A bit Challenging

**gawdelpus** · 28th March 2014, 03:51 PM

This a Gun metal Vertex, definately challenging to make with the Punga (NZ king fern /Palm) punga is very porous for the waterways to feed the plant, what is shown here is part of the outer shell of the plant used to make the pen ,needs to be cast under pressure to fill the hollows where possible , the black is like ebony,very hard ,and the yellowy white is soft almost spongy, so turning is like worthless wood ,with a mix of acrylic, hard wood ,and soft wood ,needs stabilising pretty often with thin CA ,this particular pen has very little meat on it so it is all care ,all the way . In the end the effort is worth the result

Just more of natures handiwork to be enhanced and enjoyed , cheers ~ John

**shedbound** · 28th March 2014, 04:03 PM

end result is definitly worth the effort great looking pen

well done
cheers
joel

**dabbler** · 28th March 2014, 05:18 PM

Lovely piece John. I really like the second pic. Rather than a straight body at the fitting diameter, I've been giving the vertex a fatter body, till straight but with roll or short taper down to the fittings at each end.

**gawdelpus** · 28th March 2014, 05:26 PM

Thanks Dabbler, this is gently curved end to end (about .020" inches from centre dia to both ends) I had one section seperate in the turning,luckily it glued back again ,and nothing to be seen with these busy blanks hehe, just made me rethink the shape as it gets very thin on these kits

cheers ~ John

**Dorno** · 28th March 2014, 05:40 PM

Very nice looking pen there John you have done a great job on that pen it sure makes me want to get out and have a go at the couple you gave me. I agree with the other saying that number 2 is my pic.

Cheers Ian

**MBUMIK** · 28th March 2014, 08:08 PM

great job John, came up a treat

have you tried stabilizing the wood with resin or cactus juice

definitely worth all the effort though mate

MIK

**gawdelpus** · 28th March 2014, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by MBUMIK

great job John, came up a treat

have you tried stabilizing the wood with resin or cactus juice

definitely worth all the effort though mate

MIK

Mik, some of these have quite large spaces inside, I fear stabilising will just fill them with clear resin, that will look odd I think, casting with black acrylic under pressure is a better blend with the black timber sections , I have done them in various colors in the past but results can be a bit disappointing at times, as no real control over the end result

. I will continue doing them in black in the future hehe, cheers ~ John

**tdrumnut** · 28th March 2014, 11:10 PM

Just shows the results that can be acheived with patience, nice work John.

**Les in Red Deer** · 29th March 2014, 01:38 PM

Looks great from here.
From the size of the blank it looks like you could have made 2.

Les

**gawdelpus** · 29th March 2014, 02:45 PM

Les ! that is another blank from the same log

basically its hollow about 7" dia with a wall thickness of around 1" , I cut the blanks vertically in my bandsaw but they tend to be tapered on 2 sides so a bit of waste to cut off later, That bit in the picture should make a nice "Panache " pen in time hehe. Cheers ~ John

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