# My Masterpiece



## Ed McDonnell (Jan 14, 2015)

I'm calling this my masterpiece because it is the most challenging pen I've created to date.  I'm not saying it's better or worse than any other pen posted here (or elsewhere).  It's just my personal best at the moment. 

I lost count of how many versions of this I made / destroyed as I worked out design and process details.  It's somewhere north of 15 iterations though.  Each one represented anywhere from 3 to 7 days worth of work before I abandoned / destroyed it (not always by choice).  So, I've been working on this for a while.

Although I'm very emotionally invested in this pen, I'm a big boy (sadly, much bigger since the holiday feasting) and I welcome all comments, positive or negative.

The pen is a marriage of ancient decorative techniques and modern materials.  The barrels were turned / carved from solid brass rod (similar to what would be done for a Champleve design).  The carved cells were then embellished with Guilloche.  Each cell was then cold enameled (aka resin filled) in Ruby or Black.  Both barrels were then encapsulated in a thick clear coat to prevent tarnishing of the metal and to maintain the golden look.

Have a look.


View in Gallery


View in Gallery


Thanks for looking!!

Ed


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## D.Oliver (Jan 14, 2015)

Eh, I guess it's okay if you're into that type of thing....:tongue:. Seriously though, that is Awesome (notice that's with a capitol "A! You should have held this under wraps until the Bash and used it as a contest pen.


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## mredburn (Jan 14, 2015)

The design work is excellant. The pen is really fantastic.


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## BRobbins629 (Jan 14, 2015)

Looks like a masterpiece to me!  Thanks for sharing.


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## Cloven (Jan 14, 2015)

Let me just pick my jaw up from off the floor.  Superb looking.


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## ericofpendom (Jan 14, 2015)

Ed, this is a masterpiece indeed. Not one that you want to do a production run of!

Eric...


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## Jim15 (Jan 14, 2015)

That is just beautiful. Congratuations on all the hard work, it sure was worth it.


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## Edgar (Jan 14, 2015)

That is indeed a masterpiece, Edgar@dohmann.com.
Your designs & craftsmanship never cease to amaze me.

I'm still pinching myself at my good fortune to receive 2 of your awesome pens in the last PITH.

Edgar


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## Dale Lynch (Jan 14, 2015)

Whew!We can all breathe a big sigh of relief.You can't enter that magnificent pen in the bash.I also feel a little jealous that that pen isn't mine.


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## Cwalker935 (Jan 14, 2015)

That is simply incredible! Masterpiece may be n understatement


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## Abby (Jan 14, 2015)

If patience is a virtue, then you just elevated it! Awesome pen!


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## Brian G (Jan 14, 2015)

Oh, my. . . . that is an incredible work of art. 



> The carved cells were then embellished with Guilloche.


 
My fat cells are embellished with Goulash.


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## wyone (Jan 14, 2015)

I see a flaw in the pen..  the fact it belongs to you and not me.    I have no words to express how amazing it is


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## Sataro (Jan 14, 2015)

Fantastic looking pen!


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## OZturner (Jan 14, 2015)

Absolutely Outstanding, Ed.
Fantastic Concept and Exercution.
Congratulations,
Brian.


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## mark james (Jan 14, 2015)

just looked at your other post and thought... that is amazing!  Then I opened this post...  no words for this.

Simply a work of art!


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## mlconnelly (Jan 14, 2015)

Incredible pen Ed! I can't imagine the patience it took to complete it. It is truly a work of art.


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## GaryMGg (Jan 14, 2015)

The workmanship, craftsmanship and artisan"s vision is magnificent.


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## Dale Allen (Jan 14, 2015)

I'm speechless!
Absolutely outstanding.


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## mtassie (Jan 14, 2015)

WOW!! That's all I can say


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## lyonsacc (Jan 14, 2015)

Wow!


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## jttheclockman (Jan 15, 2015)

Absolutely stunning in all ways. WOW is the word. First rate. Top shelf.

