Another couple of Pine Cone Stoppers

[Doug B]

Y'all tell me when you get tired of looking at these things...I'm trying to make sure I have plenty of them for the craft show. Man it is coming up quick!

Knob style Pine Cone stopper


Christmas tree style Pine Cone stopper


edit: what happened to the second picture? I cant seem to get imageshack to work now. hmmm...
edit2: OK there it is. Had to make it a little smaller. Not sure why.

[sachbvn]

Just curious Doug, if I may ask - how much do you charge for these? They seem pretty labor intensive, prepping the pine cone and all the steps as you fill it with CA.

Nah - I don't get tired of looking at these.... they are awesome!!!


Zac

[Joe Lyddon]

Beautiful!!

[maverick31]

I don't think any of us get tired of looking at these, keep posting em.

[Doug B]

Thanks Guys!

Zac, they are a lot of work, so I ask $50.00 for them...and get it. Recently, half my sales have been Pine Cone turnings. They are so much different than anything else that they probably hurt my other sales to some extent.

After every Craft Show I always say the same thing...I need to have more Pine Cone stoppers and pens. Especially pens. But pens are a lot harder to make using Pine Cones so I never have enough of them.

[boodrow]

Doug I will never get tired of lookin at the pine cone turnings. They are definatly an eye catcher! Keep up the good work and keep postin um
Boodrow

[Ruffnek]

Yeah, keep those pics coming...pens, too. I don't always comment but I do like looking.

[sawduster]

Those pine cone things are awesome!!!

BTW, ya'll gettin any of that white stuff falling from the sky that they're gettin in El Paso?

[Doug B]

Thanks Boodrow, Cody and Jerry. And yes, we got just a little snow here Jerry. Not as much as they predicted and it melted real quick, but the Organ Mountains sure are purty now Best thing is that I did not have to do any shoveling.

[sdb777]

Simply amazing!!!

Can you tell us what made you think of sticking a pine cone in a lathe? I'd like to hear the story......





Scott (drooling on the keyboard) B

[Doug B]

Dec 2, 2009 20:20:44 GMT -6 sdb777 said:

Can you tell us what made you think of sticking a pine cone in a lathe? I'd like to hear the story......

LOL. Yeah sure Scott.

I was in a certain "phase" of my turning experience. First I went through the wood pile phase where I was pulling firewood from the woodpile just to have some free wood to practice on. Surprisingly, I found that some of that wood was actually pretty wood worth making something out of. So, I made pens galore out of Elm, Pecan, Oak, Cedar, Juniper, and even Pine.

As I got better, I started using hardwood lumber cutoffs from my flatwork projects. Then I started getting a small piece of expensive exotic wood at the hardwood place everytime I went there. Zebrawood, Bloodwood, Maple, Walnut, Ebony, etc.

Then I got the bright idea that I would try to make a pen out of every conceivable natural material I could find. You only need a small piece of material to make a pen, so I tried all the local flora I could get my hands on including some unlikely things like Yucca, Creosote, and Sagebrush. Every time a neighbor pruned a tree or shrub I would collect a sample big enough for a pen. A lot of my friends and family and co-workers were glad to help out too and brought me all kinds of stuff. It was actually a lot of fun to do and kept the pen making interesting. I was only making slimlines mostly, so the cost was pretty cheap for the entertainment value I was getting. And people liked the pens too, so it was a really fun time for me.

Then one day, when I was at the tail end of this stage and really having to look hard to find something new...I literally stumbled on a Pine Cone. I kicked it, and then picked it up and looked at it and it was different than most cones are - it was closed up tight and felt pretty solid. Maybe I could use it to make a pen. What the heck! I made a cigar pen with a couple of those closed up cones. I had no idea how special they were going to be,,,just another experimental material to try. I was used to using CA glue to stabilize some problematic woods so it was a natural for me to use it to stabilize the pine cones.

When I started making bottle stoppers, they were a natural thing to use in conjunction with pine cones...and the rest is history

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

[maverick31]

great story doug, I think we are all greatfull you stumbled across turning pine cones into pens/bottle stoppers. They are original , different and freaking awesome.

[Doug B]

Thanks Mav. I am glad too.

[sdb777]

That is a wonderful fate of the cone.....



Scott (story time was great) B