# Snakewood El Grande



## ripjack13

So I finally got a snakewood blank to cooperate with me. It does have some checks, but It's been filled and sealed. And the other blanks I have are the same way. I doused it in ca quite often as I was turning it. Light cuts. And I resharpened my cutter after every 3-4 passes.
Finished with blo and ca. Then waxed. I really really like this kit. It's not heavy at all. And the nib end is very comfortable to hold. I bought 2 kits at woodcraft, I'll be spinning the other one up soon....

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 14 | Funny 1 | Way Cool 7


----------



## Sprung

Nice, Marc! Glad to see you finally got one to cooperate! I've got a couple El Grandes here that I plan to spin up as soon as I get a drill bit for the upper tube.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Don Ratcliff

Wait for it... wwaaiittt ffooorrrrr iittt..... did it crack yet?

How about now?


Now?

Surely by now...




Check it now...

Reactions: Funny 8


----------



## ripjack13

Nope...still good.....


----------



## Don Ratcliff

You did it!

Reactions: Funny 4


----------



## Tony

That is a great looking pen Marc! Your perseverance paid off in spades man! Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## manbuckwal

Nice job, SW makes for a very classy looking pen .

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


----------



## DKMD

Cool! I know it was a PITA, but it looks really good.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## rdabpenman

Nicely done.

Les


----------



## CWS

Very Nice!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Ray D

Very nice. Congrats

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Kevin

Congrats Marc. Never turned one but seen enough hair-pulling by others to know that's an accomplishment. Looks beautiful.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## ripjack13

Kevin said:


> Congrats Marc. Never turned one but seen enough hair-pulling by others to know that's an accomplishment. Looks beautiful.



It was a PITA for sure....


----------



## Palaswood

Gorgeous pen dude. How long did it take you to drill it?


----------



## ripjack13

Each piece took about an hour or so, maybe longer.. Instead of cooling down the bit and wood with compressed air, I just walked away and glued up some pen blanks....and did other stuff...


----------



## ripjack13

Also...I was using my carbide cutter on the lathe. And I cut off the corners on my bandsaw to make the blank octagonal...


----------



## ripjack13

@Eric Rorabaugh 
Here's one I made a few years ago.... @Don Ratcliff has it now. Any cracks now?

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1


----------



## Don Ratcliff

ripjack13 said:


> @Eric Rorabaugh
> Here's one I made a few years ago.... @Don Ratcliff has it now. Any cracks now?


No but I hermetically sealed it in a uv resistant box wrapped in bubble wrap and encased the whole thing in like a billion psi concrete.

Reactions: Funny 5


----------



## ripjack13

Don Ratcliff said:


> No but I hermetically sealed it in a uv resistant box wrapped in bubble wrap and encased the whole thing in like a billion psi concrete.



Hahahahahahaaa


----------



## Nature Man

Impressive! I've never tried to use Snakewood -- sounds like a difficult wood to work with. Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Don Ratcliff

I took it out of the time capsule and upon further inspection it had cracked on the back side.

Reactions: Sincere 2


----------



## Eric Rorabaugh

Damn that sucks! Well 3 years and a crack, I guess I know what to look forward to. Thanks for the nutkick
Don!

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 2


----------



## ripjack13

Fu*************************!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Eric Rorabaugh




----------



## ripjack13

There are only two types of snakewood pens...those that have cracked and those that are gonna crack.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Funny 1


----------



## Eric Rorabaugh




----------



## ripjack13

@T. Ben 

Here it is....

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## T. Ben

I think I’ll scrap the snake wood,sure looks cool.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## ripjack13

T. Ben said:


> I think I’ll scrap the snake wood,sure looks cool.



Send it to me. I'll put it in my snakewood box for safe keeping....


----------



## T. Ben

If I can get it off the tube it’s yours


----------



## rocky1

Need to change the title to - Snakewwood - El dolor en el culo!

