My latest pen

[Greg Ketell]

I made this pen for a pen-swap on another site. The theme was local woods so I found some Chamise rootball from a friend's ranch up in the Livermore, California hills and cast it into red/gold swirl Urethane resin. I put it onto a Titanium-Gold Jr Gentleman's pen using a CA finish. To kick it up a notch (and to expand my skill set a bit since I hadn't done this before) I replaced the finial on the cap with a piece of the blank.

Comments welcomed!!

http://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=92272&stc=1&d=1215709518

GK

[Cyril Griesbach]

Now that is a real beauty, Greg. Nicely done!!!

[Phillip Bogle]

That is lovely! I hope I can make pens like that when I grow up -- which hasn't happened in 60 years :D.

Great looking Pen.

Phil

[Daniel Heine]

Greg,

That is a really nice pen. Do you cast ypur pens under pressure? What matreial do you use, Alumilite or PR? I would love to start making soemof my own blanks, but it seems that I would have to make a huge investment:
compressor, HF paint pot, vacum pump, etc, etc. Any shortcuts?

Thanks,
Dan

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful pen Greg. Love the wood.

[Greg Ketell]

I have used both PR and Alumilite. This pen was cast with Alumilite. PR is better if you are trying to do swirls, etc because you have more working time. But it STINKS. Alumilite doesn't smell and sets in an hour so is MUCH faster than PR.

My friend makes a lot of Alumilite blanks and he frequently doesn't use any pressure or vacuum. Just vibration (a clothes drier drying a load or a scroll saw both work). He get some small voids but so did I and I cast it at 45# of pressure so I don't think it matters all that much.

Vacuum is really useful if you are using PR (no time for vacuum with Alumilite) and you are trying to get the PR deep into cracks and crevices. Vacuum, release, vacuum, release, pressure. If you are just casting "solid" material like this blank then it doesn't really do much for you.

GK



Greg,

That is a really nice pen. Do you cast ypur pens under pressure? What matreial do you use, Alumilite or PR? I would love to start making soemof my own blanks, but it seems that I would have to make a huge investment:
compressor, HF paint pot, vacum pump, etc, etc. Any shortcuts?

Thanks,
Dan

[Robert McGowen]

I don't usually comment on pens unless they are way better than average, and your pen is very, very nice. Excellent photography also.

[Clara Koss]

gorgeous....nice idea of the top finial...

[Toney Robertson]

That is quite stunning.

Toney

[Steve Schlumpf]

Greg - Like Robert, I don't usually comment on pens simply because I haven't turned any and can't offer any critiques or advice. Your pen, however, is quite stunning! Love the variations of color, the finish, the finial cap and also the photo work! Exceptional work all around!

[michael gallagher]

If this is for the PITH exchange, I wish you were my partner - that is really nice looking. Great job.

[Greg Ketell]

Thank you all for the kind comments. I am really happy with the way it turned out. The depth of the casting really doesn't even begin to show up well in the photo. I did learn that with Alumilite you need to add more tint/sparkle/etc than you think you need since it is a 1:1 mix ration and you only add to one part. But it worked out. :D

GK

[Ben Gastfriend]

Everything about that pen is amazing. The wood looks great, the finish looks smooth and shiny, not to mention the great picture! Keep posting more pens!