Thanks, all! I appreciate the enthusiasm, especially since it was something new for me. Since there is some interest, I will try to throw out what I learned with this project....I'm sorry for the rambling that is about to happen :lol:
I would love to take credit for the antler/rifle ammo casing combo, but it's someone else's clever idea. Since the consistency and curve of the antler varies, I probably spent the most time trying to decide on what parts of the rack would make the nicest pen. Obviously, the thicker antler has the thicker marrow, so I don't think that will work well on a slimline. I used the lower part of the antler (closest to the skull) for the cigar pen. I offset the drilled hole by a little in order to leave some of the natural 'bark' look to the side of the pen. I tried to be careful, though, to minimize the amount of marrow that would be exposed at the top where the pen tapers.
For the cartridge pen, the following are the steps I took. I'm not sure if it's the best way, but I'm happy with the results. First, I cut the pieces of antler at the bandsaw as I felt I had the most control and would minimize waste and possible chipping there. The bandsaw went through the antler very easily. Then, I put the antler pieces in a wood clamp and spent a lot of extra time making sure that the piece was positioned correctly. This is important since the piece has extreme changes in thickness/shape/curve even in these little pieces. Once I was certain that the antler would not blow out one of the sides, I drilled using the standard slimline 7mm bit. I then glued in my brass tube for the pen.
I used a 30 06 shell casing as I believe that matches best to the slimline kit. I think there are a lot of variations(different shell casing types) you can use, but this combo seems to be the most standard. I drilled a 7MM hole in the butt of the casing, doing my best to get it EXACTLY centered...that's very important as there's no making up for off center holes since you are not turning the casing. I then put superglue on either end of the brass tube and put it into the casing (I had to use a long 7 mm tube for this.)
I loaded the casing on the pen mandrel 1st with the 'bullet end' facing the headstock. This type of slimline will not be the 'standard' as the middle will not be turned down as thin and I was not using a centerband. So, the butt of the casing becomes my bushing to give me the sizing for antler at the middle of the pen. I then put a slimline bushing on the other side of the antler to size the top of the pen.
With freshly sharpened tools (as I understand is a requirement
) I turned the antler. I was careful to have the windows of the shop open and the dust collection on. The smell was not overly bad, but I didn't really want to breathe in the dust and wanted to minimize any potential smell. The tools seemed to dull fairly quickly and the antler does not exactly cut into 'ribbons' like a nice piece of maple will. I was, however, easily able to get a really nice finish on it from just a skew chisel.
After using the skew, I went ahead and applied a coat of thin CA because I had read the sanding dust will fill the pores ,showing up as black dots all over the white antler. After filling the pores with CA, I went through a quick sanding regiment and then applied a normal CA finish.
For the rifle casing, I have read that many turners use a clear powder coating to protect the brass and keep it shiny. I have not attempted powder coating....yet :roll: ... so I actually used micromesh on the brass to shine it up and then tried a CA finish. It looked HORRIBLE :-( so I sanded it off and went through the mm again. I just used a wax finish to try to protect it and pulled it off of the lathe.
I used the copper slimline kit as the copper nib looks like a real bullet. IMHO, that adds a big cool factor
I put the pen together as normal, ommitting the centerband. With the long casing, I had to press the pen internals further into the lower part of the pen than I do with a typical slimline.
In retrospect, there are two things that I need to learn. The most important is finding a way to support the cartridge when drilling. I used a clamp and the cartridge started spinning. To keep it from spinning and actually get a hole in it, I had to tighted the vice to the point that it crimped the casing. The other learning opportunity is to improve upon the finish for the casing. It did not take long at all for the oil from my hand to wear through the wax and begin to tarnish the casing. Overall, however, I was suprised at how easy it was and how nice the pen turned out.
***A special thanks to Woodguy for the head start with the 'sample' casing!!!!
Cheers and good luck!
Chris
