# Casein Twist



## Kaspar (May 29, 2011)

Semi-kitless, I suppose.  Unless one is expected to make his own twist mechanism.   A present for my mom.


----------



## ed4copies (May 29, 2011)

Hey Eric!!
You make one HECK of a pen---that is GREAT!!!


----------



## Kaspar (May 29, 2011)

I'll have a better picture up in a few minutes.


----------



## Brooks803 (May 29, 2011)

Absolutely Beautiful!!!!!! Otherwise I'm speechless!


----------



## Ruby pen turning (May 29, 2011)

Very nice. And clean.


----------



## Jgrden (May 29, 2011)

Beautiful. Your mom should love it.


----------



## witz1976 (May 29, 2011)

If your mom doesn't like it, feel free to send it my way.  That is very beautiful.


----------



## hewunch (May 29, 2011)

Awesome! What are the bands?


----------



## Kaspar (May 29, 2011)

hewunch said:


> Awesome! What are the bands?



They are sections of translucent Butterscotch Lucite that didn't have any ribbon, so I used them for this.


----------



## Timebandit (May 29, 2011)

Ok so how did you get them segmented in so that you could see the casein through it? Im a little confused. Is there a tenon that goes through them?

Beautiful pen by the way:biggrin:



Kaspar said:


> hewunch said:
> 
> 
> > Awesome! What are the bands?
> ...


----------



## firewhatfire (May 29, 2011)

now that is something to gaze upon....maybe a few years down the road I can learn that.

Phil


----------



## boxerman (May 29, 2011)

Wow very nice pen.


----------



## Kaspar (May 29, 2011)

Timebandit said:


> Ok so how did you get them segmented in so that you could see the casein through it? Im a little confused. Is there a tenon that goes through them?



Yes, those are tenons.  I didn't want to break up the grain of the Casein, any more than was absolutely necessary.  So I only cut it at the nib, the center, and the cap finial.


----------



## ldb2000 (May 29, 2011)

Stunning pen Eric . Nice clean design and very well executed . Tenons are so under appreciated for what can be done with them , the centerbands really make that pen . You can call it semi-kitless if you want but it is a true kitless by my definition .


----------



## Katsin (May 29, 2011)

Very elegant. Your Mom should love it.


----------



## jasontg99 (May 29, 2011)

That is spectacular!  I love how the bands are transparent.


----------



## Bill Sampson (May 29, 2011)

Stunning pen!!  The creative talent on this site continues to get better and better causing me to attempt thinking "outside the box" in turning pens. Thanks for the challenge!

Bill Sampson, Richmond


----------



## PenMan1 (May 29, 2011)

Good stuff, as always, Eric. I've never before been a fan of butterscotch lucite. But, I think it works as a perfect accent for the casein. Other "shiney" acrylics would have added unnecessary and unwanted "bling" to the elegant casein.

Perfect materials selections, just the perfect amount of "flair" or contour on both barrels, perfect execution.

Bravo!


----------



## Robert Sherlock (May 29, 2011)

Wow!  Spectacular pen


----------



## hilltopper46 (May 29, 2011)

Very nice! Beautiful!


----------



## Pens By Scott (May 29, 2011)

Stunning, and i'd call it totally kitless...


----------



## maxman400 (May 30, 2011)

Amazing Pen and Craftsmanship, Great Photo also.


----------



## wiset1 (May 30, 2011)

Truly unique bit of work here!  There's nothing I can say to express how truly awesome this pen really is...the lines, the look, the fit, just amazing!  Would love to see more like this.


----------



## wizard (May 30, 2011)

Eric, That is one extremely STELLAR! piece of work.Thanks so much for showing! Doc


----------



## MSGMP (May 30, 2011)

Elegant and very beautiful pen


----------



## skiprat (May 30, 2011)

Fantastic!!! It sort of looks like an antique, but brand spanking new:biggrin:


----------



## bluwolf (May 30, 2011)

Very clean and sharp. I like it!


----------



## Penl8the (May 30, 2011)

Absolutely stunning.  I love Casein blanks.  This has to be one of the best ways to showcase this blank.

I nominate this pen to be the next month's "Featured Photo".  

Who wants to second the motion?


----------



## Timebandit (May 30, 2011)

Is the centerband just one tenon with the small rings slide over or is there several small tenons there? Are the rings glued of just pressure fit on there? And is the cap finial glued or threaded?

Thanks



Kaspar said:


> Timebandit said:
> 
> 
> > Ok so how did you get them segmented in so that you could see the casein through it? Im a little confused. Is there a tenon that goes through them?
> ...


----------



## Rangertrek (May 30, 2011)

The pen ranks up there with some of the best work I have seen on IAP.
Excellent!:biggrin:


----------



## eldee (May 30, 2011)

That is really nice. Excellent job!


----------



## Kaspar (May 30, 2011)

Thanks for all the kind words.  Truth is, I'm only about 80% satisfied with this one.  There were a few tricks to doing this pen that I'm willing to share.  