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## TimR

Handsome pen Marc! Great job keeping it together.


----------



## T. Ben

Well....against all advise and information,i put the snakewood pen together anyway.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 1


----------



## ripjack13

Oh man, that is sexay.

And countdown begins....


----------



## ripjack13

That's a pen for the office. I would not advise it leaving the house. 
I had guy leave his in the truck overnight. Had a crack the length of the wood....
I think my heart sank when he told me. That was one of my favorites too. I had it posted as a kit I could make but the guy wanted that pen. I gave em an outrageous price and he didn't even blink. Sold.
Live and learn. I should have doubled the price. Lol


----------



## T. Ben

I think the wife might take it to work,I won’t sell it knowing what might happen.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## rocky1

You might want to check on this book, and try to find a few appropriate words to say over it... or somethin!

Reactions: Funny 2


----------



## ripjack13

Ha!


----------



## duncsuss

rocky1 said:


> You might want to check on this book, and try to find a few appropriate words to say over it... or somethin!



Might do better with this one

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 2


----------



## rocky1

Oh yes... Not to ignore the pen, while we're here CRACKING jokes! 

Very nicely done Troy! Beautiful pen!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Funny 1


----------



## T. Ben

Found this on eBay,thought @ripjack13 might want it, no waiting for it to crack.


----------



## rocky1

That's what they make CA and coffee grounds for.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


----------



## T. Ben

I really like the look of it but I’m not going to mess with it anymore.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## NeilYeag

OK off the topic of pens/snakewood. But keeping with the snakewood theme. The stuff is used for pool cues and the likes? I guess it holds up to that? Any thoughts. I am going to try to make a knife handle out of this material kind of in the vain of this pool cue. Thoughts Oh wise Snake Men.

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## ripjack13

T. Ben said:


> I really like the look of it but I’m not going to mess with it anymore.



I'm going to pass on that one....lol


----------



## ripjack13

NeilYeag said:


> OK off the topic of pens/snakewood. But keeping with the snakewood theme. The stuff is used for pool cues and the likes? I guess it holds up to that? Any thoughts. I am going to try to make a knife handle out of this material kind of in the vain of this pool cue. Thoughts Oh wise Snake Men.



Oh thats awesome looking! I wonder how long it will take to crack.

I like the idea of the knife handle looking like that. I think it should hold up good. It wouldn't be an edc knife though.


----------



## NeilYeag

No, not for some bushcrafter, But for a sophisticated gent. HA. I am going to take a shot at it if (when) I can figure it out.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## ripjack13

NeilYeag said:


> No, not for some bushcrafter, But for a sophisticated gent. HA. I am going to take a shot at it if (when) I can figure it out.


Well then, don't forget to take lots of pix of that process. I for one would love to see a master knife maker make that happen....


----------



## NeilYeag

The challenge is I think, how to do those inlays without a CNC?


----------



## rocky1

ripjack13 said:


> Oh thats awesome looking! I wonder how long it will take to crack.




Oh, 3 years 19 days and counting, since Pappy took the picture.

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 2


----------



## dfowler13

Not to hijack, but Snakewood is no good for penmaking?


----------



## Eric Rorabaugh

Oh yeah it's good! But it's going to crack. It's not if but when!

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## dfowler13

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> Oh yeah it's good! But it's going to crack. It's not if but when!


Lol Yeah, that's what I mean... they say Ebony cracks, too...


----------



## ripjack13

dfowler13 said:


> Not to hijack, but Snakewood is no good for penmaking?



Have you seen my first post?
It's a fantastically awesome beautiful wood. But like with all beautiful things, there's a drawback.
It cracks to heck....


----------



## dfowler13

ripjack13 said:


> Have you seen my first post?
> It's a fantastically awesome beautiful wood. But like with all beautiful things, there's a drawback.
> It cracks to heck....


