Learning pen making

[David Fried]

I picked up some maple burl blanks from PSI. My son wanted a pen and the only kits I had were a couple of slimlines. I made the gold one for him. He likes it because at first it just looks white but if you look closely you begin to see the stuff going on in the burl.

I decided to experiment with dyeing the maple burl and picked up a bottle of 'smokey pearl' dye. I also decided to try throwing away the center band and making a fatline pen. I was so distracted by the making of the fatline that I reversed the halves of the blank. The result is the grain doesn't match in the middle. Guess I get to keep this one. :) The dye went on evenly and really does bring out the burl.

The last pen is also the maple burl. I made it for my neighbor's daughter. She just redid her room in red so I picked up a bottle of dye that looked fire engine red. The dye went on blotchy and looked terrible. I tried wiping it off but it is dye so that didn't work too well. I then tried putting more on and working it with steel wool. I went through that process several times and ended up emphasizing the blotches but I like it. As the daughter of an artist I think she will too. Oh, this was also my first attempt at a BLO/CA finish. I usually use friction polish. Thanks.

[Tom Mullane]

Your off to a good start.... and a horrible addiction... LOL
Take a look at www.penturners.org for some really good pen making advise from a really great group of people....
And start putting some away for the Freedom Pen Project...
As for suppliers, I stay away from the big stores and buy online from the following two companies... www.arizonasilhouette.com and www.woodturningz.com
I think you will find better prices and definately much better customer service and advise from both of them.... who I buy from depends on who has what on sale or if there is something very specific I need that one does not have... both companies are about the best around for prices and service...