Latest Burl pens

[Chriscb]

Afternoon all,
Been busy on the lathe, here's my latest group of pens. Voids (of which there were many) filled with a mix of ground coffee, sawdust and thin CA.

Wood sanded to 240, application of Yorkshire grit and polished on wheel. Didn't want a high gloss, just some protection from handling.

Woods are Thuya Burl, American Oak Burl, and Yew Burl.

Closed length - 150 mm to 158 mm
Open length - 144 mm to 152 mm
No step.
Bock #6 nibs

As ever, thoughts and critiques please.

Cheers,
Chriscb

 

[flexi]

Some beautiful bits of timber, expertly showcased. Very nice job, must try the coffee trick, I use Milliput at the mo!!

 

[alan morrison]

Excellent timbers, Chris.

 

[Gadget-UK]

Lovely wood, lovely pens and beautifully presented

 

[Chriscb]

Some beautiful bits of timber, expertly showcased. Very nice job, must try the coffee trick, I use Milliput at the mo!!

Thank you... really enjoyed turning these but the process was nerve racking and slow... coffee grounds from Costa, mixed with sanding dust (I try to match the base colour of the wood!) and thin CA.
Regards,
Chriscb

 

[Chriscb]

Excellent timbers, Chris.

Thank you - I've enough wood for maybe 1 of each of the White Oak and Yew pens. The group are a stunning collection.

Regards,
Chriscb

 

[Chriscb]

Lovely wood, lovely pens and beautifully presented

Thank you - great wood to work with if not a little nerve racking. Presentation is the last but not the least important part of the making process. I aim to make the wood the star, rather than the acrylic or the props in the images.

Regards,
Chriscb

 

[Padster]

All Stunning, love Burr.... and they look like that black arts kitless stuff.....

 

[ValleyBoy]

Lovely timber and nice work!

I’m not sure if you’ve tried inking and using the pens yet but I would suggest you do, especially if you’re intending to sell them.

The main reason is that wooden sections will often cause the nib to dry out rapidly, even if the cap is lined. Once the pen is closed the wood acts like a sponge and draws moisture out of the air within the cap and thus the nib dries much quicker than with an acrylic/metal section.

When I first started making custom wooden pens I read about this phenomenon and I couldn’t believe it was true. I wanted to test for myself so I made a couple of pens with sections made from wood (both stabilised and standard), both with acrylic linings and, sure enough, the nibs dried out within a few hours of putting the caps on. I swapped the sections out for acrylic equivalents and the issue was fixed immediately.

I will say it seems to happen somewhat on a case by case basis and the species of wood may play a role. So there’s every chance your pens will be fine, but it’s definitely worth testing each time.

Cheers
Ash

 

[alpha1]

Very nice well done.

 

[Chriscb]

All Stunning, love Burr.... and they look like that black arts kitless stuff.....

Umm…. Guilty I guess, but not black art. It’s taken me a longtime, lots of frustrating hours to get to this stage. But, once you’ve got the method nailed down, it becomes a lot easier (but never easy).
And yes, thanks they are a stunning group.
Chriscb

 

[Chriscb]

Lovely timber and nice work!

I’m not sure if you’ve tried inking and using the pens yet but I would suggest you do, especially if you’re intending to sell them.

The main reason is that wooden sections will often cause the nib to dry out rapidly, even if the cap is lined. Once the pen is closed the wood acts like a sponge and draws moisture out of the air within the cap and thus the nib dries much quicker than with an acrylic/metal section.

When I first started making custom wooden pens I read about this phenomenon and I couldn’t believe it was true. I wanted to test for myself so I made a couple of pens with sections made from wood (both stabilised and standard), both with acrylic linings and, sure enough, the nibs dried out within a few hours of putting the caps on. I swapped the sections out for acrylic equivalents and the issue was fixed immediately.

I will say it seems to happen somewhat on a case by case basis and the species of wood may play a role. So there’s every chance your pens will be fine, but it’s definitely worth testing each time.

Cheers
Ash

Hey thanks for the compliment and for the advice. We’ve been on the same research path. I too have run through variations of lined/not lined caps, different woods et al. My chosen method now is to glue the cap liner acrylic in with a good helping of 30 minute epoxy. I guess the glue is effectively sealing the wood off. To avoid epoxy squirting out of the open end I drill a very small hole in the blind end, easily filled later on when the cap is finished. I sacrificed a few lined pens when I started down this path to refine the method, and to date none of the pens have caused any problems. Yeh, I know, dangerous to say stuff like that!

