Powder coated Bullet pens.

[jaustin]

Made these this weekend. cozee from penturners.org gave some suggestion that made glueing and polishing alot better and easier.

powder coated brass,

#1 Leopardwood/ Gold
#2 Bethlehem Olive Wood/ Copper
#3 Ironwood/ Copper
#4 Leopardwood/ Copper
#5 African Blackwood/ Gold

 

[Wildwood]

They really look nice!

 

[DaveO]

Excellent work :eusa_clap :eusa_clap What size casings are they .308/30.06?
I really like the copper nibs, they look more like real bullets. The DI and A.Blackwood are my personal favorites, the darker colored wood stands out better.
Dave

 

[Robert Arrowood]

What would one of those cost? Those are some beautiful pens:icon_thum

 

[jaustin]

Thanks all
I use .308 casing to make them. I like the dark woods also. I like the gold myself but alot of people like the copper better.

I supposed to get by the weekend some rattlesnake blanks, Got any good suggestion on turning the acrylics?

Robert sent you an IM.

 

[DaveO]

I supposed to get by the weekend some rattlesnake blanks, Got any good suggestion on turning the acrylics?

Sharp tools, high speed and light cuts. A skew will be your friend if you're proficient with it. Be careful with heat while sanding.

Dave

 

[jaustin]

Dave
What kinda of speed should i turn it on?
I am going to go and but some acrylic banks this weekend to pratice on before attempting the snalke blanks.

any good suggestions on sanding and finishing?

Thanks for the help.

 

[michaelgarner]

sweet, great job

 

[DaveO]

Dave
What kinda of speed should i turn it on?
I am going to go and but some acrylic banks this weekend to pratice on before attempting the snalke blanks.

any good suggestions on sanding and finishing?

Thanks for the help.

The few Acrylic blanks I've turned, I knocked the corners off on a disk sander and roughed at around 1000 RPM, then when round I cranked the lathe wide open, around 2500-3000 RPM and finished turning. They take much longer than a wood blank becuse you have to take light cuts, and stop every so often to un-wrap the looonnng curls off the blank. I sand them just like wood, but at around 1000 RPM taking a pause between grits to allow the blank to cool some. The I run through the MM all the way to 12000 and use some Hut Plastic Polish to put the final shine on it.
The bottom pen in this pic is a Mardi-gras blank from Woodcraft on a nickle Euro.

They are fun to do, and different. The additional time spent turning is offset by the time not spent applying a finish. But I still like wood better. I'm a woodworker, not a plastic worker. But I would love to try a snakeskin blank someday. Cast resin blanks are more brittle than commercial Acrylic, so really take light cuts with sharp tools.
Good luck!
Dave