I wanted to make something special for my wife for her birthday. Since her favorite place to spend time is the beach, I decided to create a pen with some kind of elements from the seashore. I collected some sand from her favorite beach and a piece of driftwood that washed up on the shore. I used the Virage chrome rollerball kit from Berea Hardwoods for the pen. In creating the cap of the pen, I coated the tube with two part epoxy and then rolled it in the sand. I then wrapped it in foil coated with more sand and let the epoxy cure for 48 hours. I removed the tube from the foil and cast it in clear Alumilite resin.
For the barrel I used the driftwood which I stabilized in Cactus Juice that I colored with Alumilite blue dye. The driftwood blank initially came out a dark navy blue but quickly turned to light blueish grey when I began turning it. Even though the driftwood was stabilized some parts of the blank were still fairly soft and chipped off. I used some of the saw dust and medium CA to fill in any of the chips and reinforce the soft areas. I used a skew to finish turning the driftwood then sanded it horizontally to 3000 grit. I applied a coat of Boiled Linseed Oil which really brought out the aqua blue color of the dyed wood. I then applied 4 coats of medium CA and then 5 coats of thin CA and let the coats of CA cure overnight.
I finished both the cap and barrel with MM, One Step polish and then polished both with an acrylic pen buffing system.
Let me know what you think.
For the barrel I used the driftwood which I stabilized in Cactus Juice that I colored with Alumilite blue dye. The driftwood blank initially came out a dark navy blue but quickly turned to light blueish grey when I began turning it. Even though the driftwood was stabilized some parts of the blank were still fairly soft and chipped off. I used some of the saw dust and medium CA to fill in any of the chips and reinforce the soft areas. I used a skew to finish turning the driftwood then sanded it horizontally to 3000 grit. I applied a coat of Boiled Linseed Oil which really brought out the aqua blue color of the dyed wood. I then applied 4 coats of medium CA and then 5 coats of thin CA and let the coats of CA cure overnight.
I finished both the cap and barrel with MM, One Step polish and then polished both with an acrylic pen buffing system.
Let me know what you think.