Now I know this is one of those sore topics and the last time I did I got such lame excuses about popularity contests and BS., but i will bring it up again because this is a pure example of what I am and always will be talking about here. HALL OF FAME. WOW is the first word that comes to each and everyone's mind here when they see that pen and do not deny it. That is the true meaning of HALL OF FAME work. This pen will be seen and wowed here but unless Jeff puts it on the front page it will get buried in the vast array of threads like every other great looking WOW pens. Pens like this need to be archived and saved for future pen turners to enjoy. This is the true essence of pen eye candy. Now the technique will not be copied and there is only one person that does this type work here and all your pens are outstanding and need to be saved. 

No popularity contest here. If you can not see that is a first class pen you do not belong here. 

Beautiful work. You are really pushing yourself and we reap the benefits from it. Keep it up.


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## Band Saw Box (Jan 15, 2015)

That is truly a Masterpiece. Stunning craftsmanship.


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## RKB (Jan 15, 2015)

Wow, just wow.  I can't even imagine the amount work that went into this work of art.  Thank you for sharing your work.  

Rod


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## Dalepenkala (Jan 15, 2015)

Very cool pen! Congrats on a job well done!


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## 3Peake (Jan 15, 2015)

You should be VERY proud of that awesome pen. Its stunning in design and execution. That is an inspiration to me.


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## Timbo (Jan 15, 2015)

I've seen a lot of nice pens on this site.  This one is in my top 5 list.  Fantastic work.


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## wood128 (Jan 15, 2015)

Amazing work of art ! I understand the amount of time and creativeness required to design/construct this beautiful pen. Make more !!!!!


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## turncrazy43 (Jan 15, 2015)

Now that is truly fantastic and a masterpiece. You dun real good.
________________________________________
Everyday I'm vertical is a great day


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## Krash (Jan 15, 2015)

Man ... no words .... just a bunch of old Batman TV show superlatives.

ZOWEE!!!    WHOA!!!! :yawn:  WOW!!!  :smile-big:  BIFF!!!  :hypnotized:

Simply beautiful .... and I have no idea how you did it! :question:


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## Brooks803 (Jan 15, 2015)

I think Masterpiece is actually an understatement for this Ed!


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## Woodkiller (Jan 15, 2015)

I'm flabbergasted !!!!! That is simply amazing.


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## MikeL (Jan 15, 2015)

Stuck in the house the last fees days with the flu with not much desire or energy to do much and saw this post... I just had to respond despite the lethargy ... This pen has so be one of the best I've seen. Very impressive. Seems like pen making keeps having artists like you take them to another level. Super!!


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## ossaguy (Jan 15, 2015)

Wow!!!  I think that's the most fantastic pen I've ever seen,it surely is a masterpiece and something to be super proud of!



Steve


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## Stephen (Jan 15, 2015)

Out of this world.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 16, 2015)

*DOL*

Hello Ed

Just one question or maybe 2. Are you still using your DOL to make these cool looking designs???  Did you make a new one to work with metals???  Are you using any type of coolant??? Did you make any upgrades to the lathe since you first started doing these??? The pen is terrific but i think the true winner here is the thought process in making the design and the creation of the tool that gets overlooked. Again add it to the long list of winners that you have created over the years. Thanks for showing.


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## Ed McDonnell (Jan 16, 2015)

Wow!  (that is in response to the flood of compliments, not to the pen! :wink

Thank you all very much for looking and taking the time to offer your support and compliments.  It means a lot to me.

Ed


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## Ed McDonnell (Jan 16, 2015)

jttheclockman said:


> Hello Ed
> 
> Just one question or maybe 2. Are you still using your DOL to make these cool looking designs???  Did you make a new one to work with metals???  Are you using any type of coolant??? Did you make any upgrades to the lathe since you first started doing these??? The pen is terrific but i think the true winner here is the thought process in making the design and the creation of the tool that gets overlooked. Again add it to the long list of winners that you have created over the years. Thanks for showing.



