#269

NOW SOLD

Sea Blue and Green Acrylic and Chrome Ballpoint Twist Pen

This pen was turned on on 13th May 2015 just after the three locks going down from Fradley Junction onto the Trent and Mersey Canal. We had a brief stop over in Fazeley to pick up some essential supplies before heading into the middle of the countryside to start replacing the stock that we sold at Alvecote. Whilst the weather was quite breezy we had one fantastically warm day before another low came in from the west to cool us down again. 

To make the most of the weather I turned some pens but left the finishing for a few days later at Branston Water Park. The turning is the messy part and finishing can be done inside on a drizzly day.

Whenever I start to make a pen from an acrylic blank I always remember the negative points. Acrylic turning is messy, I really try to clear every last scrap of it up; it can also be smelly; the sharp little chips get everywhere and it can blunt the turning chisels really quickly. By the time the pen shape is turned and I start the messier job of wet sanding through about fifteen different grades I'm usually trying to convince myself that maybe its better to just concentrate on turning wooden pens.

Then the final grades of sanding and polishing start to reveal something special and I really like acrylic again... until the next time.