Spider attempt #1

[workin for wood]

This is my first attempt at the spider pen. It's not good enough, but is good teach me where to improve. The line isn't quite straight enough down the center, there's a small segment gap in one of the segments. But this is why I am practicing and used a cigar kit. When I get it better, I would like it to be an American Rollerball. This spider pen is 63 pieces. I will also be making an offset web pattern that is 66 pieces.

The pen on the left is just a piece of white oak from my intarsia scrap/burn box. It's not a burl, although it may appear to be..just a spot by a knot with some bark inclusions. I added a scrap of deer antler for a centerband and offset the slimline to make it beefier and more comfortable to the average hand.

Both pens are a laquer finish.

[woodwilldo]

Nice job Jeff the spider looks great. Maybe we should call it fretwork-pentarsia. I imagine those are some small pieces. Looks good.

Jesse

[Cutting Cathy]

Jeff, I think the spider came out fantastic!! I don't see a think wrong with it! Bet your next one will be practically perfect!!

Cathy in NE

[Mackem]

Great looking pens Jeff, do they feel comfortable to write with?

[workin for wood]

Depends on your hands Kevin. personally, the spider being a cigar is too fat for me to be comfortable with. The white oak modified slimline is perfect for me...it is fatter than a traditional slimline, but not so fat as a cigar. A rollerball is much better, because it has a long taper that can suit a wider range of hands depending on how you hold the pen. Plus, I like the idea of having a removable cap. After I sell a bunch of pens, I can reinvest the money into more kits and upgrade my tooling to turn some rollerballs.

[bearfretworks]

GREAT JOB Jeff! I like em both.

[ozarkhillbilly]

A man of many wood working talents! Good looking pens Jeff.

[PuzzledMoose]

They look very impressive to me, Jeff, whatever faults you see!

[Pagan]

They are looking very very nice....i do next to intarsia also some turning like bowls, platters and candlesticks and lately some segmented boxes but i also want to do some penturning in the future and seeing your work really inspires me to do it tomorrow if i had the knowledge and equipment....But two thumbs up for your work...

[Kevin12]

Great stuff, Jeff! I never stopped to consider how creative pens could get. I never would have noticed that the center line on the spider pen isn't perfectly straight, and I can't see a gap at all. But these things not being 100% acceptable to you is one reason you turn out such quality stuff.

I bet it's fun getting into something new.