A few recent pens

[Doug W Swanson]

Here are some pens that I entered into the IAP's annual Bash contest....

First is a pen made for the Russ Fairfield Memorial contest. This is a slimline with Dogwood burl and Padauk center band. It's finished with 10 coats of CA, micromeshed and buffed.
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Second was made for a casting contest. The contest required 3 colors and this is what I came up with. The colors are green, gold and blue pearlex powders mixed in a polyester resin blank. The pen is a Gold Cigar kit.
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Lastly, this pen was made for another casting contest. This was the Tube-On contest where you glued something to a pen tube, cast it in resin and then turned it. My entry was made from a small swatch of retired fire dept bunker gear (the stuff that we wear into fires). It was glued to a tube, cast in polyester resin and then turned. The triple stripe mimics the stripes that may departments use on their bunker gear. The pen is a Rhodium Jr Gent rollerball.
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Unfortunately my pens did not win but I still had a great time!

C and C welcome!

[Dan Hintz]

The 2nd one (casting contest) is my fave... good shape, nice color combo.

[Steve Doerr]

Doug,
You did a great job on all three pens. Sorry you didn't win anything, accept the joy of trying something new. I think you did an outstanding job on the curve on the first pen. The line from head to toe is nice and smooth, no interruptions at the center band. Keep up the good work.

Happy turning,
Steve

PS Thanks for your service in your fire department. You guys risk your lives every time you go and answer a call. Stay safe.

[Jim Burr]

Finally!! You did a great mod on that slimline Doug! Those were my favorite mods...for years all we see are guys making Way-to-fat slims. Proud of ya!!

[Thom Sturgill]

That third one would make your FD mates happy. I was in a VFD for a few years some time ago, and I know that would be carried with pride by any of the members or ex-members.

[Tim Leiter]

Very nice set of pens Doug. I especially like what you did to the slimline. I am going to try and make some center bands for some as soon as spring comes and I can comfortably work in my studio (garage). Way too cold in my shop and too expensive to run my propane heater.
Tim.

[Reid Strand]

Giving the new lathe a real workout, eh?

[Greg Just]

Nice pens Doug. Now don't tell me you bought that new Powermatic to make pens! :D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Good looking pens. I like the second one.

[Doug W Swanson]

Thanks for the comments...

The first pen was a new style for me. I don't make very many slim-lines but after doing some research on Russ Fairfield I going to start making more. I just love how Russ turned something simple into something elegant.
The second pen was kind of a mish-mash of resin. Some of the colors were setting too fast so I ended up mashing them up and poured it into the mold. I like how it turned out and my wife actually took the pen for her desk at work. Now that says something!
The last one is my favorite. Not only because of the theme but because of everything I learned while making it.

FYI: these pens were made on my old lathe. I have used the new PM a little and love it. I can't wait to turn something BIG for a change!

[Daniel Gross]

Great looking pens Doug,
could you explain how you did the slimline band? I think I'm going to give that a try.
Thanks
Dan

[Doug W Swanson]

Hi Dan,
Here's where I got the inspiration:
http://web.archive.org/web/20101227052308/http://woodturnerruss.com/Pen51a.html

I did mine a little different but pretty close to this. You could spend hours looking at Russ Fairfield's work....

[Daniel Gross]

Thanks Doug,
Interesting site.

Dan