100% homemade roleerball pens, with retractable tip

[Christophe Mineau]

Hi folks,
I have to think about stopping making tools, and now making things, with all the tools I have!
Here is what I did this week-end :

La Belle Note - News



Cheers,
christophe

[DIYer]

That's a really, really beautiful pen, Christophe! Wish I had the skill to make one like that! It's a good thing that we have sections in this forum where you can still post your non-tool creations.

[jere]

Great design and attention to detail! How did you cut the shell piece?

[Christophe Mineau]

Hi Jere,
The shell dots, I cut them by myself from local abalone shell (I leave close to the sea).
I have a few pictures showing that, it's a little bit dated, I have improved my method since, but the idea is there.

See this diaporama:
La Belle Note - Photos - Lutherie : Fabriquer des repères de nacre ronds

I plan to write an article with my updated method.

Christophe

[jere]

Hi Jere,
The shell dots, I cut them by myself from local abalone shell (I leave close to the sea).
I have a few pictures showing that, it's a little bit dated, I have improved my method since, but the idea is there.

See this diaporama:
La Belle Note - Photos - Lutherie : Fabriquer des repères de nacre ronds

I plan to write an article with my updated method.

Christophe

Great method thanks for sharing it, I have always marveled at work with mother of pearl and that sort of thing.

Have you tried using a motorized jig saw with cutting those shells? Any trouble breaking blades with the coping saw on those hard shells?

[Christophe Mineau]

Thanks Jere,
Yes, working with shell pearl is really tough. I don't like working with the scroll saw (motorized) on that.
What I do now, is rough cutting the circles with the band saw, thinest blade I have. I put a "zero clearance" piece of wood under the shell. The effort with the band saw is more regular, always downward, against the wood. Although, I cut far from the line .
Actually, the pearl does not really "cut", it "micro breaks", and the only accurate tool to work it is high speed sanding or filing.

For really tricky cuts, I prefer the very thin blade hand jeweller saw, and hand cutting.
See this other photorama, where I do a, instrument head inlay job. This one necessitates a little more training and patience.
You need a lot of blades also, because you break very often, but that's not too expensive.
La Belle Note - Photos - Lutherie : Bari Mando - MOP Inlays

See in particular my setup at photo 8 with my high-tech blowing system for cutting.
Of course, you always need to wear a breathing protection when working with pearl or bone, the dust is highly toxic for the lung.

See also , starting from photo 75 :
La Belle Note - Photos - Lutherie : F5 Bindings and Inlays

[jere]

Amazing work ! The documentation alone looks painstaking let alone the actual work! It looks like you have a very well put together and thought out building process. Thanks for sharing it!