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Starlight Pen

Project by Douglas Bordner posted 849 days ago 709 views 0 times favorited 18 comments Add to Favorites Watch

Gaboon ebony Americana style pen. The blanks were drilled through at random angles and aluminium nails were then epoxied in place. Then the blanks were drilled to except the tubes and the regular process was followed in pen construction. Background box top was one of my first, a loose lid box of ebony and holly. Less than sterling in construction or finish, it really is just here to showcase the pen (it was a gift for my wife, in her favorite colors – black and white). One of those deals where you’d love to run it back into the shop for an overhaul, but she will have nothing of it!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.


18 comments so far

View Karson's profile

Karson

25274 posts in 1279 days


posted 849 days ago

Very interesting Douglas. I’d never would have thought of using Alum nails.

Thinking outside the box.

reat Job.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View Douglas Bordner's profile

Douglas Bordner

3415 posts in 942 days


posted 849 days ago

They were rattling around in the bottom of the standing chest of tools that was my Dad’s (Really an Kansas National Guard Surplus filing cabinet – Pop was in the guard for 41 years and we lived across the street from the arsenal). So once again one of those happy accidents of serendipity – not so much aforethought.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

View jockmike2's profile

jockmike2

7222 posts in 1125 days


posted 849 days ago

Beautiful pen Doug, I’d like to try that. Sounds interesting. Aluminum nail huh? jockmike

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

View MsDebbieP's profile

MsDebbieP

14096 posts in 1039 days


posted 849 days ago

oh I love the box!!!
(I think I’m starting to sound like Don!!)

Gorgeous pen and box. I’m with your wife: don’t you dare touch it!!

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

View David's profile

David

1982 posts in 1017 days


posted 849 days ago

Douglas -

Beautiful pen. I like the use of aluminm nails. The box is very nice too!

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

View Dorje's profile

Dorje

1768 posts in 875 days


posted 849 days ago

Another nice combo – in harmony together…

What are they singing Douglas?

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

View mot's profile

mot

4901 posts in 915 days


posted 849 days ago

Great Doug! Just great!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

View oscorner's profile

oscorner

4572 posts in 1189 days


posted 849 days ago

Great pen. O.K., I’ve got to ask the question…did you epoxy the aluminum nails in it before or after you turned it? Great use of what you had on hand to use as a design element.

-- Jesus is Lord!

View DAN 's profile (online now)

DAN

6399 posts in 861 days


posted 849 days ago

great pen … even more unique idea to combine ebony and alumina

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

View Don's profile

Don

2590 posts in 1055 days


posted 849 days ago

Very nice pen – I would like to see more on the box, because I just love small wooden boxes.

Douglas – please excuse my ignorance. Would aluminum pop rivets work in lieu of aluminum nails? [I’ve never heard of aluminum nails.]

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

View Douglas Bordner's profile

Douglas Bordner

3415 posts in 942 days


posted 849 days ago

I suppose so. How hard is it to get the rivets heads off, and are the shanks long enough to transverse the blanks?

Aussie aluminum nails here:
http://www.forestrytools.com.au/Marking.htm
A$10 per 100.

Stateside here:
http://www.mcmaster.com/
Along with every other thing you could think of hardware-wise.

I’m a serious hardware store geek, and for this reason, I have at times developed an antipathy to the big box stores for driving out the little Mom-and-Pop stores with their collection of odd stuff left on the shelf since the fifties, and their own unique smells (what is it about my olfactory-emotional connection? I actually have a clue based on brain physiology, but that is another blog. Hint – it’s about the limbic system).

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

View darryl's profile

darryl

1370 posts in 1205 days


posted 849 days ago

that’s cool. I’m looking to step up my pens a little.

-- ~ www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com ~ www.woodworkingdungeon.blogspot.com ~

View cajunpen's profile

cajunpen

5970 posts in 944 days


posted 848 days ago

Excellent combination of materials – I like the “stars” look that the aluminum nails give. I’ve made quite a few pens from aluminum tubing – never thought of the nail approach. Did you have any trouble drilling out the center of the stock (for the tubes) with the nails in place? I assume you ran the nail all the way through the stock and then drilled out the center to mount the tubes.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

View woodspar's profile

woodspar

705 posts in 978 days


posted 848 days ago

Great idea using the nails. I thought those might have been left over pixels…

-- John

View Douglas Bordner's profile

Douglas Bordner

3415 posts in 942 days


posted 848 days ago

Cajunpen,

I didn’t have trouble with the longitudinal drilling. I did use epoxy to glue in the tubes, whereas in most pens I just use cyanoacrylics. I was concerned that the wood would be more likely to crack with the non-wood insertions. Tell us more about the aluminium tubing pens!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

View Bob Babcock's profile

Bob Babcock

1808 posts in 965 days


posted 848 days ago

Very cool Doug.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

View Todd A. Clippinger's profile

Todd A. Clippinger

5590 posts in 978 days


posted 847 days ago

You do nice work, I like this.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

View teenagewoodworker's profile

teenagewoodworker

2470 posts in 647 days


posted 616 days ago

thats cool. i would never have thought about putting that nails in. when i looked at it at first glance i thought that it looked like those fancy 100$ pens that you see at some stores.

great job

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