Hi John - I still use the DOL, but only for work in wood and resin.  I designed the DOL to embellish my woodturnings and it can work on objects up to 14" diameter.  When you get down to things under 1", there is a lot of extension on the Z axis.  Too much extension to be rigid enough to cut metal without (A) unacceptable chatter or (B) having to slow things down to a point where I would be burning up cutters and jobs would take a week to run.  Additionally, the speed range on the spindle in the DOL is optimized for wood / resin.  It's a bit too fast on the low end for metal cutting.

I could have rebuilt the DOL to solve these problems, but it would have cost more than I spent to build the DOL originally.  And the DOL works so well on my turnings that I hate to mess with it.  So, I bought a Taig cnc mill a little over a year ago and added a sherline rotary table to it.  Carves metal just fine.  But the Taig can only carve on things about 3" diameter max.  No problem for pens, but somewhat limiting for turnings (so the DOL doesn't feel threatened by the new kid on the block. :biggrin

I don't use coolant for non ferrous metals (aluminum, brass, copper).  I would be able to speed up my jobs a little if I did.  But the time I saved on the jobs would be lost to cleaning up the mess and all the extra machine maintenance that would be involved.

Thanks for the compliments and questions.  

Ed


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## kruzzer (Jan 16, 2015)

Outstanding piece of work... it truly is a masterpiece..


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## Big (Jan 16, 2015)

Beautiful, incredible, awesome, and uh ... yeah!


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## Sylvanite (Jan 16, 2015)

Whenever I start to feel like I've become a skilled pen maker, someone comes along with a pen like this and shows me that I'm not even in the same league.

Ed, that is truly an outstanding achievement.

Sincerely,
Eric


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## magier412 (Jan 16, 2015)

Wow!  That is absolutely beautiful.  After all the frustration and hard work, you truly have a work of art!  Congratulations!


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## glycerine (Jan 16, 2015)

WOW!!


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## seamus7227 (Jan 16, 2015)

im dumbfounded! Absolutely stunning!


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## tulTurn (Jan 16, 2015)

you explained what you did and I still can not comprehend how one would accomplish something like that...gorgeous!


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## Waggoner (Jan 16, 2015)

An amazing work of art. Masterpiece is a bit of an understatement in this case. This is the first museum quality pen I have seen. I hope to see many more of your "Masterpieces".
Oh and just a side note. If you ever feel the need to teach someone how to create  a masterpiece such as this. Please put me at the top of the list.


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## raar25 (Jan 16, 2015)

I cant begin to wrap my head around what that pen took.  Wow, it makes me want to give up and sell my tools!


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## Ted iin Michigan (Jan 17, 2015)

Wow, Ed, that's something really special. We see a lot of pens here and many of them are real showcases of craftsmanship. Great turning, finishing, etc. Then we see some that are excellent examples of the creative side of pens - using watch parts in the body is a good example or combining materials or scalloping. But this one goes way beyond that. 

Super creative vision to just imagine the final product and then be able to pull it off. It puts the best of what can be done right out there for everyone to admire. The design is elegant without going over the top. The colors blend together like they were supposed to be that way. Kind of reminds me of a Persian rug - in a good way. Incredible. 

I have to agree in spades with JTtheClockman. This one needs to be in a special place where we can see the best of them.


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## glen r (Jan 17, 2015)

That is a beautiful pen Ed.  It sucks being a perfectionist and usually ends up in one having to make many tries in completing a major project such as this one but now YOU know that it can be done and others love it.  Again, Awesome workmanship.


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## Ed McDonnell (Jan 17, 2015)

Once again, thanks for all the kind and supportive words.  I'm surprised and a bit in shock with the response I've gotten with this pen.  

Thank you.

Ed


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## nappy155 (Jan 17, 2015)

wow...that is dope as sh*t


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## Ted iin Michigan (Jan 17, 2015)

You shouldn't be. We hope you realize that one is special (think you do). I've said it before but even so - thanks for sharing.


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