Texas Snakes!

I made the pen a while back and I've debated keeping it or selling it. Now that I made a stand for it I'm going to keep it. The reason for not wanting to sell the pen is the cap. Rattlesnakes have a black and white banded tail. The cap circumference is large enough so it takes a pretty big snake to get a skin that will fit. So about the materials used. The snakeskin is a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake from Sweetwater Teas. The cap is the black and white banded tail and the pen is the diamond pattern from the back of the snake. The stand is Mesquite from South Texas. It was all made in North Central Texas. Ha Ha. Just thought I'd toss that in there. Any Questions or Comments Welcome.

Definitely one to keep! And the base looks awesome too!

Something about those diamondbacks with their white tipped scales … it just screams elegance.

Beautiful work Kenny!

Nice one Kenny! Love those tail sections. Nicely done.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

Wow, Kenny, that's really eye catching.

What a creative conversation piece!

Thanks guys. I've really enjoyed playing with the laser. I've made several pen stands and I noticed that people really like them. I've done a few states with different themes. Most are very easy to make and are small enough I can use scrap wood. I've also used strips glued together that people liked so not an added expense.

very nice Kenny - love the pen and the stand!!

I really like nothing to do with snakes, especially those Danged South Texas Rattlers. On thing for sure Kenny, that there pen and stand are absolutely beautiful! …….Smokey

Kenny Durrant said:

I made the pen a while back and I've debated keeping it or selling it. Now that I made a stand for it I'm going to keep it. The reason for not wanting to sell the pen is the cap. Rattlesnakes have a black and white banded tail. The cap circumference is large enough so it takes a pretty big snake to get a skin that will fit. So about the materials used. The snakeskin is a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake from Sweetwater Teas. The cap is the black and white banded tail and the pen is the diamond pattern from the back of the snake. The stand is Mesquite from South Texas. It was all made in North Central Texas. Ha Ha. Just thought I'd toss that in there. Any Questions or Comments Welcome.

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Beautiful pen and also a beautiful stand. You did right when you decided to keep it !!!

Great work.

Nice looking pen Kenny. I think I still have a rattlesnake hatband with head somewhere. I wore out my rattlesnake boots many years ago. I use run across an occasional rattlesnake when I use to run inthe oilfield in eest texas. Haven't seen one yet since we moved here in N.E. texas. I've heard they are around though.

Thanks for the kind words Bobby. Two prior hobbies were tropical fish then taxidermy. When I started pen turning I saw in the PSI Catalog some snakeskin blanks. I loved the look of those. They were already sold out by the time I received the catalog. I started thinking of how I could make my own since I had several skins leftover from my taxidermy days. I was looking at my last aquarium and when I saw the lift tube from my under gravel filter and it clicked. I bought a tube from my local fish shop and a few plugs from Home Depot. That was the start of my casting endeavor. With the help of a few videos and a few tips from fellow IAP Members I was in business. Needles to say I'll try casting anything that I can turn on my lathe. Now I enjoy casting more than I do turning pens. When I make blanks for friends I ask for a picture of the pen when they get it finished. I'm a little leery of naming names because I don't want to leave someone out due to my fading memory but a HUGE Thank You to Don Ward, Seamus Rooney and John Underhill for the help and ideas.

That's a very cool pen! The stand really looks great, too. I'd call that one a keeper.

JohnU said:

Something about those diamondbacks with their white tipped scales … it just screams elegance.

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and also, "get the hell out of here."