Talk About a Learning Curve!

[Kenny Durrant]

I've been turning and casting pens for several years now. Saying that I'm in no way saying I'm better than the next guy just saying that I've had more time to stumble through things. I have different materials and methods I use depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. I purchased a laser engraver last year and I'm loving the new possibilities. I started color filling and I wasn't totally pleased unless I filled the engraving even with the surface. That's when it felt like I was starting all over again. The letters and thin lines were a piece of cake. The problems started with the wider UofH logo. I didn't want to use a urethane resin because I didn't want to make a mold to pressurize the blank. Epoxy took too long to cure so it wouldn't stay put in the engraving. I used CA and even though cleaning up the mess on the blank wasn't that big a deal it would leave blemishes in the logo. I used a UVResin!! The mica powder mixed great with it. The thing I needed to be careful of is that the uv light wouldn't penetrate a thick surface and a pocket of liquid resin would not be acceptable. The card holder and pen funnel was a one shot deal. No issues whatsoever. Then came the Texas stand. The fourth attempt worked out well. The pen took three tries. I really like the way the mica powder made the pen pop. I'm kind of afraid to do another just in case this was a stroke of luck. Questions and Comments Welcome. Thanks

 

[jomal]

Hi Kenny,I also have a small laser engraver. I was asked to turn a pen and engrave the Royal Air Force logo. I am quite new on engravings.
I had to do it on burnt colour. How can I engrave color with a laser engraver? I would be much thankful if you could share some light .
Thank you. Jose/. UK.

 

[BULLWINKLE]

I'm no expert by a long shot Kenny, but it looks great from your photo.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

Jose the laser just burns so it's always going to be black. That's when my learning curve started. There's a lot of You Tube Videos on how to color fill but that's about it. I wanted the pen and stand to be smooth. If your just wanting color just paint the engraved area. The way I ended up doing it was turn the pen and put a couple of coats of CA over the whole blank. That makes any over burn from the laser easy to clean up. Engrave the image then spray a light coat of sealer, I used lacquer, to seal the wood. I used a water based acrylic paint to paint the inside of the image. I used that because I use it for everything else and had what I needed. Then I added the mica powder to the resin and used a toothpick to dab it into the image. Remember you have to do thin layers so the UVlight will cure it all the way through. I also used a pin to drag the resin in the corners to make sure there weren't any voids. I did that until the resin was just proud of the surface. Then sand flush and finish with CA as usual.

 

[jomal]

Jose the laser just burns so it's always going to be black. That's when my learning curve started. There's a lot of You Tube Videos on how to color fill but that's about it. I wanted the pen and stand to be smooth. If your just wanting color just paint the engraved area. The way I ended up doing it was turn the pen and put a couple of coats of CA over the whole blank. That makes any over burn from the laser easy to clean up. Engrave the image then spray a light coat of sealer, I used lacquer, to seal the wood. I used a water based acrylic paint to paint the inside of the image. I used that because I use it for everything else and had what I needed. Then I added the mica powder to the resin and used a toothpick to dab it into the image. Remember you have to do thin layers so the UVlight will cure it all the way through. I also used a pin to drag the resin in the corners to make sure there weren't any voids. I did that until the resin was just proud of the surface. Then sand flush and finish with CA as usual.

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. I am going to give it a try.

 

[RDHals]

I've been turning and casting pens for several years now. Saying that I'm in no way saying I'm better than the next guy just saying that I've had more time to stumble through things. I have different materials and methods I use depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. I purchased a laser engraver last year and I'm loving the new possibilities. I started color filling and I wasn't totally pleased unless I filled the engraving even with the surface. That's when it felt like I was starting all over again. The letters and thin lines were a piece of cake. The problems started with the wider UofH logo. I didn't want to use a urethane resin because I didn't want to make a mold to pressurize the blank. Epoxy took too long to cure so it wouldn't stay put in the engraving. I used CA and even though cleaning up the mess on the blank wasn't that big a deal it would leave blemishes in the logo. I used a UVResin!! The mica powder mixed great with it. The thing I needed to be careful of is that the uv light wouldn't penetrate a thick surface and a pocket of liquid resin would not be acceptable. The card holder and pen funnel was a one shot deal. No issues whatsoever. Then came the Texas stand. The fourth attempt worked out well. The pen took three tries. I really like the way the mica powder made the pen pop. I'm kind of afraid to do another just in case this was a stroke of luck. Questions and Comments Welcome. Thanks

Kenny they both turned out great. I think you better plan to do a lot more colored engravings. You mentioned your concern with the uv not penetrating a thick surface. A thought occurred to me about that while using the uv resin is fairly new to pen turners it's been used in other industries for years, such as healthcare. Dental specifically. My dentist uses it, you may want to seek out a dentist to ask. Just a thought, the pen and the stand look great.