# This Weeekend's Labor



## Kaspar (Sep 17, 2006)

Saturday's labors have yielded the following:





My first attempt at segmented blanks and scalloping.  It used a Lotus pen kit, with amboyna burl wood, alternate ivory accents, emerald web trustone, and turquoise trustone.  I was very disappointed in the turquoise.  It should have a lot of black streaking in it.  There was almost none, once I turned it down. The cap, sadly, will have to wait until I can secure some more of the alternative ivory that I used for accenting.

Things I learned: 

The blank must be square and true on every side.  

I can successfully drill right down the center of a segmented blank. Slow and steady is best.  

Accents bands should contrast with the color of the material they are accenting.  The ivory works fine with the Emerald Web, lousy with the Turquoise.  

A combination of Grizzly Supergold Plus with Berea Tripled Distilled Thin will cement anything quickly and permanently, metal included, though I didn't learn that with this pen.  

I must work toward greater precision to completely eliminate glue lines.  Must get this.

But not a bad first effort, I think.

I loved the Lotus when I first saw it, and I still love it.  However, now that I've seen one in person, the Imperial is just as good.


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## alamocdc (Sep 17, 2006)

Kaspar, I actually really like it. Very nice job! Now hurry up and finish the cap so we can see the whole thing! [}][]


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## Kaspar (Sep 17, 2006)

From your lips to CSUSA's ears.


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## lwalden (Sep 17, 2006)

Beautiful work- the materials work very well together, nice harmony. Question- is the slight imbalance in the body intended to balance the double center band when the cap is in place, and will you have a similar but offsetting balance in the cap?





> _Originally posted by Kaspar_
> <br />Saturday's labors have yielded the following:
> 
> 
> ...


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## Radman (Sep 17, 2006)

You're being WAY too hard on yourself.  For a 1st attempt, I'd be jacked!  I like the combinations you put together.  Great job!!!


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## Kaspar (Sep 17, 2006)

I was really jacked when I looked down the drill hole and saw the best symmetry I could have hoped for under the circumstances.  My drill press is a cheapy, but the Norseman drill bit was true all the way.  

Lyle, yes, the offset is intentional.   I have been able to do everything I had in mind.  The effect is now for others to judge.  The cap will have a (red) jasper trustone band positioned slightly toward the centerband.  Also you will notice the scallops are a bit "thicker" toward the centerband.  That too was intentional.  My intention is for everything to work ever so slightly toward the centerband and "thin out" as you move away from it.  I also managed to hit a pretty sweet spot in the Amboyna.  There's another sweet spot in the blank that I will use for the cap.  

Almond, I'll have to finish it now.  I don't even have the cap done and somebody already wants to buy it.


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## splinter99 (Sep 17, 2006)

I think its stunning..awesome work


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## Kaspar (Sep 17, 2006)

Thanks.  If the faux ivory gets here I'm hoping to get the cap done Wednesday or Thursday night.


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## Huzzah (Sep 17, 2006)

I love it, beautiful pen.  Nice tight joints and I like the color combinations.  I can't wait to see the complete pen!!


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## gerryr (Sep 18, 2006)

Excellent work on the segments and nice choice of colors.  For me, though, it just seems like to much on that pen, just looks to busy.  But, that's just my opinion and it's worth just what you paid for it.[]


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## ed4copies (Sep 18, 2006)

Kaspar, 

That is amazing!!   Beautiful work, hope you are selling it at a price that reflects your efforts-you deserve to be well over $250 (IMO).[][]


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## Kaspar (Sep 18, 2006)

If I do another one like it, and it's perfect, I have it pegged at $275.  However, this one was a learning experience, with some minor flaws, that I will let go for less than that.  

My next one will use sterling silver for the accents.  That one will be in the $350 range  I hope to try yellow and white gold (I love white gold _*drool*_) in the future.  Those would have to be over a $1,000.


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## Kaspar (Sep 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by alamocdc_
> <br />Kaspar, I actually really like it. Very nice job! Now hurry up and finish the cap so we can see the whole thing! [}][]



Working on it now.


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## Kaspar (Sep 21, 2006)

And here 'tis.  





Nailed the drill hole again.  Just gotta take time aligning and drill slow.  The amboyna made it really interesting.  Hard as a rock in some places, nearly pith wood in others.  Probably should have went with the green in both the cap and the barrel.  Glue lines are much cleaner in the cap.  'Nuff learned.  I'll be doing one with sterling silver accents next time.


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## Pikebite (Sep 22, 2006)

Personally I think this pen is stunning. It is the level of craftsmanship I aspire to.

