My Masterpiece

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Ed McDonnell

Ed McDonnell

Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
2,294
Location
Melbourne, FL
I'm calling this my masterpiece because it is the most challenging pen I've created to date. I'm not saying it's better or worse than any other pen posted here (or elsewhere). It's just my personal best at the moment.

I lost count of how many versions of this I made / destroyed as I worked out design and process details. It's somewhere north of 15 iterations though. Each one represented anywhere from 3 to 7 days worth of work before I abandoned / destroyed it (not always by choice). So, I've been working on this for a while.

Although I'm very emotionally invested in this pen, I'm a big boy (sadly, much bigger since the holiday feasting) and I welcome all comments, positive or negative.

The pen is a marriage of ancient decorative techniques and modern materials. The barrels were turned / carved from solid brass rod (similar to what would be done for a Champleve design). The carved cells were then embellished with Guilloche. Each cell was then cold enameled (aka resin filled) in Ruby or Black. Both barrels were then encapsulated in a thick clear coat to prevent tarnishing of the metal and to maintain the golden look.

Have a look.


View in Gallery


View in Gallery


Thanks for looking!!

Ed
 
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Eh, I guess it's okay if you're into that type of thing....:tongue:. Seriously though, that is Awesome (notice that's with a capitol "A:)! You should have held this under wraps until the Bash and used it as a contest pen.
 
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That is indeed a masterpiece, Edgar@dohmann.com.
Your designs & craftsmanship never cease to amaze me.

I'm still pinching myself at my good fortune to receive 2 of your awesome pens in the last PITH.

Edgar
 
Whew!We can all breathe a big sigh of relief.You can't enter that magnificent pen in the bash.I also feel a little jealous that that pen isn't mine.
 
just looked at your other post and thought... that is amazing! Then I opened this post... no words for this.

Simply a work of art!
 
Absolutely stunning in all ways. WOW is the word. First rate. Top shelf.

Now I know this is one of those sore topics and the last time I did I got such lame excuses about popularity contests and BS., but i will bring it up again because this is a pure example of what I am and always will be talking about here. HALL OF FAME. WOW is the first word that comes to each and everyone's mind here when they see that pen and do not deny it. That is the true meaning of HALL OF FAME work. This pen will be seen and wowed here but unless Jeff puts it on the front page it will get buried in the vast array of threads like every other great looking WOW pens. Pens like this need to be archived and saved for future pen turners to enjoy. This is the true essence of pen eye candy. Now the technique will not be copied and there is only one person that does this type work here and all your pens are outstanding and need to be saved.

No popularity contest here. If you can not see that is a first class pen you do not belong here.

Beautiful work. You are really pushing yourself and we reap the benefits from it. Keep it up.
 
Wow, just wow. I can't even imagine the amount work that went into this work of art. Thank you for sharing your work.

Rod
 
Now that is truly fantastic and a masterpiece. You dun real good.
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Everyday I'm vertical is a great day
 
Man ... no words .... just a bunch of old Batman TV show superlatives.

ZOWEE!!! :eek: WHOA!!!! :yawn: WOW!!! :smile-big: BIFF!!! :hypnotized:

Simply beautiful .... and I have no idea how you did it! :question:
 
Stuck in the house the last fees days with the flu with not much desire or energy to do much and saw this post... I just had to respond despite the lethargy ... This pen has so be one of the best I've seen. Very impressive. Seems like pen making keeps having artists like you take them to another level. Super!!
 
Wow!!! I think that's the most fantastic pen I've ever seen,it surely is a masterpiece and something to be super proud of!



Steve
 
DOL

Hello Ed

Just one question or maybe 2:). Are you still using your DOL to make these cool looking designs??? Did you make a new one to work with metals??? Are you using any type of coolant??? Did you make any upgrades to the lathe since you first started doing these??? The pen is terrific but i think the true winner here is the thought process in making the design and the creation of the tool that gets overlooked. Again add it to the long list of winners that you have created over the years. Thanks for showing.
 
Wow! (that is in response to the flood of compliments, not to the pen! :wink:)

Thank you all very much for looking and taking the time to offer your support and compliments. It means a lot to me.

Ed
 
jttheclockman said:
Hello Ed

Just one question or maybe 2:). Are you still using your DOL to make these cool looking designs??? Did you make a new one to work with metals??? Are you using any type of coolant??? Did you make any upgrades to the lathe since you first started doing these??? The pen is terrific but i think the true winner here is the thought process in making the design and the creation of the tool that gets overlooked. Again add it to the long list of winners that you have created over the years. Thanks for showing.
Click to expand...

Hi John - I still use the DOL, but only for work in wood and resin. I designed the DOL to embellish my woodturnings and it can work on objects up to 14" diameter. When you get down to things under 1", there is a lot of extension on the Z axis. Too much extension to be rigid enough to cut metal without (A) unacceptable chatter or (B) having to slow things down to a point where I would be burning up cutters and jobs would take a week to run. Additionally, the speed range on the spindle in the DOL is optimized for wood / resin. It's a bit too fast on the low end for metal cutting.

I could have rebuilt the DOL to solve these problems, but it would have cost more than I spent to build the DOL originally. And the DOL works so well on my turnings that I hate to mess with it. So, I bought a Taig cnc mill a little over a year ago and added a sherline rotary table to it. Carves metal just fine. But the Taig can only carve on things about 3" diameter max. No problem for pens, but somewhat limiting for turnings (so the DOL doesn't feel threatened by the new kid on the block. :biggrin:)

I don't use coolant for non ferrous metals (aluminum, brass, copper). I would be able to speed up my jobs a little if I did. But the time I saved on the jobs would be lost to cleaning up the mess and all the extra machine maintenance that would be involved.

Thanks for the compliments and questions.

Ed
 
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