Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
|
Post by Doug B on Jan 19, 2010 23:02:26 GMT -6
I have way more than I will ever use, and while it is not an eye popper for making pens with, it has some historical meaning. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ChestnutThere used to be a lot of American Chestnut in the USA, but disease has virtually wiped it out now. So, these old barns built with 100 year old American Chestnut are now being reclaimed and the wood used for all sorts of things like furniture and wood flooring, and I got a little bit from my brother who lives in PA. His neighbor has a sawmill and is doing some of the barn reclamation stuff and he got a few cutoffs to send me. So, if anyone is interested, I'd be happy to send a couple of the pen blanks your way. If you want the challenge of including a nail hole or two in the pen, be sure to tell me you want blanks with nail holes - I have several of those - you can see some of them if you look real closely. Here is a couple of pics showing what they look like.   |
|
|
|
Post by maxwellsmart007 on Jan 19, 2010 23:10:44 GMT -6
Hey Doug - I'd love to take one or two blanks if you don't mind! I think the nail-holes give it character - pretty cool stuff!
|
|
Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
|
Post by Doug B on Jan 19, 2010 23:23:26 GMT -6
I'll send you a couple blanks with nail holes Andrew.
Knowing how slow the mail is between here and there...you should get them in a month or two ;D
|
|
Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
|
Post by Doug B on Jan 19, 2010 23:28:29 GMT -6
Crapola...I did not notice that the second pic did not show up and now it is too late to modify the original post, so here is the other picture:  |
|
|
|
Post by maxwellsmart007 on Jan 20, 2010 9:20:08 GMT -6
A month or two? You optimist!  |
|
rhull
WoW Member
Posts: 422
|
Post by rhull on Jan 20, 2010 10:26:11 GMT -6
A month or two? You optimist! One of these days they need to upgrade you folks to pony express.  |
|
|
|
Post by imahic on Jan 20, 2010 11:29:56 GMT -6
I'm not a turner but occasionally I run across some shorts that might make good pen blanks. What dimensions do the pen blanks come in. Probably a dumb question but I really don't know. If I come across something I think someone can use I can get it to someone maybe.
Mike
|
|
Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
|
Post by Doug B on Jan 20, 2010 13:01:00 GMT -6
Hey Mike. The normal size for pen blanks is 3/4" square by 5" long. But, at least in my case, I prefer to cut my own pen blanks whenever possible because different pens need different sizes - sometimes all you need is a 2" (or slightly longer) piece of wood that is at least 5/8" square. I would recommend getting a Priority Mail small flat rate box and just cutting the wood so it will fit it the box. That's probably the cheapest way to send heavy wood. For a 8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8" size package it costs $4.95 no matter where you send it in the US. Sorry Andrew...it's more for Canadians |
|
|
|
Post by sachbvn on Jan 20, 2010 13:40:47 GMT -6
A month or two? You optimist! One of these days they need to upgrade you folks to pony express. .....and indoor plumbing! Zac |
|
|
|
Post by maxwellsmart007 on Jan 20, 2010 17:19:36 GMT -6
One of these days they need to upgrade you folks to pony express. .....and indoor plumbing! Zac We tried pony express - the danged animals kept freezing on us. Now we use polar bears, but you have to let them do it on their own time! Indoor plumbing - is that like the hole in an ice shack? Dang, and we've been fishing in those! |
|
|
|
Post by sdb777 on Jan 20, 2010 19:17:10 GMT -6
Was wondering if you could explain the difficulties in turning a blank for a pen with nail holes?
Is there a special process that needs to be used?
Thanks for the link to the American Chestnut. I never even knew. Guess that something that I needed to learn today?
Scott (chestnut, boy that could be a punchline) B
|
|
Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
|
Post by Doug B on Jan 20, 2010 19:48:49 GMT -6
Nothing special Scott, you just have to try to drill to where the hole is still going to be there when you get done turning the pen, and you just fill the hole with dyed epoxy or CA. I turned close to final dimension, then filled the holes. For the dye, I used indigo blue transtint dye with epoxy on one I did and with CA on the other. The CA has a weird reaction with the dye and I had to work fast! But I was able to continue turning much quicker because it cured much faster. You need to pack the filling into the hole so it will not have any bubbles or voids in it too. Other than that, it is a piece of cake. Unfortunately, all the blanks with nail holes are spoken for now, but I still have lots of the other blanks left. |
|
|
|
Post by sdb777 on Jan 20, 2010 20:14:04 GMT -6
Not a problem. Got plenty of wood to turn around here. Going to use the wood I got from Gecko on my Cartridge Pens(when they show up-ordered them Friday, still not showing shipped yet).
Didn't need any, just wanted to know if there was something special to turning wood with nail holes....and now I know!
Scott (need a few nails and a hammer?) B
|
|
Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
|
Post by Doug B on Jan 20, 2010 22:45:41 GMT -6
LOL Scott. OK. Now you know why I order from Woodturningz when possible. They ship right away and I get my order in 2 days. Last week I had to order from PSI and it will be more than a whole week before the order makes it's way to me.  Woodturningz costs less too. |
|
|
|
Post by sdb777 on Jan 21, 2010 18:24:10 GMT -6
I've learned my lesson.
Package shipped today, order when? Yeah!
Package is scheduled to arrive on the 26th.....what the ehhhhh!
Scott (someone else will get my money) B
|
|