But I also think you are right about the green in the cap and barrel.

Richard


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## woodscavenger (Sep 23, 2006)

A couple of comments.  I love the glue up.  Nicely done.  You are right that a little more black would have been nice in the scallops.  I think though that the kit is way too dressy for the awesome blank.  Dress up a more understated kit and save some money and really show off the pen.


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## johncrane (Sep 24, 2006)

G'Day Kaspar well done mate onya first try looks realy good.


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## Kaspar (Sep 24, 2006)

Thanks, JC.

Having a good spring downunda?



> _Originally posted by woodscavenger_
> <br />A couple of comments.  I love the glue up.  Nicely done.  You are right that a little more black would have been nice in the scallops.  I think though that the kit is way too dressy for the awesome blank.  Dress up a more understated kit and save some money and really show off the pen.



Appreciate the advice, and I don't much disagree.  Henceforth I will use only the sweetest sections of any tru-stone blank, and get as many as I need to do it.  Of course that will drive up the materials cost.  And the overall price.  

I needed to have a Lotus on hand to show, and I wanted to have a segmented work with some scalloping to show as well.  I wasn't totally happy using the Lotus with it, but a Red Marble Celluloid I was going to put into it came out mediocre and I wasn't sure the Lotus would go really well with my last truly superb piece of Oliepod.  So I went ahead.

This one was mainly about learnin' _and_ having a Lotus to show.    This worked out nicely while I was at Grizzly yesterday as I may have generated some Christmas business showing it off.  Of course, it was far too pricey for the folks there, but then they wanted to see everything else, and I _just happened_ to have my nice new display box full of my best stuff to show out in my vehicle.  Lucky me.   

Found out something interesting about a crafts show I'd like to hit next year, too.


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## ctEaglesc (Sep 25, 2006)

I echo Woodscavengers sentiment.
The body of the pen does all the talking and the components do not do it justice  in comparison.
In your original post you linked to the Proxon ts.
I don't see how that would make the cuts any more accurate. The opening in the blade insert is too wide and small pieces would fall through.
To make accurate cuts a sled would be needed and that would take away from the saws cutting depth.
Also, have you investigated the kerf of the blade?
If it is not thinner than .059(And I believe it isn't) the same results can be had with a full sized tablesaw and a Diablo blade.
(How's things in Mo?)


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## Kaspar (Sep 25, 2006)

We're having a really nice autumn here.  Warm days, cool nights, decent amounts of rain.  We might have a chance at a really colorful leaf turning season.  

On the pen, I can always knock the kit out, but the only other kit with those tube diameters is the Imperial, and I think the Lotus tubes are too short for an Imperial.  

Re: Proxxon Mini Table saw.  I did this one with only a table top bandsaw, and a disk sander.  The cuts won't be any _less_ accurate will they?  There are a couple of reasons why I need to go with the Proxxon, or something similar, if it's less expensive.  It's quiet and it's small.  Quiet is a must whenever I can get it.  My shop is very close to neighbors who don't like noise.  And it's small.  I don't have a lot of space in my shop.  There are several blades you can get for it, including a metal cutting blade, but the kerf is not mentioned (under that term anyway) on any of the listings I am looking at.  But I would guess if anything it is narrower.  Those saw blads are less than three inches in diameter and the saw's deepest cut is 7/8 inch.  Just enough to handle blanks for the largest pens.  

Those diablo blades look very cool.  Is there one in the 6 1/2 inch size?  And I can't seem to find a 6 1/2 inch table saw anywhere.


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## Jim in Oakville (Sep 25, 2006)

That is Wicked COOL!

WOW


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## Kaspar (Sep 25, 2006)

Thanks! 

The next one is taking shape in my head, even now.  If I can bring it off, it'll blow your mind.

I just wish CSUSA would start doing the full size Gentlaman's pen in black titanium.


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## rgundersen (Sep 26, 2006)

On the 6 1/2 inch table saw you can use a smaller blade than the table saw will handle.  In fact if you look at most dado blade setups they will be 2 inches smaller in diameter than the 10 inch saw you are putting them on.  Only prblem with a smaller blade is of course the reduced depth of cut, which is not going to be a concern in most cases for you.  As for the cutting sled you could probably make a zero clearance insert to help with that.

For space I would probably look at a portable tablesaw over the proxxon just for versatility and capacity not sure on the noise factor however.

The work you did on this pen is great.


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## Kaspar (Sep 26, 2006)

Thanks.  This discussion is also ongoing here. 

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17744


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