Ebony and Ivory

[Paul Ray Moore]

Nope I'm not going to sing. My son, William, is 13 and is also a turner. Here he is with a couple of pens made from Ebony and Holly. He's been turning around 2 years mostly pens but he's made a few bowls. He learned how to make the Celtic knots and now includes that design in some of the pens he turns.
I was wondering if I could get some suggestions on how to keep the holly from picking up the ebony sanding dust. You can see the black in the holly knot. Before we started sanding it was bright white but after sanding it picked up just enough of the ebony sanding dust to discolor it. On the black knot I blew air on the pen as he sanded it and it seemed to keep it cleaner.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Paul

[David E Keller]

Looks like the air did a great job of keeping things clean. Another trick is to seal the wood before sanding using either thin CA or shellac. I'd be proud to have turned either of the pens you posted... Your son does some seriously nice work.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Be sure to let William know that he does some really good work! No idea how to prevent sanding dust from staining the wood but Dave's idea of sealing the wood first makes sense to me. Hopefully someone with experience turning pens will be able to offer some sound advice.

[Mark Hubl]

Very nice pens. I really like the Celtic knot style. William did a great job. Looks like he is a chip off the old blank.

[Jim Burr]

William! You do some great work young man. Keep it up, it's a great hobby and something to carry along with you in life! A good plus...teachers like pens! Well done buddy.

[Dan Forman]

Kudos to the lad! Nice pair of pens.

Dan