A 1-of-a-Kind Skateboard Confetti Pen

As I've mentioned before, my wood club members make wooden pens as a token of appreciation to active and retired military service personnel. We've made many, many thousands of them over the years.

So I was inspired by this ible to trying something new. A pen made by lamenting several skateboard decks into a board that I used to cut thin square slices and then stacked and arranged them in a random design to lathe into a colorful ink pen.

Hope you like the result!

BTW, the wood chips leftover were so colorful, I think I'll make something from them too but I'm not sure yet so if you have ideas, please let me know.

Colorful Skateboard Decks or you can buy pre-made blanks

Pen Kits (These guys have thousands of kits)

1/4" Wooden Dowel (8" long)

Glue

Tablesaw & Lathe (You can often get great deals on Craiglist or join a local wood club since members are very helpful.)

Friction Polish (see step 6 for DIY recipe)

A. Glue up of skateboard decks to create a plywood like board at least 2" thick, 4" wide and 10" long.

B. Cut this board into 1"x1"x 8-10" blanks.

A. Cut the skateboard blank into 1"x1"x1/8" square slices, enough to make a stack that is at least 3" tall.

B. It's good to make extra spare slices in case some break.

A. Find and mark the center of each slice.

B. Create a simple jig to help align each slice so you can drill the exact middle.

C. Drill all your slices.

TIP & Lesson Learned: This is when I realized that it would have been much easier if I drilled the center hole into the blank before cutting the slices. That would have been much faster too.

A. Now take the square slices and glue them up using the dowel rod. Use plenty of glue.

B. I used a random pattern to create a confetti like design. I also tried a rainbow pattern but I liked the confetti style better. Maybe I'll try the rainbow one too if people like this one.

C. I made two blocks to help provide clamping pressure on top of the confetti blank for a tight seal.

A. Lathe the Confetti blank to reveal a cylinder of vibrant colors. I loved the wood chips.

B. Drill a center hole through the Confetti cylinder using a drill bit specified in the pen kit (usually 7mm)

A. Lathe the Confetti cylinder into your desired shape. I make two pens and like to shape them into a torpedo-like style.

B. Sand and apply finish. I usually sand up to 600 grit and apply a homemade shellac using my homemade friction polish of at least 10 coats. (3 at a time and let dry a few hours.) Here is my recipe for friction polish: equal parts shellac, boiled linseed out, and denatured alcohol. I use zinsser sealcoat dewax. So smooth like glass.)

A. Follow the instructions of your pen kit to assemble your one-of-a-kind pen!

B. I thought it was nice to present it as a gift with the components that made it.

I showed this pen to a friend to get his opinion and his birthday is coming up and he wanted it.

I said ok the deal is if I get at least 1,000 views on this ible, it's his.

So it's all up to you!.

You can also make some "Pixel" rings too by laminating exoctic woods and resins.

Check out my other ibles (rainbow ring and a ring made out of car paint.