Hubert H

GREAT!!! Really nice pen.


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## Joel

Hank, this is an incredible piece!


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## Talltim

You know it is great when people are commenting over 10 years after it was originally posted.   There is something therapeutic about looking at it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## Woodchipper

Very creative. 30 pieces of silver? Read that in a book somewhere.


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## jttheclockman

Woodchipper said:


> Very creative. 30 pieces of silver? Read that in a book somewhere.



Read from post #66 and on and it will tell the story.


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## Sataro

Great looking work!


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## mmayo

Superb


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