Accetable or not?

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David M

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Jan 21, 2009
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Location
Norton, Va. 24273
i have been trying to use up some old stock . this is my last churchill kit that i have, and a maylee blank . after it was together i seen a small crack so the extra black band. there it one in the center .
Is this accatable being a burl ?
DSC01039 - Copy.jpg
 
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If you hadn't pointed it out I would not have noticed. It looks like you have applied a finish and now it is sealed. Looks fine to me. I like the black band.
 
Yea Im good with the visual as long as it is smooth and cant hang a nail in it looks fine to me...it is called character!!
 
Cindy, the problem with a crack is that up close and in person the crack is still a crack and if your trying to sell pens you sure wouldn't want your potential customers to wonder if it will get bigger.David, if your keeping it for yourself it's fine but I would not try to sell it or show it with my other pens. The fix would be to sand the finish off fill in the crack with sanding dust, black embossing powder or even crushed turquoise and refinish. Thats my 2 centavos worth.
 
It looks good to me. I wouldn't sell it if it still has a crack, but it would be fine to carry or give away to a friend.
 
David, I think the crack if filled would be OK but like Roy said I wouldn't put it with the pens I had for sale, it looks like a good user, or gift, I do like the extra black band, it adds something to the overall look of the kit, Some times Burl can bite you in the rear end.
 
Many burls have inclusions and wood "seperations" that I wouldn't necessarily call a "crack". From what I see in the photo the seperation is flowing with the swirling pattern so wouldn't be that big of a deal unless you can see the brass tube through it or if it cracked after you did the ca finish and now has to be redone.

I would not put it up for sale because of the black "screw up" band beneath the threaded coupler. Many here cover their up screw ups this way and it seems to be an accepted practice, why, I'll never figure out.

If your black band is acrylic, I would also be concerned with how it's going to look a year from now with the glue joint between the band and the wood blank holding up. In a few of my first segmented pens where I combined acrylic with wood, the joints failed after a year or so. I suspect this had to do with moisture causing changes in the wood and not in the acrylic.
 
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Boy,
I'm slow today... I had to look 3 or 4 times to figure out what George meant about a "screw up band"... since I don't make the Churchill, I didn't know what it was supposed to look like and though the black band was part of the assembly... my bad..

I can't comment on what George said about the band and glue separation... I don't have any experience, but on the little crack, I've seen burls with the inclusions and separations... if it's properly filled with CA and the finish covers it to the point that it's not clearly evident, it should be acceptable as a characteristic of the wood. Or you could always point it out and sell the pen as a second - if and only if - your market will allow for that... not all markets will. I've had customers actually comment that they liked the imperfections like this in their woods... it gave the pens a more unique character to them.
 
thanks , it looks like another daily user or feebee...the crack is filled and smothe but not knowing what its going to be like down the road it will not be on the sale side . As the market , or just me I try not to do seconds , just dont want people thinking that I do sub standard work to sale. My daughter will probley in up using it at her work .
Thanks
David
 
Mudpuppie said:
thanks , it looks like another daily user or feebee...the crack is filled and smothe but not knowing what its going to be like down the road it will not be on the sale side . As the market , or just me I try not to do seconds , just dont want people thinking that I do sub standard work to sale. My daughter will probley in up using it at her work .
Thanks
David
Click to expand...

I understand. I don't think seconds are necessarily "sub-standard" work.. that (at least to me) implies that you didn't start out to make a premier pen to begin with, which I know is not the case. But in the manufacturing world, there are always a piece here and there that while it's not perfect, small imperfections in the mfg process, but not cost effective to scrap either... I don't usually do what what I would call seconds either... it's either good to go or it's to re-do.... I have about a dozen or so bags of pens on my wall to be refinished, re-turned or something done to them... but I have a one or two get through the inspection process and reach the sale table and people have bought, saying they like the slight imperfections... if I catch them in time though, they come off the table and I have taken a couple of pens out of customer's hands and put away, telling them I can't sell it... the pen has a problem that I won't allow out.
 
I am not a lover of "oops bands" either, if you are going to give your daughter a work pen then I would suggest one that is perfect and may lead to sales from her work friends.

If I make a pen I am not happy with then it will never leave the workshop or my home.
 
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