Lol Yes, I saw your post. T'was a beautiful pen... that's what made me ask if it was not so good for pen making. ;) Just was curious because I have a snakewood pen blank, but now I might use it for something else. Lol

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Pharmacyguy-Jim

dfowler13 said:


> Lol Yes, I saw your post. T'was a beautiful pen... that's what made me ask if it was not so good for pen making. ;) Just was curious because I have a snakewood pen blank, but now I might use it for something else. Lol


Go ahead make the pen. When it cracks THEN it can be an edc pen.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


----------



## ripjack13

Pharmacyguy-Jim said:


> Go ahead make the pen. When it cracks THEN it can be an edc pen.


Exactly....


----------



## dfowler13

Pharmacyguy-Jim said:


> Go ahead make the pen. When it cracks THEN it can be an edc pen.


Lol Okay.


----------



## T. Ben

Is this all pressed together?

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## ripjack13

T. Ben said:


> View attachment 168501
> Is this all pressed together?



Pressed?


----------



## T. Ben

ripjack13 said:


> Pressed?


Like you would press slimline parts together.


----------



## T. Ben

Am I missing something? Are the parts not pressed into a tube?


----------



## ripjack13

T. Ben said:


> Am I missing something? Are the parts not pressed into a tube?View attachment 168506



Aha, Yes, pressed, however, I sanded the parts to just slide in, then used red locktite to keep em together.


----------



## T. Ben

ripjack13 said:


> Aha, Yes, pressed, however, I sanded the parts to just slide in, then used red locktite to keep em together.


Thanks,that was exactly why I was asking. That was what I was thinking of trying,only with super glue.


----------



## duncsuss

T. Ben said:


> Thanks,that was exactly why I was asking. That was what I was thinking of trying,only with super glue.


I recommend 5 minute epoxy.

DAMHIKT, but you really do not want the glue to set before you've slid the parts in the entire way and had a chance to see that everything is perfect.

Also, put just a spot of glue inside the tube, not on the part that is going to slide into the tube.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## ripjack13

duncsuss said:


> I recommend 5 minute epoxy.
> 
> DAMHIKT, but you really do not want the glue to set before you've slid the parts in the entire way and had a chance to see that everything is perfect.
> 
> Also, put just a spot of glue inside the tube, not on the part that is going to slide into the tube.



I only use epoxy to glue in the tubes to the blank. I haven't had any problems with the red Loctite.


----------



## ripjack13

T. Ben said:


> Thanks,that was exactly why I was asking. That was what I was thinking of trying,only with super glue.


Whenever I had used super glue in the past to do that, I always ended up with a white residue surrounding the parts that were glued. The residue is a byproduct of the curing process of the CA. Once the monomer is in vapor form, it will react with moisture in the air, cure, and settle on the surface around the bond area.
Try Duncan's method instead. My methods are sometimes off the wall, but they work for me.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## T. Ben

ripjack13 said:


> Whenever I had used super glue in the past to do that, I always ended up with a white residue surrounding the parts that were glued. The residue is a byproduct of the curing process of the CA. Once the monomer is in vapor form, it will react with moisture in the air, cure, and settle on the surface around the bond area.
> Try Duncan's method instead. My methods are sometimes off the wall, but they work for me.


I’m not going to try it now,i was just thinking that maybe it was the parts pushing outward on the wood that was contributing to the cracking.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## ripjack13

T. Ben said:


> I’m not going to try it now,i was just thinking that maybe it was the parts pushing outward on the wood that was contributing to the cracking.



nope. It's just the nature of the beast. although on this particular pen, there was a small check/crack that I had filled up with ca before I even assembled it.


----------



## T. Ben

It’s too bad the wood behaves that way,it sure is some good looking stuff.

Reactions: Agree 2


----------



## Pharmacyguy-Jim

Humble Apologies. Don’t know where the line is if you don’t cross it every once in a while.

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## T. Ben

Crack is getting bigger,getting closer to being yours @ripjack13

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 2


----------



## ripjack13

Uh oh....


----------

