The Rifleman's Pen

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FourOaksCrafts

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I made this modified slimline a while back. Used walnut, a real 30-06 casing, and gun metal plating slimline kit.

Drilling and fashioning the bullet casing is a little bit of a challenge. I followed a method from a wood turning magazine. For the future, I'll probably just stick to bullet pen kits.

It was fun and interesting to make though!
 

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Very Nice Pen, Stephen.
Excellent Conversion and Application for a Slimline.

I think of Walnut on Rifles as being Beautifully Smooth,and Finely Finished, and then in later years, mostly aged with Loving Care and Natural Patina.
The Finish on the Walnut, doesn't seem to be Completed, not just the Sheen, but there appears to be unfilled grain pockets, these tend to distract from a Magnificent Pen.
I don't know whether this is that the type of Finish you wanted or is it the Photograph?

Love the Concept.
Brian.
 
OZturner said:
Very Nice Pen, Stephen.
Excellent Conversion and Application for a Slimline.

I think of Walnut on Rifles as being Beautifully Smooth,and Finely Finished, and then in later years, mostly aged with Loving Care and Natural Patina.
The Finish on the Walnut, doesn't seem to be Completed, not just the Sheen, but there appears to be unfilled grain pockets, these tend to distract from a Magnificent Pen.
I don't know whether this is that the type of Finish you wanted or is it the Photograph?

Love the Concept.
Brian.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! This piece of walnut may have been a little more open grain than normal. It does look a little better than the picture depicts, but I agree it could be better. I normally sand my pens with the micro mesh cloths and finish with friction polish.
 
I'm not gonna lie on this one, wood is rough an the brass is dull... I LOVE IT! Even though you're not a satisfied as you sound like u wanna be, this thing is amazing and I may steal this idea lol.
 
So I liked this pen so much I showed my wife. Even she said it looked great. Said the walnut looks like it belongs on a rifle.
 
Nice job! Kits are easier but one made from scratch using a your own brass is special. One suggestion: I use steel wool to polish thje casing then I use wax to buff it. it will stay shiny for a while but will patina naturally as it is used. Just my 2 cents.
 
Dave Bell has a pretty good tutorial on doing these in the library http://content.penturners.org/library/pens/bullet_casing.pdf
I've got a long punch that will fit through the hole in the bottom of the casing to knock out the primer then drilling using a collet chuck on the lathe is pretty easy. Never had good luck like Dave does to drill out the lead from the bullet so I just use a propane torch and melt it out.
Fun to make, I usually polish mine and put a poly coating on to protect but the old brass look like yours would likely be well received by hunters and shooters as well.
http://content.penturners.org/library/pens/bullet_casing.pdf
 
triw51 said:
Nice job! Kits are easier but one made from scratch using a your own brass is special. One suggestion: I use steel wool to polish thje casing then I use wax to buff it. it will stay shiny for a while but will patina naturally as it is used. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I believe I used Brasso to polish it originally, and it was very shiny then. But over time, it went back to the look you see in the pic. I wonder if there is anything you can apply that will keep it shiny. Probably not. And probably another good reason to stick to the kits.
 
Rick_G said:
Dave Bell has a pretty good tutorial on doing these in the library http://content.penturners.org/library/pens/bullet_casing.pdf
I've got a long punch that will fit through the hole in the bottom of the casing to knock out the primer then drilling using a collet chuck on the lathe is pretty easy. Never had good luck like Dave does to drill out the lead from the bullet so I just use a propane torch and melt it out.
Fun to make, I usually polish mine and put a poly coating on to protect but the old brass look like yours would likely be well received by hunters and shooters as well.
http://content.penturners.org/library/pens/bullet_casing.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on knocking out the primer. That sounds like a good idea. I used a centering vise to drill my hole for this pen. It is a little tricky to get the hole centered correctly.
 
FourOaksCrafts said:
Thanks for the tip. I believe I used Brasso to polish it originally, and it was very shiny then. But over time, it went back to the look you see in the pic. I wonder if there is anything you can apply that will keep it shiny. Probably not. And probably another good reason to stick to the kits.
Click to expand...

I use 2000 grit or higher wet dry sandpaper and then brasso. After installing the bullet for the tip and the transmission I fill the hole with a little wax then dip in polyurethane. I took the plastic end that screws into the transmission off an old refill and drilled a hole for some string then screw it back into the transmission and let it hang to dry. I usually give it an hour or so then re-dip into the poly. For the first 15 minutes or so I take a piece of paper towel and touch the end of the tip to remove any drops that may be starting to form from the poly running down the pen. So far no complaints and those that I have given them to prefer the real thing over the kits and real bullets for the tip over the nibs used in the slimlines. A little more work but I'm doing this for the enjoyment. Of the several hundred pens I have made I think I may have sold 20 or thirty at the most the rest were given away.
 
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