Latest two pens...

[CameronPotter]

Hi,

Here are my latest two pens from unusual materials...

One is horn, the is...

I'll let you guess (shouldn't be too hard for the knowledgable among us).

Cam

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Dymond wood, cut differently to normal?

[CameronPotter]

Good try, but no - I made this myself.

Cam

[ss_11000]

Hi,

Here are my latest two pens from unusual materials...

One is horn, the is...

I'll let you guess (shouldn't be too hard for the knowledgable among us).

Cam

the horn pen is cool:cool: but the colourful one looks awesome:D ...................
when it is guessed , can you tell me where to get some?

[CameronPotter]

Sorry Stirlo, I couldn't tell you were to get something just like this in Australia, but when it is guessed (or I give up and say - which will probably be tomorrow) then I will post a how to make this stuff.

The only problem is - where? :confused: It isn't just pen turning, nor is it normal turning... Infact, it isn't even really woodwork! :p

Cam

[Tikki]

It may not be woodwork Cam, but they are magnificent ... especially the coloured one! :cool: Great work! (and being the proud owner of one of your masterpieces, I can add ... as usual) :D :D

Cheers
Tikki :)

[CameronPotter]

How did I know that you would like the colourful one? ;)

It was tough to work though. After the colourful one the horn seemed like butter. :eek:

Cam

[chrisp]

shouldn't be too hard for the knowledgable among us


I think you could be limiting the field a bit :D:D

I know nothing about pen turning, but I'll have a guess - is it is made up of layers of different coloured epoxy?

Chris

[CameronPotter]

Yeah, but what is a guessing game without hints. Anyway, it is not layers of coloured epoxy, but the answer lies somewhere between Skew's guess and yours - kinda.

Next hint: it is sometimes used by knifemakers for handles. :D

ps I have done a search on the forums and it is only mentioned twice (once by me, once by Echidna - so maybe it is harder than I thought...)

[ss_11000]

ps I have done a search on the forums and it is only mentioned twice (once by me, once by Echidna - so maybe it is harder than I thought...)

i just went through all your posts summary thingys and didn't find any thing i havnt heard of besides pearlex and that was in your home brew thread so i am stumped:o .

[CameronPotter]

Yeah, it would be hard to find mention of it as it was in a funny thread.

I will give people a chance tonight, then post the answer tomorrow.

I you look really close you may be able to guess - maybe.

Cam

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Knife handles, eh?

Hmmm... doesn't look like Micarta (Phenolic) or Polyester Pearl, certainly isn't woven fibreglass... [ruminate, ruminate, rhubarb]

Rainbow Titanium? :eek: Now that would be hard to turn! :D

I keep coming back to phenolic but it just don't fit. :confused:

[CameronPotter]

I reckon I have got to give it to you Skew - you are close enough.

Micarta (being a trade name) has several different forms and it essentially some substance which can be soaked by resin and compressed.

Some people call micarta basically just a plastic, but this form (which I call home-made micarta) can be made in a number of ways. It can be made with paper, but this one is made from over 60 layers of cotton.

The colour comes from the cloth which is absolutely soaked in resin then HEAVILY compressed. Think of it as trying to get all the resin out. All that is left is effectively cotton with resin filling all of the gaps which would normally be filled by air.

I will post how I did it when I get the chance. Actually, this turned out so well (much better than expected) I might make some more and photograph the process tonight...

Anyway, well thought out (and I WISH I could trun rainbow titanium - although that would also turn away the oxidised layer). Greenie on the way - if I can.

Cam

[CameronPotter]

I have written up a short (actually quite long) how-to and posted it in hints and tips.

Here is the link: http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=282007#post282007

PLEASE ask if there are any questions.

Cam

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

'Twas sheer serendipity!

On my quest for cutler's rivets I placed an order for the AKC (Australian Knife Collectors) catalogue and my "swordsmith wannabe" brother was drooling over it just the other day. At the time I made mental notes to order some Micarta & Poly Pearl handle blanks to see if I could use 'em for pens... :D

I know you say it takes about 24 hours for it to go off (depending on temp., resin mix and how you hold yer tongue) but how long is the actual resin workable? An hour or two? Let's say I've saturated and stacked my 60 layers and want to add some artistic creases, is this something I'd have leisure to arrange or would I have to clamp up ASAP?

Also, when casting foreign objects (eg. spiders, coins) in clear resin I've had to coat 'em with... errrmmm... :o I forget :o something'r'other first to avoid air-bubbles. They a problem with layering cloth?

[CameronPotter]

Yeah, AKC has some cool stuff and their micarta is probably the real stuff, but I like to make my own things wherever possible...

Tell your brother to get onto swordforum.com - it is worth a look and has some great knowledge there!!

The workable time varies a lot depending on heat and amount of catalyst used. I have had it get thick and gluggy (unable to be spread) within about a half an hour, but in the cool with little catalyst it can be workable for a few hours.

The sooner you clamp the better - as that way the resin will still be at its moistest stage and you can really force those air bubbles out by crushing the cloth down as hard as possible. However, there would be some time to play around if you wish, just my advice would be do it quickly and set up the clamp as quick as you can.

As for casting foreign objects, that is because the other thing may have a tendency to trap air bubbles beside it - this is avoided in two ways.
1. The cloth isn't just embedded - it is soaked, so there is no room for air bubbles. Last I looked it was hard to soak a beetle or a coin.
2. The crushing force should push all air bubbles out later. This really should be about as hard as you can get it. I know people who use 12 tonne presses to do this. I don't know what tonnage I can get with a clamp, but I would guess that I am not too far off that number...

I hope that this helps!

I will also post a summary of these answers on the actual WIP thread.

Cam