2 Segmented Blanks

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wood128

wood128

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Joined
Sep 16, 2006
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Cocoa Beach, Fl, USA.
I just finished this weekend the construction of the following two segmented wood pen blanks.

The first is a 360 degree herringbone pattern blank , which I have also inlaid a single Celtic Knot in the center of the blank. I am pretty sure that I am not the first woodworker to do this ..........but for me it is a first and I am pleased with the outcome. Not perfect !! by any means but still needs more work foe accuracy and mostly alignment. I made the herringbone blank first with 13 rows of 6 pieces of glued together wood, turned this to 1 inch diameter......then glued on two 1 X 1 X 1 pieces, one on each end. This was for stability to cut the Celtic Knot inlay. So I made the knot, then finished turning the blank to approx. 7/8 " dia and then cut off most of the end pieces....leaving only about 1/4 ' on each end.

The second blank is constructed with 7 pieces of hexagon shaped pieces of wood , 6 exterior and one in the center .....all glued together. Then I turned the glued up bundle to 1 " dia and cut the wafer pieces .........glued them back together in a spiral pattern. The next blank could be made with 6 pieces, all different wood and leave the center blank, or glue in a dowel. The pattern can be spiral, reverse spiral or brick , with maybe veneer glued between the pieces.

Just thought I would share this info with you fellow pemmakers and segmenters . Would like to see your comments and experiences.
 

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Really nice work, Joe !!! How do you make your hexagonal rods ? Milling machine ?

Each "wafer" that you refer to consists of 7 hexagons, right ?
 
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This is why I hesitate to turn your blanks Joe... Just too Purty!

These are excellent - Thanks for posting.
 
MAGPENS , I suppose the hexagon rods could be made with a milling machine , but I use my small modelmakers tablesaw to cut the pieces. I start with a 1/2 square piece and cut it to 7/16 " X 1/2 " x 8-10 " long. By using math, the cosine of 30 degrees is equal to .877 . Multiply .877 X .5 = .4385 or close to 7/16 . I tilt the saw blade to 30 degrees and use a fence....slowly moving the fence making a few trial cuts until I get equal flats on the piece. I use a scrap piece of wood to set up the fence ......leave it in place and cut all the pieces the same. The blade is above the table top only a little bit !!!! My fingers are pushing the wood. Yes, it takes 7 pieces of the hex rods to make the final glued up piece . However, the center could be open .......just put plugs in both ends for final drilling.
 
Pretty nervous about cutting into a herringbone blank?I would be.Nice craftsmanship.I like your segmenting,nice tight glue lines.

That hexagonal blank prep sounds like alot work.Have you tried making thin pie slices?No need for a separate center piece.Set the saw at the desired angle for the amount of strips you want the blank to have.Glue and rollem up together,massage the peices together to a uniform circle.All the pionts should meet in the center.
 
Dale , I used the stave method for cutting pieces of wood and made the following segmented pen blank. I first set the blade in my small tabletop saw to 30 degrees , then set the fence to the appropriate distance , using 1/2 " thick stock , also using a stop for width of cut, I ripped 6 pieces of stock ( 4 walnut , 1 mahogany and one aspen ) . The 6 equal lateral triangle pieces all glued together super good with the addition of pieces of red/blue and white veneer. I then cut 13 wafers from the segmented piece , glued them together in the spiral pattern. Even by looking real close, the glue lines between the walnut pieces are not visible . All in all , much easier way to do this !!!! Thanks again for the tip ..........greatly appreciated !! The next blank will probably be 12 stave segments , or some combination .
 

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Sweet blank Joe! You know I like the half blank design :wink:! Many applications for this one.

Very nice. Stay cool. My basement is almost dry.
 
Spanx what does this mean 'I use an 80 tooth hatb diablo w/o a zero clearance insert and it still sucks beautifully.' does the saw blade actually cause suction down on the saw? or is it something more cryptic?? Seriously want to know.

By the way, I think those blanks are super nice Joe, good stuff!!
 
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When cutting thin strips without a zero clearence tablesaw insert the thin strips wiil fall through when the cut is complete.The article I referenced earlier shaows a way to keep the pieces from falling in.In the artice the auther used a zero clearence insert,I found the the jig works perfectly well with a stock insert.
 
Thanks Spanx--I appreciate the clarification, I actually had wondered about small pieces falling 'into the saw' I am leaning to buying a Byrnes model saw, and was hoping to avoid those issues by going that route.

Thanks again--Don
 
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