Some recent Laser Cut Inlay and Segmented blanks

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Ken Wines

Ken Wines

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So... I'm always looking for unusual patterns that can be integrated into a segmented or inlaid pen design. I found a new source for pictures and inspiration ... the New York Public Library. All of these blank were designed from the pages of a German book about ornaments that was published in 1842 and is part of the NYPL Digital collections. The title of the book is Arabische und Alt-Italienische Bau-Verzierungen and the author was Friedrich M Hessemer There are 122 pages of old designs in the book. I will be trying more of them, but the blank in the first photo was the easiest one to implement. The second photo uses the same design as the first except it has been rotated 90 degrees on the tube. The third is a radial symmetry pattern. All 3 blanks were designed to fit Sierra hardware and the woods are maple, walnut and cherry. They were all cut using an Epilog Helix Laser engraver with a custom made rotary device that I built for pen blank making.
 

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Stunning artistry Ken! I love each. I have been using the one I have for the past three weeks and have gotten lots of compliments.

Thank you for sharing - keep em coming, these are beautiful.

I prefer the first, as there is an appealing symmetry with the Maple ends - to me it looks cleaner - Just an opinion.
 
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mark james said:
Stunning artistry Ken! I love each. I have been using the one I have for the past three weeks and have gotten lots of compliments.

Thank you for sharing - keep em coming, these are beautiful.

I prefer the first, as there is an appealing symmetry with the Maple ends - to me it looks cleaner - Just an opinion.
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Thanks, Mark. The second one was an experiment to see how the 90 degree rotation would change the overall look of the pattern. I'm glad you like the Mistral blank. It's a culmination of the techniques I use. There are ring segments at the top and bottom, the weave is segmented and the cherry body is inlaid. It interlocked fairly well, which helped with the alignment and holding the pieces in place. I would rate it as my best overall design to date.
 
wood128 said:
Beautiful designs and segmenting. How much time involved to make one blank ?
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Thanks. Blank preparation is where I spend a lot of time. All of the blanks are cut and drilled and milled to a consistent diameter. For Sierra blanks, I turn them down to 0.645" on a metal lathe that leaves an extra 10 thousandths of inch to be milled after glue up (the final diameter I shoot for is 5/8"). I like to work with wooden tubes that have a wall thickness or approximately 1/8". The cutting time per blank can vary from 2 to 8 or 9 minutes depending on the complexity of the pattern. It would be safe to say that I spend at least an hour per blanks when you account for the blank preparation, cutting time, disassembly of the source blanks, reassembly of the patterned blanks, glue up, and post processing of the final blank (taking off the extra 10 thou) on the metal lathe to even out the highs and lows in the surface.
 
MDWine said:
Nice, I love the idea of "old is new again", and 1842 is pretty neat!
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Thanks, Michael. It is strange how design go through cycles like that. They are popular for a while, lay dormant for years, and then suddenly appear again as "new" designs. They were some other designs that were the book including the ever popular "Tumbling Dice" design.
 
I love 'em !!!!! . The third one looks like a flock of birds !!

Thanks for the manufacturing details .... I am not going to copy, just curious
 
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