Another dye job on a pen this time

[Kathy Marshall]

Playing with the dyes again. I was thinking dyeing a pen might be kinda cool, kind of the look of acrylic but with the ease of turning wood, and doesn't hurt that wood blanks are a fraction of the cost.
I used a maple blank, brushed copper slimline kit and red and blue dye, and where they mixed there is some purple. I like the concept and I'll try it again with some different colors and do a little better job of it. I haven't turned a pen in about a year, and of course I managed to grab the mandrel with the rod that is slightly bent, so the ends aren't flush with the center band all the way around. I also had a little boo-boo with the finish and had to sand back the top a little, so it's a little lighter than the bottom. So this pen will live in my desk drawer at the office.
I may do one with yellow and blue, or maybe one with light blue and dark blue, and maybe go a little lighter on the dye.

213646213645

Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[John Keeton]

So this pen will live in my desk drawer at the office.You have a job!?!?!?!?:eek: My gosh, Kathy, I thought you were independently wealthy and turned 18.5 hours/day!!;)

Neat dye effect - wonder what it would do on a burl pen? Not sure on the yellow/blue as one can get some really funky green sometimes, but the other yellow/blue dyed piece you did turned out nice. The light blue/dark blue would look good - maybe throw in a little black on that one?

[Carl Civitella]

Hi, very nicely done. I have dyed a lot of pens over the years and found that Curly Maple and spalted woods come out very nice. Also you can make deep dark colors with the hint of grain showing using Cherry and Walnut. I never sand once the color is on, i use brown paper bag to bring it to a smooth touch taking very little color off. Good luck experimenting using dyes, they are fun. Carl

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice pen Kathy. The dye looks really good.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice job with the dye Kathy! It looks good enough to keep;),on top of the desk though!:)

[Steve Schlumpf]

I like it! Just enough color to make the pen interesting!!

[Primvs Aebvtivs]

Very nice pen! Love the colours, you should show it ON the desk!

[David E Keller]

Interesting experiment, Kathy! I'm not sure I'm in love with the way it turned out, but I love that you're experimenting with new stuff!