Seashells By The Seashore

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
See more from jttheclockman

jttheclockman

jttheclockman

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,449
Location
NJ, USA.
Here is a different pen style I made. It is a Spring Blossom rollerball kit. The blank is made from crushed mother of pearl dust in the cap and the body is made with red seashell pieces. I think this pen has a unique look to it which I also made into a few other kits that I will post in time. I cast the blanks in Liquid Diamonds resin and polished to a nice shine. The MOP cap has a nice sparkle to it when hit the light. As always any questions or comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking.

IMGP0375.JPG red seashell pen laying flat.JPG
IMGP0372.JPG
IMGP0376.JPG
IMGP0380.JPG red seashell pen.JPG
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Very Cool. I'm going to have to try my hand at casting one of these days. Liquid Diamonds seems like the way to go for getting started without spending a bunch on pressure pots and stuff. I did buy some of the UV cure stuff and a UV light a couple of years ago, but I haven't done anything with it. Even though I keep it in the dark, the resin has probably gone bad just sitting. Gorgeous Pen - Dave
 
jttheclockman said:
Here is a different pen style I made. It is a Spring Blossom rollerball kit. The blank is made from crushed mother of pearl dust in the cap and the body is made with red seashell pieces. I think this pen has a unique look to it which I also made into a few other kits that I will post in time. I cast the blanks in Liquid Diamonds resin and polished to a nice shine. The MOP cap has a nice sparkle to it when hit the light. As always any questions or comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking.

View attachment 357138View attachment 357139View attachment 357140View attachment 357141
Click to expand...
Beautiful pen!
 
Very elegant pen with the right amount of bling so as not to be austentatious.

The blanks themselves are quite impressive.

Your photograph captured it quite well.
 
JohnU said:
Prior to feathers I spent a lot of time making sea shell blanks like these, So I know how much time you spent building them. Your efforts paid off nicely!
Click to expand...
Oh there is time involved in these for sure. I have a couple others I will be posting too. They do make a nice pen though. Would have to get a good $$ for them for sure.
 
That's a beautiful pen! I know it's hard to capture that in pictures, but these are great. It must look even more amazing in person.

I'm guessing you attached the shell/MOP to the tube, then clear cast around it? I'm pretty certain you would have painted the tubes, but what color?
 
sorcerertd said:
That's a beautiful pen! I know it's hard to capture that in pictures, but these are great. It must look even more amazing in person.

I'm guessing you attached the shell/MOP to the tube, then clear cast around it? I'm pretty certain you would have painted the tubes, but what color?
Click to expand...
Yes that is the way I do it. No I did not paint the tube. I had someone ask me in a PM how I made it so I will give details here. Over the years I have done blanks similar and am working on a couple right now that I used sand as the base of the cap. I will copy and paste my answer here because there is no secret process. I always said any pen I make and show I will gladly share any info. That is what this forum is about. Copy any pen from me or any idea is just fine with me. Ask any questions and I will answer to the best of my ability.

The cap portion with the crushed MOP dust is a fine dust. It is not very large particles. I use the same thing as I do when I cast sand to my blanks. I use high strength 3M spray adhesive green can. I have a small container to catch the offshoot particles when I basically sprinkle the dust across the tube making sure to really lay it on as thick as I can. I do not shake the tube. I actually have the tube supported with a dowel and drape it across the container. After 24 hours I gently shake the tube to dislodge any loose particles into the container. I then pour the container back into the jar or bag for further use at another time. Set this aside for whatever time it takes for me to make the lower barrel which is a whole lot longer. Then cast them at the same time. The resin encapsulates the MOP and the tools never touch it when turned.

Now the lower barrel is time consuming because each piece is painstakingly put on one at a time and placed so it overlaps and leaves no gaps. I glue each piece on with med CA. CA blends in with resin so it is a clear adhesive. But I try to be as neat as possible. Again I treat the blank as fragile till I get it casted. I make sure that no piece sticks past the bushings. I place bushings on tube and use a jig I made to hold it in place as I work my way around the tube. All is it is a 1/4" rod and some nuts to hold in place and the rack is a couple pieces of wood with a vee notch to allow the rod to lay in and spin. I lock the rod in place with a couple wing nuts on the outside of the pieces of wood. I use that jig for many different types of blanks I make especially the watch part blanks. Hope that makes sense.

