Thread: 4 Ringer Pen

Another Ironwood classic original. Brilliant work, Brad

Brad,
Stunning looking Pen, I’m sure the recipient will be very proud too show that one off.
What kit did you use ?

Cheers Matt.

Thanks Gary and Matt.

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Brad,
What kit did you use ?
.

It’s a rhodium/black titanium Majestic, got it from Steve’s Woodwork.

I saw your pen on the IAP and wondered what the 4 Ringer reference was.
Nice work as expected.

Pete

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

I saw your pen on the IAP and wondered what the 4 Ringer reference was.
Nice work as expected.

Pete

Thanks Pete.
I was told by my cousin who commissioned the pen, that a US Navy Captain is called a 4 Ringer, because of the 4 Gold rings on the sleeve of their uniform.

Here is a link to the thread I started way back when I started to plan the build of this pen. It took a long time for me to get it finished, because life gets in the way, and I got caught up overthinking how to do it.
My cousin gave me a “hurry up” one day, because the Captains wife passed away, and his health wasn’t too good, so I just got my act together and made it.

A pen for a US Navy 4 Ringer | The International Association of Penturners

It's so long since anyone has posted in this section that I didn't even see this exquisite pen. I can see why it took you so long to complete it. I don't know if you tell us in the other thread you linked to as I haven't read through it but I was wondering how you produced the star?

Hi Dallas, yes it’s very quite on the pen turning front, I can remember when this was one of the busiest sections of the forum.

The making of the star was the bit that had me the most stumped when planning this pen. I tried a few different ways to cut a star from sheet brass, none produced a star I could be happy with.
In the end, my wife found a tool in Spotlight, in the scrapbooking section, I was a bit dubious that it could punch out stars from brass shim, it was $35 , I took a gamble on it and it worked fine.
I am away from home at the moment, but sometime next week I will post a photo of it if you are interested in seeing it.

Brad

Love the connection to the "Captain." Pen looks good. No problem with pic size. Just double click on the pic in the thread and it comes up larger than life size. I expect you know that, so really for others.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Ironwood

Hi Dallas, yes it’s very quite on the pen turning front, I can remember when this was one of the busiest sections of the forum.

The making of the star was the bit that had me the most stumped when planning this pen. I tried a few different ways to cut a star from sheet brass, none produced a star I could be happy with.
In the end, my wife found a tool in Spotlight, in the scrapbooking section, I was a bit dubious that it could punch out stars from brass shim, it was $35 , I took a gamble on it and it worked fine.
I am away from home at the moment, but sometime next week I will post a photo of it if you are interested in seeing it.

Yes it seems like pens have run their race. I was part of an exhibition at the weekend where I sold a lot of product but only 2 pens, one of which was in a wooden presentation box to give it some appeal.
A photo of your punch would be good when you have the time.

Originally Posted by Ironwood

I tried a few different ways to cut a star from sheet brass, none produced a star I could be happy with.
In the end, my wife found a tool in Spotlight, in the scrapbooking section, I was a bit dubious that it could punch out stars from brass shim, it was $35 , I took a gamble on it and it worked fine.

How thick was the shim? I can see why you'd be dubious, but good news all around hey?

The pen is top notch, btw. Very nice. You have way more patience than I do nowadays.

Here are some pics of said punch. I looked on the spotlight website, but couldn’t find this on there. I did see another punch that just did a star, I would have gotten that one if I had seen it at the time. It is cheaper.
3B18698C-20F1-4278-9218-5D82E68B4D91.jpg
You can rotate the front bit to punch different shapes.

ABC13C5B-A73A-4D63-8550-6BB09ED6AA81.jpg
On the package it states all sort of materials that it can punch, it included thin steel sheet. So I thought it should be about to handle some thin brass, which it did.

4D450672-AE0E-4703-BDE5-45F716C18FB3.jpg
The star is about 8mm across. You can see that it distorts the edges a bit. I flattened it between two bits of hardwood, then rolled it into a curve to suit the pen barrel, before sticking it on with a dab of CA, then casting in epoxy.

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

How thick was the shim? I can see why you'd be dubious, but good news all around hey?

The pen is top notch, btw. Very nice. You have way more patience than I do nowadays.

Just checked the thickness, it is 0.25mm, or .010” (10 thou’ ) for those still working in imperial. I use both because of the industry I work in, but prefer metric for most stuff.
Though for some strange reason, when I measure something with a verniers or micrometer or dial gauge, I will still convert it to the other system in my head