Cigar pen...something a little different

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Here is a chrome cigar pen I completed this evening. It is mesquite and the blank was completely cracked and unusable in it natural form. I went to Hobby Lobby last week to look for different material to fill voids with and picked up some embossing enamel. It is a powder that you normally apply and then heat to melt.

Before drilling or turning the blank, I applied thin CA into the crack and then dropped in a small amount of the powder. I then added more CA and more powder. I continued this until the crack was mostly filled. I then turned and filled any remaining voids and finished with gloss lacquer.


My wife loves it but I am not sure if I do or not. What do you think?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/MesquiteMan/Mesquiteinlay.jpg

[Barry Stratton]

I've got to agree with your wife - REALLY, REALLY nice pen. I'll try to remember that trick - wow.

[Karl Laustrup]

I like it. Can't show LOML, she'll want one.

Karl

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey, that is really neat, I wonder if it would work with bowls as well?

Cheers!

[Chris Barton]

Looks good to me! I have used CA an wood dust to do the same thing. It looks just like inlace.

[John Hart]

Normally, I prefer something black as a filler, but I gotta say, I like the way this looks Curtis. Nice looking piece! :)

[Bernie Weishapl]

Curtis I agree with the wife. That is one nice pen.

[Andy Hoyt]

Curtis - I like it.

If inlay stuff intrigues you, I suggest you check out Stephen Hatcher (http://www.stephenhatcher.com/). His stuff is mind blowing.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Curtis - I like it.

If inlay stuff intrigues you, I suggest you check out Stephen Hatcher (http://www.stephenhatcher.com/). His stuff is mind blowing.

Wow, Andy, thanks for that link, MAN that is amazing!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Bookmarked that one :D

[John Hart]

Wow..That Stephen Hatcher fellow is a despicable creature ain't he? His work is just plain breathtaking. He has a platter in there that reminds me of Jim Ketron's Eruption Platter.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Curtis........I like that pen..........the filler kind of reminds you of a spalting of sorts!

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Wow..That Stephen Hatcher fellow is a despicable creature ain't he? His work is just plain breathtaking. He has a platter in there that reminds me of Jim Ketron's Eruption Platter.
Man you nailed it John, DOWN RIGHT DESPICABLE..... :D

ALL of his stuff is "Gobsmacking Unreal!!"

.....feeling like a lowly mortal today.....

Cheers!

[Ron Ainge]

I took one of Stephen Hatchers classes at the Utah Woodturning Synposium last summer and he was so down to earth and his explanation of his work seemed so easy that I went home and tried it out. I did not have the success that he has but I keep trying to incorporate some of his methods in my work.

You can use any soft product to do inlays with such as copper, brass and turqouies ect. I even use coffee grounds to make voids look like they have bark left in them.

[Paul Downes]

Curtis, Nice pen. I have the same problem. I found a nice piece of spaulted curly maple in a friends wood pile and obsconded with it. Resawed it on the bandsaw and glued up a few blanks. Well, I decided that the glue would dry faster if I set the blank on the shop radiator.........Ooops, it cracked. So rather than junk the blank, this being a copper cigar pen, I carved out the cracks with a micro carbide bit and filed some copper dust and filled the cracks with CA and copper. I mentioned to the wife that I didn't feel right about selling the pen and so she took it from me. :D I'm going to have to hide my pens or lock them up, she keeps taking different pens and I keep finding them laying around the house.

[Keith Burns]

Great pen Curtis:) :)

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I really like the effect, Curtis.

Bruce

[Corey Hallagan]

That is a sweet looking pen! Nice job!

Corey

[Charlie Plesums]

Nice Pen

The filler looks a lot like Inlace. Can you compare this approach to Inlace - besides the fact that anything has got to be cheaper than Inlace?

[Curt Fuller]

Nice Pen! Looks a little like turquoise inlay. Really adds to the southwest look of the mesquite.

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Charlie,

I have never used Inlace so I can not comment on it. The stuff I used is embossing powder available at Hobby Lobby. It is $2.99 for a 1 ounce bottle of the powder compared to $10.95 for Inlace metal dust at Craft Supplies USA. It comes in a bunch of different colors, too.

I can not take full credit for discovering this products, however. A fellow at the Central Texas Woodturners Association meeting last week used the gold stuff to melt on the edge of a natural edge mesquite vase and it looked really cool. I decided to get some and ran across the stuff I used here and decided to try it with CA.

Here is a link to an affiliate of Hobby Lobby showing exactly what I am talking about: http://www.craftsetc.com/Store/ShowCategory.aspx?d=51&c=23&s=20

BTW, you should consider joining the CTWA! It is a very active group of about 50 regulars that meet once a month in Austin. I just joined and am very glad I did. They are a chapter of the AAW so your membership includes AAW membership.