# Cutting pen blank parts with laser



## crashgtr (Aug 14, 2021)

I was wondering if anyone has tried to make their own laser inlays with multiple species of wood with a laser. I am thinking of doing some floral, paws, flags, guns and more but I am not sure how to go about creating each of the cuts so they fit together on the pen tube.

Anyone know anything about this technique?


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## Joebobber (Aug 14, 2021)

I tried it.  I drilled out the blanks, and turned them all down to the same size.  I started small, with just simple shapes like a heart.  Then I just cut the piece out n glued it back in.  Simple as can be.


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## Bats (Aug 15, 2021)

I still haven't gotten around to picking up a laser, but I've done a fair bit of reading and watching - so take any of my advice with a shaker of salt - but one big thing to keep in mind if you want a nice tight fit, just like with saws, is the kerf, which you'll have to measure (try cutting a square out of a similar thickness, then measure the cut piece & the hole  and compare to the intended dimensions). A bigger problem (not knowing what sort of laser you're using) is that on deeper cuts with weaker lasers requiring multiple passes, that kerf may end up wedge-shaped rather than straight-sided, with the top getting significantly wider than the bottom - although this will probably be minimized if you can get your two (three, five, twelve) cylinders closely sized to your finished pen dimensions, leaving as little excess material thickness as possible.


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## its_virgil (Aug 15, 2021)

crashgtr said:


> I was wondering if anyone has tried to make their own laser inlays with multiple species of wood with a laser. I am thinking of doing some floral, paws, flags, guns and more but I am not sure how to go about creating each of the cuts so they fit together on the pen tube.
> 
> Anyone know anything about this technique?


Ken Nelson at kallenshaanwoods.com is the master


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## magpens (Aug 16, 2021)

@its_virgil 

As Don just said, "Ken Nelson at kallenshaanwoods.com is the master" ......... I certainly agree whole-heartedly with that statement.

Any pen turner who has not used a few of Ken Nelson's laser cut pen blanks has missed a very delightful experience in pen-making.
Ken has developed his skills in that area to the sublimely superb, in my opinion.
Anybody with a lingering liking for assembling a jig-saw puzzle should feel very gratified after making a pen with a Ken Nelson blank

Now back to the issue raised by the OP @crashgtr ......
" I am not sure how to go about creating each of the cuts so they fit together on the pen tube "

I just assumed that the laser cutting is controlled digitally and that you simply program in the precise details of the cut parameters and the specifications of the shape that you want. . If you make complementary parts, I assumed that they would fit together nicely.

But maybe I am oversimplifying ..... perhaps there is more to the process than that ..... especially if different woods are involved.

@Joebobber , in his post above, seems to suggest that the process is actually pretty much just as straight forward as I thought it was.

I would love to read further elaboration by Joe about his experiments, and also to see pictures of the results, if that is possible, please.

This is a subject that has fascinated me for a long time. . I have actually made a lot of pens using Ken Nelson's blanks and I love them.


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## Joebobber (Aug 16, 2021)

I don't have any pictures,  but for 2 or more different parts or colors, I made 2 or 3 of the same picture.  Then when I go to create the program I ungroup the picture, take just the parts I want on 1, then the other parts on another and run them.  I try to turn the blanks down to close to the finished size just because my biggest laser is pretty small.  I know Im not doing a good job explaining it but I am really trying.


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