Green wood for pen blanks

[Matt Newton]

Have any of you cut green wood to make pen blanks. I have a few cherry burls that I plan to turn into bowls, but I hate to toss the cutoffs. How big and what prep work do I need to do to get some pen blanks from this beautiful wood. I don't turn pens, but either I will try some ore they might make it into the mail:rolleyes: Thanks in advance.

[dennis kranz]

If I was going to make pen blanks. I wouls cut them 3/4 x 3/4 and about 6 inch long. These would normaly be considered jumbo blanks. But at that size they can also be used for other turnings. Then seal the ends and let them dry for awhile and you should have some nice pen blanks.
Dennis

[Brian Greb]

Generally pen blanks are 3/4 to 7/8 square and around 5 to 6 in long. I have taken "finds" (wind damage branches) and cut them to 1" square and some length greater than 5 in... coated with shellac or anchor seal(light coat) and allowed to air dry... I have also dry-ed the wood first then cut the blanks... either works. You can also cut the blank and drill the hole and let dry... usually doesn't crack that way. I have also found that burls need to be stabilized to make pens... I have soaked them in DNA let dry then soaked in thin CA glue. You can also place the blank in a plastic zip lock bag, with thin CA glue, remove air seal the bag and put in a pressure pot. This will drive the CA deep into the blank. just some things i have done and they have worked most of the time.

hope that helps.

[Scott Lux]

3/4 X 3/4 X 6 is good. Leaves room for error. I've actually microwaved blanks, weighing them after each cycle. When they stop losing weight, they're dry.

[Wally Dickerman]

Generally pen blanks are 3/4 to 7/8 square and around 5 to 6 in long. I have taken "finds" (wind damage branches) and cut them to 1" square and some length greater than 5 in... coated with shellac or anchor seal(light coat) and allowed to air dry... I have also dry-ed the wood first then cut the blanks... either works. You can also cut the blank and drill the hole and let dry... usually doesn't crack that way. I have also found that burls need to be stabilized to make pens... I have soaked them in DNA let dry then soaked in thin CA glue. You can also place the blank in a plastic zip lock bag, with thin CA glue, remove air seal the bag and put in a pressure pot. This will drive the CA deep into the blank. just some things i have done and they have worked most of the time.

hope that helps.

Brian, I'm curious about your statement that burl wood needs to be stabilized to make pens. Over the years I've turned literally tons of burl wood, mostly maple and madrone, and I've found that it's actually more stable than wood that isn't burl. I've turned a few pens from maple burl and have had no problems. I do know that some suppliers of pen blanks advertise stabilized burl wood, but I've never tried any. Is it because the burl that they're using is spalting and is too soft?

Wally

[Bernie Weishapl]

I had the same question Wally. I have turned pen blanks from cherry, maple, and walnut burl without stablizing them. Just curious.

I would cut them in 3/4 X 3/4 X 6, anchorseal the ends well and let them dry. Should be fine. I have about 70 walnut burl blanks done that way are drying fine.

[Brian Greb]

Here is what I know... some burls are tight and hard, some are loose and hard(closer to the cap) some are soft( either punky or just a softer wood). These all turn different... but that is not the issue. The reason I suggest stabilizing the pen blank is not to make it turn better. It is for longevity of the pen... with straight grain wood you have uniform grain exposed to the atmosphere... so the pen respires equally, or very close to the same. With burls the wood move at all different rates. So you have an active skin over a stable brass core. Over time the wood movement will do one of two things, it will either separate the blank from the tube(not rally that bad) or crack the wood. I recommend stabilizing any air dried blanks due to they move more with the environment. The kiln dried woods are dead and tend to move less. The other way to avoid the atmospheric reactions is to use a CA finish(I'm not a fan of CA finishes), This seals the exterior of the pen blocking the moisture movement, but can trap excess moisture, or cause dry rot. Just things to think about when making heirloom pens.

I do have a pen that is one of my earlier turnings that the burl has cracked(It is a commercial blank I assume I was not air dried. MC was 9.8%) Hence why I stabilize almost all of my burls now. I also have an air dried pen of the same vintage that now has a crack(the MC was still high when I turned it). This is why now I drill the tube hole and let the blank acclimate for 2weeks to a month now. This way I am sure that the blank is dry.

An over abundance of caution will never hurt. It just adds time and teaches you more patients.

[Allen Neighbors]

Jack, I cut green wood (never tried a burl) into 1"x1"x6"... which leaves a little room for warpage and cracking... then I dip about an inch of each end in anchor seal, and dry them in my refrigerator kiln. Maybe my drying causes more warping... I don't know... but some of my 3/4 blanks got so much warp, they were only good for slimlines...