Frank Fusco
Member
- Messages
- 12,793
- Location
- Mountain Home, Arkansas
These are three Jr. Gent II pens I just finished. They were made on commission from an art dealer in Little Rock. The wood came from paneling in the old family home. I'm not sure what kind of wood it is but my guesstimate is strongly favoring cherry. The panels had ribbing on the back and had to be planed down. The blanks required three pieces and were laminated with plain ole yellow Elmer's carpenters glue. I had never done the Jr. Gent II pens before and was dismayed to learn that the recommended drill bit size was incorrect. Tubes were put in with thick epoxy and should be fine though. My finish was: two coats of Myland's sanding sealer allowed to dry then sanded down through the Micro Mesh (MM) grits; four coats of Deft spray lacquer with each coat allowed to dry and sanded down through the finer MM grits. Then polished with Turtle Wax scratch remover and finally polished with Trade Secret Wax a/k/a TSW, but the real stuff from Top of the Line auto care products. In person the finish looks much better than my quicky photos. Even though the work involved in making the blanks exceeded the cost of a good blank, I am not factoring that into my pricing. She will give two as gifts to her sisters and keep one and she has a wide network of friends and customers. I believe (hope) the goodwill and bragging will generate more custom business for pens, heritage and otherwise.