A while ago I made a pen, not that unusual I guess. I had bought a black acrylic with gold glitter in it from
Gary Pye Woodturning Supplies and thought it would look great as a Cigar style pen with gold fittings.
All had gone well with the drilling and gluing of the blank. I was ready to turn what I thought would be a great pen. Unfortunately the fickled finger of fate hang in the shed that day and disaster struck. A moments lapse in concentration? A tool not sharp enough? A weak part in the blank? I don't know what it was, but I put a deep chip in one end. It was not the life ending drama I had thought but enough to produce a few curse words and to kick the waste bin across the shed. However I decided not to give in. I took the blank of and re-squared the end with a pen mill and returned.
I knew that the pen would be too short for the cartridge, but had my fingers crossed I could modify it, or that by some miracle the pen nib would still retract enough. I was wrong.
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| pen retracted |
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When the pen was fully assembled it did not retract all the way, not by a long shot, not even if I modified the transmission (something I have done before). However I loved this pen. It looked smart, had great balance of colour (something I haven't captured in the photo) and is extremely comfy to hold.
It may not have turned in to a sell able pen, or a display pen but it is my favourite everyday pen. I use it when studying, writing lists and just leaving it lying around on the bench. It may have been a mistake, but it has certainly been a useful one. It also meant the pen got the use it deserved, not just sitting in the box with the rest of the pens.
Have you every made a mistake that worked out well?
