latest pens

[Joe Aliperti]

I've been on a huge pen kick lately. Here are some of my latest. All pens have a CA finish.

Curly maple:

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/curly_maple3.jpg


Fossilized mammoth ivory pieces cast in black resin:

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/mammoth.jpg


Figured cocobolo / .338 WinMag cartridge:

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/winmag1.jpg


Maple and African blackwood slimline set:

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/pair_of_slimlines.jpg


Thanks for looking!

- Joe

[Roland Martin]

Very nice pens Joe. The figure in the first one is outstanding, but they are all very well done.

[Jim McFarland]

Beautiful pens & great photos!

[Allen Neighbors]

You've been busy!! They really look good!! Do you sell? Craft shows or internet or word-of-mouth? I like the curly maple, and the .338 pen the most! Nice work!!

[Terry Murphy]

:)very nice looking pens,especially the 1st.

Terry

[Baxter Smith]

The first pen is one of the best "natural" ones I have seen!

[David E Keller]

Nice work, Joe. I like the curly maple and ivory/resin pens the best, but they are all nicely done.

[Karl Card]

I guess I am not doing something right because I cannot get ca to shine like that... very nice pens indeed.

[John W Dixon]

Joe, those look great! Nice job.

John

[John Keeton]

LOVE the curly maple!! The ivory/resin would be my second pick, but all are very well done.

[Donny Lawson]

Very nice pens.The curly maple is my pick.
Donny

[Matt Ranum]

Very nice and I go with the majority here, the Maple is the prettiest.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Wow Joe those are some nice pens. That #1 curly maple is a beauty.

[Michael Dromey]

I also agree the curly maple is the prettiest. You do great work. What are your steps on the CA finish. How durable is CA finish?

[Roger Bullock]

The pen kit finish on the curly maple as opposed to a gold finish really makes the figure pop IMO. Nice job on all.

[Joe Aliperti]

Thanks for all the comments! Like most of you, I like the curly maple the best too.


You've been busy!! They really look good!! Do you sell? Craft shows or internet or word-of-mouth? I like the curly maple, and the .338 pen the most! Nice work!!

Thanks! I've only been making pens since January, but I have sold 4 pens since then. I set up a basic website and created a Facebook page. I'm also a fairly active member on a large Subaru forum, which has led to 2 of the pen sales after posting some pictures in a woodworking thread.


I guess I am not doing something right because I cannot get ca to shine like that... very nice pens indeed.

Thanks! Here are the basic steps to getting a good shine:

1. Building up a thick enough layer of CA
2. Sanding it smooth all the way to 12,000 micromesh
3. Apply plastic polish

And if you want to go all out, here are the steps I used for the curly maple pen:

- Seal the wood by wet sanding w/ CA (see link in video below)
- Sand the wood all the way to 12,000 MM before CA application
- With each grit, also sand with the lathe off in the direction of the grain. - Use an incandescent light at a low angle to make sure you get rid of all the scratches from each grit.
- Apply at least 10 coats of thin CA, allowing each coat to dry on its own without accelerator
- Lightly sand w/ 600 grit in between coats
- After last coat is dry, sand smooth with 400, 600, 3600MM, 4000MM, 6000MM, 8000MM, 12000MM
- apply some plastic polish
- after assembly, apply a light coat of Renaissance wax



I also agree the curly maple is the prettiest. You do great work. What are your steps on the CA finish. How durable is CA finish?

Thanks again! I'm working on simplifying my finishing process so it takes minutes instead of hours. There are many ways of applying a CA finish, but here are two extremes.

Russ Fairfield's long process with good results (essentially the process I outlined above):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6I6lQM1yls

(first video in a series)


Quick process that seems to sacrifice some quality, but only takes a fraction of the time:

http://www.youtube.com/grub32#p/u/8/9nXSaGOHMK8

I have great success using Russ Fairfield's synthetic batting applicators. Whenever I try to use a paper towel and CA, little fibers end up getting stuck to the pen, and sometimes get buried in the finish. So I'm now experimenting with a combination of the above methods.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice work on everything Joe! Hard not to notice that first curly maple pen! Amazing curl!

Really nice photos as well! Best of luck with your sales!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Joe,

Gorgeous pens!

How did you like working with the African blackwood?

I've worked with it and found it a little brittle with a tendency to split.

[Joe Aliperti]

Thanks, Ken. This was the first time I tried blackwood and this particular piece turned pretty smoothly for me. I cut it from a waxed piece of 1.5" stock from Woodcraft, so it's possible that it wasn't completely dry. It also wasn't as dark as I was expecting, more of a "mocha" color.