Thanks.
Chriscb

 

[ValleyBoy]

Hey thanks for the compliment and for the advice. We’ve been on the same research path. I too have run through variations of lined/not lined caps, different woods et al. My chosen method now is to glue the cap liner acrylic in with a good helping of 30 minute epoxy. I guess the glue is effectively sealing the wood off. To avoid epoxy squirting out of the open end I drill a very small hole in the blind end, easily filled later on when the cap is finished. I sacrificed a few lined pens when I started down this path to refine the method, and to date none of the pens have caused any problems. Yeh, I know, dangerous to say stuff like that!

Thanks.
Chriscb

No worries.

My reply may have been a bit misleading but I was really referring to the use of wooden sections, not the inclusion of a cap lining. Just having that small piece of wood inside the cap can accelerate drying out of the nib significantly, even when the cap is lined. I found the ink would flow for up to a month with a non-wood section, but only a matter of hours (maybe overnight) with a wood section.

Anyway as I say it’s not an exact science and if it’s working for you then kudos, and keep up the good work!

Cheers
Ash

 

[Chriscb]

Whoops - not misleading at all - misread at this end. I use steel liners threaded for Bock nibs - (Beaufortink.co.uk) exclusively for wood sections. The only drying problem I came across in my testing was when the cap wasn't lined. I always get twitchy when inking the pen prior to the finishing process - clean hands, lots of paper towels and not too much ink.
Chriscb

 

[Hallelujahal]

Beautiful pens!

 

[Gary's Pens & Turnings]

Lovely timber and nice work!

I’m not sure if you’ve tried inking and using the pens yet but I would suggest you do, especially if you’re intending to sell them.

The main reason is that wooden sections will often cause the nib to dry out rapidly, even if the cap is lined. Once the pen is closed the wood acts like a sponge and draws moisture out of the air within the cap and thus the nib dries much quicker than with an acrylic/metal section.

When I first started making custom wooden pens I read about this phenomenon and I couldn’t believe it was true. I wanted to test for myself so I made a couple of pens with sections made from wood (both stabilised and standard), both with acrylic linings and, sure enough, the nibs dried out within a few hours of putting the caps on. I swapped the sections out for acrylic equivalents and the issue was fixed immediately.

I will say it seems to happen somewhat on a case by case basis and the species of wood may play a role. So there’s every chance your pens will be fine, but it’s definitely worth testing each time.

Cheers
Ash

Ah ha, You've just answered a concern I had recently with an Empress fountain pen, that I recently turned in wood. I had used the pen myself for a little while to see how it performed. Initiallly, very impressed; however, having left it alone for a few days. This phenomena happened and I was wondering why it had dried out. Now I know; and I'm fully expecting the pen to be returned by the customer soon. Now I also know how to fix it, thank you ValleyBoy.

 

[ValleyBoy]

Ah ha, You've just answered a concern I had recently with an Empress fountain pen, that I recently turned in wood. I had used the pen myself for a little while to see how it performed. Initiallly, very impressed; however, having left it alone for a few days. This phenomena happened and I was wondering why it had dried out. Now I know; and I'm fully expecting the pen to be returned by the customer soon. Now I also know how to fix it, thank you ValleyBoy.

My pleasure Gary. It’s one of those things that, unless you know about it, is actually very hard to diagnose as it seems such an unlikely cause of the problem. [Cue many hours trying to “fix” a perfectly good cap…].

 

[Phil Dart]

Ah ha, You've just answered a concern I had recently with an Empress fountain pen, that I recently turned in wood. I had used the pen myself for a little while to see how it performed. Initiallly, very impressed; however, having left it alone for a few days. This phenomena happened and I was wondering why it had dried out. Now I know; and I'm fully expecting the pen to be returned by the customer soon. Now I also know how to fix it, thank you ValleyBoy.

There may be crossed wires here Gary. Ash is talking about the drying effect of a wooden section. Your Empress has a metal section that is inside what is effectively a metal cap, albeit covered in wood, and so any premature drying of the nib is unlikely to be due to the fact that your pen tubes are inside wooden blanks. There is more than likely a different reason.

Great looking pens by the way Chris (sorry to hikjack your thread)

 

[Bill Mooney]

A beautiful results Chris. Very well done.

 

[Gary's Pens & Turnings]

There may be crossed wires here Gary. Ash is talking about the drying effect of a wooden section. Your Empress has a metal section that is inside what is effectively a metal cap, albeit covered in wood, and so any premature drying of the nib is unlikely to be due to the fact that your pen tubes are inside wooden blanks. There is more than likely a different reason.

Great looking pens by the way Chris (sorry to hikjack your thread)

Yep, after I sent this, I thought about the brass tube, so basically I'm talking bo*****s