If you want to see jig I would have to take a photo.
 
jttheclockman said:
Yes that is the way I do it. No I did not paint the tube. I had someone ask me in a PM how I made it so I will give details here. Over the years I have done blanks similar and am working on a couple right now that I used sand as the base of the cap. I will copy and paste my answer here because there is no secret process. I always said any pen I make and show I will gladly share any info. That is what this forum is about. Copy any pen from me or any idea is just fine with me. Ask any questions and I will answer to the best of my ability.

The cap portion with the crushed MOP dust is a fine dust. It is not very large particles. I use the same thing as I do when I cast sand to my blanks. I use high strength 3M spray adhesive green can. I have a small container to catch the offshoot particles when I basically sprinkle the dust across the tube making sure to really lay it on as thick as I can. I do not shake the tube. I actually have the tube supported with a dowel and drape it across the container. After 24 hours I gently shake the tube to dislodge any loose particles into the container. I then pour the container back into the jar or bag for further use at another time. Set this aside for whatever time it takes for me to make the lower barrel which is a whole lot longer. Then cast them at the same time. The resin encapsulates the MOP and the tools never touch it when turned.

Now the lower barrel is time consuming because each piece is painstakingly put on one at a time and placed so it overlaps and leaves no gaps. I glue each piece on with med CA. CA blends in with resin so it is a clear adhesive. But I try to be as neat as possible. Again I treat the blank as fragile till I get it casted. I make sure that no piece sticks past the bushings. I place bushings on tube and use a jig I made to hold it in place as I work my way around the tube. All is it is a 1/4" rod and some nuts to hold in place and the rack is a couple pieces of wood with a vee notch to allow the rod to lay in and spin. I lock the rod in place with a couple wing nuts on the outside of the pieces of wood. I use that jig for many different types of blanks I make especially the watch part blanks. Hope that makes sense.

If you want to see jig I would have to take a photo.
Click to expand...
Thanks, John! Wow, that bottom barrel does sound time consuming! Trying to line them up to be flush with the end of the barrel without leaving gaps must be a challenge. Whenever I finally get around to doing some casting, I'll have to try this method with some different materials.
 
sorcerertd said:
Thanks, John! Wow, that bottom barrel does sound time consuming! Trying to line them up to be flush with the end of the barrel without leaving gaps must be a challenge. Whenever I finally get around to doing some casting, I'll have to try this method with some different materials.
Click to expand...
There are times I may have to take a dremel grinder to get a better edge. But the key is to keep the build up below the bushing height because you do not want to hit them when turning. As I said I have a couple more in various stages on the bench. But then again I have about 10 pens that need finishing. Took a couple out of the pot a few days ago so I want to turn those. I have one that I have tried 3 times to get the cap portion just right and hoping 3 times is a charm. That is one I am interested to see how it comes out. It has some segmenting in it also. I will take a photo of the jig tomorrow too.
 
When needed, I've had good luck with sanding the shell covered tube down below bushings by putting it on the lathe a day after I glued them and sand it down to thickness with 80 grit sand paper. Just be sure to wear a respirator. That shell dust can be very harmful to your lungs. It's hard enough material that it doesn't leave stay sanding marks visible when clear cast. I wipe them down with denatured alcohol to clean them prior to casting.
 
JohnU said:
When needed, I've had good luck with sanding the shell covered tube down below bushings by putting it on the lathe a day after I glued them and sand it down to thickness with 80 grit sand paper. Just be sure to wear a respirator. That shell dust can be very harmful to your lungs. It's hard enough material that it doesn't leave stay sanding marks visible when clear cast. I wipe them down with denatured alcohol to clean them prior to casting.
Click to expand...
Nice tip John. Maybe able to use other tubes this way. May have to try that. Right now I have a sierra glued up and will use a Vista kit and also another Spring Blossom ready for turning. While doing these I found some blue crushed stone I had bought and want to try that on a kit too. I probably have so much other material I bought over the years and if Looked through my stash I would not be surprised to find something interesting.
 
Here is a quick photo of my jig that I use to hold all my watch part pens as well as pens where I am building a blank such as the seashell one. Works great for me.

IMGP0410.JPG pen building jig.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom