This is a segmented executive click pen that I made from walnut and maple. I wanted to try for a pattern in 3 axes, like a “Y”, and this is what I came up with. The photo story explains how it was made.
This is a case where the laser cutter made short work of the precise dimensions and angles needed to create these blanks. I started with 1/8 inch (3mm) thin stock boards and cut rectangles with the Y shape in the middle. I then swapped the walnut and maple middle sections and glued the rectangles back together.
The next step was to glue the individual rectangles into a blank as thick as it is wide. This glue-up demonstrates the woodworker’s adage that you can never have too many clamps.
This is a side view of the two blanks after glue-up. Although it looks like one is predominantly walnut and the other predominantly maple, they are actually identical. It’s just that there are 8 layers and the top and bottom layers are inverse of each other.
And here is the end view. One of the blanks has been drilled and the pen tube glued in. It has also received a generous flood coat of thin CA glue along the seams to reinforce the joints.
In this step the blank has been trimmed to the size needed for this style of pen and mounted on the lathe using a mandrel. The two stainless steel bushings on either end are the exact size of the pen parts that will be attached. The idea is to turn the blank down to the bushings. The middle can be straight across or have some contour to it. I generally turn down to a slight convex shape for the barrel.
Here’s another view of the finished pen. This was my prototype practice pen. I ended up making another 3 sets of blanks in the same pattern, but I did a better job keeping the seams tight and keeping the seams in register to each other across the layers.
Of the 6 pens, 3 were gifted to friends and family, and 3 were sold. One went to San Francisco, another to Norfolk, VA, and another went to Chicago. I love the idea of these pens being used daily in far away places, their owners occasionally admiring the patterns in the wood.
