Another colleague is leaving the section tomorrow and, like the pen I made for the chief, I thought that I would make Pen and Pencil set. Doug is an Air Force Warrant Officer and so I wanted a blue set. Lee Valley had these Black and Blue Acrylic (Acetate) blanks. I thought they were a little dark, but they were the only blue that they had and so I decided that they will do the trick.
For anyone interested, the blanks are rectangular blocks of wood or acrylic (or both wood and acrylic), like this one.
The first one I made was the Pen. I wasn’t 100% happy with it. My mandrel was wobbly and I couldn’t get the tool marks out. I didn’t discover this until I was well into the finishing. I could have gone back… should have gone back, but I will chalk this one up to an education.
Taking what I learned from the pen, I turned the pencil from the set. While not perfect, the pencil turned out much better than the pen. It is also interesting that there is far more blue in this one, considering it came from the same blank. I guess it was where the blank got drilled, as each blank was fabricated from two different parts of the blank.
And here is the set together.
I found a nice simulated leather presentation case at Lee Valley as well.
I hope Doug will enjoy this set.
To Everything, Turn...Turn...Turn 