Cactus and Trustone

[Mark Hix]

I have been busy with other things for the last few months and have not had much time to turn. I corrected that tonight.

The red and the black pens are cactus cast in resin. The red one was cast in red tinted resin, the black one was cast in clear. The black one has a 3-D effect. It gets it's color from painting the inside of the blank before the tube was inserted. To prevent any scratches from showing I also painted the tubes. The finish was sanded, sealed w/ CA, resanded, buffed with EEE/WD and then plastic polish.

The blue one is Trustone and is the hardest material I have ever turned. It was also the easiest to finish. It was turned, sanded to 400 and buffed. I completed it several weeks ago and have carried it daily since.

Now to start on a big pile of Maple I found....

I did not want to drag out the lights for proper photos so please forgive those. As always, I appreciate all your comments.

[Aaron Wingert]

Great looking pens. I've seen those cactus blanks for sale online but have avoided them due to the price. After seeing these the temptation's going to be harder to resist!

[Jerry Marcantel]

Hey Mark, Those pens are beautiful.
I just sent some prickley Pear innards to a friend in Oklahoma to make pens. Couldn't visualize what he was telling me about how he would use the cactus stuff until now....... Thanks for sharing..... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Van Huskey]

Those are gorgeous!

[John Keeton]

Really nice work! I know nothing of pen making, or cactus for that matter. But, it would seem that the cactus, without the resin, would not be substantial enough - correct? In any event, the color makes a huge difference.

And, the trustone pen is just classy looking - my favorite.

[David E Keller]

Great looking pens. I love the cactus and the trustone.

[James Combs]

Nice Mark. Do pens myself but haven't gotten into casting resin yet but it is on my todo list. I have done TruStone though and agree it is hard material but actually turns very nicely. Again very nice pens.

[Mark Hix]

Thanks for the nice comments. I wish I had cast them myself but I lack the equipment to do it right. I bought the cactus blanks from Curtis at TurnTex Woodworks. My casting attempts so are are experimental at best. He does a great job and I will get more.

John, you are right, the skeleton of the cacuts is more like grass than anything else. He casts it under high pressure so no bubbles.

Thanks again for looking and I appreciate the comments.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice work Mark on some beautiful pens.

[Roland Martin]

Very nice pens Mark.

[Jerry Marcantel]

Here is a picture of "Cow Tongue" prickly pear woody substance. This cactus is not native to the Tucson area but was brought in years ago. I believe it comes from Texas...
I would think that the people who cast this with resin would use a vaccumn, instead of high pressure... Since I have a vaccumn casting table, I think I'll try a vaccumn casting in about 6 weeks.
The second pic of the pp innards is on mesquite that was cut almost 3 years ago, and dried out in the elements. I recut the ends and cleaned off the bark on my jointer. With 4% humidity, you can see some brand new cracks..... The wood is almost 10" diameter, and 15 "long..
The last pic is a piece if Cholla wood, or skeleton of the famous Jumping Cactus.... It has the basic same structure as the pp innards and is more solid, but delicate. .......Jerry (in Tucson)

[Mark Hix]

Jerry, those are great photos. Some folks never get the "benefit" of interacting w/ cactus. It is nice to have a use for something I detested as a kid. The blanks I have were cast at 70psi from prickly pear. There was a lively discussion among the pen turners about the pressure and why so high but that is a discussion for an expert. My attempts are in the embryo stage so I have to rely on the experts for the best methods.

I have seen the Cholla cast w/ resin also and really like the look.

[John Keeton]

With 4% humidity...OUCH!! My sinuses just imploded!!:eek: When they say dry heat, they do mean DRY!


Some folks never get the "benefit" of interacting w/ cactus.I will pass - thanks anyway!:D

[David E Keller]

Thanks for the pics, Jerry.

The cholla pic looks a lot different from the little tubes of cholla that I've seen. I've used the tubes to make pens with some success. I don't do casting, so I just drilled them carefully and glued in tubes. I rough turned them and then filled the openings with contrasting sawdust(blackwood).... it turned out pretty nice.

I'd love to get my hands on some of that cholla. If you're interested in trading something, let me know.

[Frank Van Atta]

The cholla pic looks a lot different from the little tubes of cholla that I've seen.

There are a lot of different varieties of Cholla, hence the variety of skeletal forms.

[Jerry Marcantel]

The cholla I posted yesterday is from a "Teddy Bear" Cholla stalk.... the arms are usually pretty thin and round with the holes creating the skeleton look. There are at least 8 varieties of Cholla in my neighborhood, and 3 on my 1 1/2 acre property..
When I heal, I'll get a bunch of samples set up and ready to send out to those of you who are interested..... Let me know, and I'll put you on a list..... All I ask is you pay postage or shipping....Jerry (in Tucson)

[Alan Trout]

Those are very nice pens. Good Work.

I do quite a bit of casting. The resin that those cactus blanks are made of is Alumilite. I prefer to cast in Alumilite as well but you must use pressure because it sets much faster than PR resin. You only have less than 6 minutes before it starts to set with the clear Alumilite and about 90 seconds with the white. You cannot pull a vacuum fast enough so you must use pressure.

I have cast a lot of cholla cactus of course what Curtis uses is go old Prickly Pear from around South and Central Texas. Curtis always makes nice blanks.

Cast is a different facet to turning. While I do sell some of my castings I mostly do it for myself. But you really don't save a significant amount unless you make lost of castings. A proper setup for casting can be expensive but you do get to make your own unique stuff.

Alan