failure is opportunity to learn
Ok here is the whole story and the disappointing results.
First of all, hats off to Kevin, Kronewi, his "Slanted Brick Pattern" was the starting inspiration. Having made a few using his methodology I kept looking at the finished pen and wondered if it were possible to eliminated the straight lines and have two sets of angled intersections. Put my little mind to work and thought, what if I angled the initial glue-up, then cut and assemble as before.
Once glued up, prior to cutting, it dawned on me that my meticulously crafted angles would end up hidden on the bottoms after slicing and regluing. Oh well, let's see what happens. The blank was beautiful. Thought I might save the original design angles. However, note, hole placement is critical.
As several people commented, might lose the small segments when turned down. This thought occurred to me as well looking at the unturned blank, but still hoped some of the small segments would be preserved....Nope!!
Once turned down I had a very nicely aligned alternating pattern with no angles. Again, as any golfers will attest, hole placement means a lot.
Paduk and Maple, black pearwood veneer. CA finish.
While I'm satisfied with the pen in general, I was disappointed that it was so plain. The lesson here is, don't be afraid to try something, don't be afraid to fail. I will just have to try something else next time. C'est La Vie!!