First of all, I've had those blanks for a good six months, maybe more.  After my first experience with Casein (in which the barrels dried out and separated from the fittings a tiny bit,) I waited on these remaining blanks to let them "acclimate" to this area.  One of them deformed slightly, and another bulged at one end a bit.  I'm going to ask mom in a couple of months if anything has happened to this pen, since she lives in a very dry climate.  Casein is pretty unstable and high maintenance.  Even big boy, Conway Stewart, doesn't do anymore casein pens because of the problems it has.   Here's hoping these blanks have stabilized at least for a climate similar to where I am.  

Another problem I had: the radial starburst pattern is usually not perfectly centered through the long axis.  I solved that problem in the following way.  Trim the ends to square them.  Mark where the center of the sunburst is at each end (you'll kind of have to eyeball that.)  Take a piece of scrap that is perfectly squared and smaller than the overall diameter of the blank.  Drill a tiny hole through the center of it (I'm assuming you drill on the lathe, or in some other highly accurate fashion.) Looking through the drill hole, center the square piece over the mark delineating the center of the starburst, and glue it with heavy CA.  You can glue another such piece at the other end, but I just hit the mark with a center punch, and that was enough for the point of the live center to hold onto.  Now you can chuck the piece in a four jaw chuck, and turn it down to the new center. (FYI, I use a metal lathe.)  It will be eccentric at first, of course, put it'll come round pretty much around the center of the pattern, if you have a good eye.



Timebandit said:


> Is the centerband just one tenon with the small rings slide over or is there several small tenons there? Are the rings glued of just pressure fit on there? And is the cap finial glued or threaded?
> 
> Thanks



I cut three tenons, one large and two small.  Then, I got the Lucite perfectly square, cut off enough of the ribbonless part for my needs, and then split it down the middle on my Jim Saw.  Of course, the saw blade removes part of it, and it is no longer perfectly square.  So I used the Jim Saw to get it square again (when you put the split pieces together,) and then chucked the split pieces together in the four jaw chuck, and drilled out the diameter I wanted down the center of the split.  The piece then splits apart but put together forms perfectly around your tenon.  (Kind of like the old fashioned stocks they used to imprison public offenders in Revolutionary New England.)  Yes, you can see the dividing lines.  There might be a way to mitigate that a bit, but if done accurately, you'd have to be looking for it to see it.  That way I did not have to cut the casein and mess up the grain.  Oh, and I had some small air bubbles, but I'll do it better next time, I hope.


----------



## ed4copies (May 30, 2011)

Thanks Eric!!!  I was pretty certain I knew how you did it--not at all like that!!!!

I think my way would work, too.  I am always amazed at the different approaches that can be taken to achieve an end product.

Again, thanks!!!


----------



## PR_Princess (May 30, 2011)

I just want to be adopted!!! :smile-big:


----------



## DKF (May 30, 2011)

Beautiful!


----------



## Stevej72 (May 30, 2011)

Awesome pen!


----------



## PaulDoug (May 30, 2011)

Yes, all of the above, stunning pen to say the least.


----------



## Parson (May 30, 2011)

Eric, your work never ceases to both challenge and inspire me. Beautiful.


----------



## mrburls (May 31, 2011)

That's a pretty amazing pen Eric. But then let' not forget who made it. You do amazing work. I like the way you did that center band. 

Keith "mrburls"


----------



## alphageek (May 31, 2011)

Man,  I just can't get over this one.   The lucite rings (thanks for the explanation!!) are really intense.

I think this thread is an absolutely perfect one to point the "slimline haters" to.   I know you said this is a gift, but if you were to sell this - it could EASILY be a multi hundred $ pen!!


----------



## gwilki (May 31, 2011)

All of the best words have been used already. I'll just say that that is a classic piece, Eric!


----------



## Pen&FishingCT (Jun 1, 2011)

just perfect


----------



## seamus7227 (Nov 14, 2012)

I cant believe i never saw this pen! this is deserving of the front page right here!


----------



## InvisibleMan (Nov 14, 2012)

Oh man so cool!  I hope I'm Kaspar's mom.


----------



## Jim Smith (Nov 14, 2012)

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!  One of the nicest looking pens I've seen in quite a while.  

Thanks for share your photos and your techniques.

Jim Smith


----------



## seamus7227 (Nov 14, 2012)

....and this was over a year and a half ago!!!


----------



## InvisibleMan (Nov 14, 2012)

seamus7227 said:


> ....and this was over a year and a half ago!!!



A successful archeological dig is what that was


----------



## beck3906 (Nov 14, 2012)

I agree about not remembering having seen this. Has he posted recently?


----------



## Fishinbo (Nov 14, 2012)

That is ethereal to me.





__________________________________

BandSaw Blades Online - Custom Welded Band Saw Blades


----------



## Kaspar (Nov 14, 2012)

Mom wants that pen to be buried with her.  



beck3906 said:


> I agree about not remembering having seen this. Has he posted recently?



I'm around.  Trying to get back into the swing of things.  I have a mill now and I'm figuring out how to use it, mainly to speed up the process of making pens like these, and other even more complex segmentation projects.


----------



## Stevej72 (Nov 20, 2012)

That is an awesome looking pen!  I love Casein. I made a kitless fountain pen out of it and the cap fit fine until I put ink in it.  I guess it swelled the material a little making it difficult to get the cap off and also the section to too tight to screw in and out.


----------

