Some New Pens

[Ryan ParkerNJ]

Alaskan Yellow Cedar
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll24/LbIfisherman429/8e9e3daf.jpg

Birdseyse Maple
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll24/LbIfisherman429/DSCF3128.jpg

Acrylic
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll24/LbIfisherman429/DSCF3124.jpg

how did i do
CA finish coat on the wood pens
the arcylic is just sanded with MM

[David E Keller]

Looks like you did well. Thanks for posting. Careful, pen turning has been shown to be habit forming!

[Roland Martin]

Very nice job. How does the Alaskan yellow cedar turn? I've always assumed it was very soft and hard to turn, but have never used it, curious. It appears to be an attractive wood.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Very nice pens. You did well.

[Donny Lawson]

Nice job. Once you start you cannot stop.It's addictive.
Donny

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ryan - Welcome to the Creek!

Nice work on all your pens! I really like the acrylic just because the color is so intense! Looking forward to seeing more of your work real soon!

[Ryan ParkerNJ]

The Alaskan yellow cedar was pretty easy to turn, I know slot of people who turn only AYC not for pen but for saltwater fishing lures.

It is addicting. I just placed an order for more materials.
I was looking at getting the required tools to drill on the lathe but I need to hold off on them for now.

I try to make a few a week. I will post some more pictures when I turn some more

[Ryan ParkerNJ]

I am thinking of trying corian and antler any other prodcuts or woods I should try?

[David E Keller]

Antler and corian can both be fun... the antler has a smell that many people find unpleasant while turning.

If you're looking for wood with 'wow factor', I'll give you a few suggestions. Amboyna burl, afzelia burl, any of the aussie burls(red or brown mallee, corrugata, jarrah), desert ironwood, olive, and rosewood burl come to mind. There are multiple online sources for these blanks.

Some of those more figured woods look better on a larger pen in my opinion. The sierra and cigar kits are easy to turn and provide the additional 'canvas' for displaying those woods. The IAP website is something that you should check out if you want to see some creative pens.

[Ryan ParkerNJ]

I have some Trimline and Designer kits on the way that i ordered.
if i find that i like the antler when i get a piece i am thinking that i will buy some then i saw the bullet kits it looks like the antler would go great with them but i dont know what is a good kit to get for that

i am also look for black slimlines or another kit with black hardware

where do you get the sierra and the cigar kits?

[Billy Tallant]

Nice looking pens... I've sold several of the bullet pens, they go together very well with the antlers. Some of the websites sell reproduction bullet kits.

This site sells the actual bullet & casing kit, not reproduction.
http://www.woodnwhimsies.com/index.html

I've had good service with this site.

[Roger Bullock]

Antler can be a little tricky to drill because most time there is no straight sections. I would recommend a drill bench vise if you don't have one yet.

I have turned several antler pens and they always get that WOW, it that really antler response. If you can successfully cut and drill (without blow out) the tips of smaller antlers from a younger deer, you can get a pure white almost ivory looking blank. The ladies seem to like the look better from this section of the horn.

If you are cutting from an older antler and closer to the base you can get more of the center (more porous) of the antler. What I do is apply a medium CA and sand completely down, this fills all the pores. Then I apply another CA, followed by EEE and shellawax cream paste. The guy seem to like the more rustic color bettter.

BTW the pens look good. Always keep one or two of you first pens that way you can compare them to the pens you will be turning 6 months from now.