First two of the new year ... Aspen burl, LeRoi long barrel

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duncsuss

duncsuss

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One of my best friends from college (so we're going back a *long* way :eek: ) asked me to make a couple of ballpoints and a fountain pen that he could gift to some of his closest co-workers (I suspect as thank-yous when he retires).

I had a few sticks of Aspen burl on the shelf that I'd cut from a burl cap years ago and had stabilized - he agreed they were going to look really pretty. So this is phase one - the barrels are prepped for the fountain pen but I won't get to turn them till the weekend.

Feels very good to have started the new year with these two. Sanded the barrels to 400 grit, then wiped on GluBoost (3 x medium, 3 x thin), and went straight to 3M Tri-mite papers (aka "Zona" papers), green through ivory. A little rub of Renaissance Wax as the final touch.


LeRoi Long Barrel Aspen Burl - 1.jpeg
LeRoi Long Barrel Aspen Burl - 2.jpeg
 
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Very nice Duncan. I have never seen Aspen Burl before. I also like the LeRoi kit because the tube is longer and shows off more wood than the Sierra models.
 
d_bondi said:
Very nice Duncan. I have never seen Aspen Burl before. I also like the LeRoi kit because the tube is longer and shows off more wood than the Sierra models.
Click to expand...

I got the Aspen burl because I had a commission to make a pen for the UK distributor of a company based in Colorado about ten years ago. Bought a burl cap on eBay, the seller swore that it was dry. He lied, it was nowhere near, plus it was an "onion skin" type of burl so the first slice I took off it started to delaminate. I ended up scrambling and found somebody who had a dry stick which I could use right away, it was pretty but honestly a bit bland. A friend sliced kilned and stabilized my burl cap for a share of the pieces, but since I'd fulfilled my commission it just went on my shelf and sat there for years until I got a call from my friend asking if I had "anything way out of the ordinary?"

The LeRoi Long Barrel: exactly, more wood to display. Plus I like that it uses 3/8 tubes instead of 27/64 tubes - not a huge difference, but it absolutely helps to have that little extra meat around the tube ends. Plus I like that the components push into both ends of the barrel - so there's no exposed wood end. More importantly to me, there's no exposed brass tube end, just looks a whole level more professional than the Mesa/Sierra where the barrel pulls off the nose cone leaving the open wound visible.
 
Never run across Aspen burl before. Beautiful wood.

I use the PSI Executive BP for the same reason, you have a longer piece of wood than with the Sierra.
 
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