Vaughn McMillan
09-15-2006, 12:13 AM
A month or so ago, I bought a couple curly mesquite pen blanks, with the plan to make one or two pens for my dad. Mesquite is his favorite wood to cook with, plus it's a native tree in the part of Texas where he grew up. I figured I'd turn the pen(s) before the next time I planned to go home to New Mexico.
The a couple of weeks ago, I got the call from my sis that my mom had taken a turn for the worse, then hours later, the call telling me that she was gone.
Knowing that I was going to drive to New Mexico the next day, I decided to turn my dad a mesquite pen before I left. Due to the events of the day, I wanted to turn the pen in memory of my mom. Plus, the lathe therapy was welcome. The first attempt wasn't perfect, and by that time (about 2:00 AM) I had decided the pen had to be a perfect as I could make it, so I used up my other blank and a new set of tubes, and had this done by about 4:00:
46896
Here's another shot:
46897
Due to the rush nature, I didn't get a chance to photograph the pen in my photo booth...instead, I put the pen in my sister's back lawn <g> and used the blue New Mexico sky for lighting.
The day after my mom's memorial service, I gave the pen to my dad in a nice display box, and shared the story behind the motivation for it. We shared a tear and a hug, then I went out into the garage (the smoking room at my sister's house). A few minutes later, he came in the garage and handed me back the display box. He patted the pen (now in his shirt pocket) and said "I don't need this nice box, the pen's going to stay right here."
I intend to make a lot of pens, but I doubt many will have as much meaning as this one. Just wanted to share the story.
- Vaughn
The a couple of weeks ago, I got the call from my sis that my mom had taken a turn for the worse, then hours later, the call telling me that she was gone.
Knowing that I was going to drive to New Mexico the next day, I decided to turn my dad a mesquite pen before I left. Due to the events of the day, I wanted to turn the pen in memory of my mom. Plus, the lathe therapy was welcome. The first attempt wasn't perfect, and by that time (about 2:00 AM) I had decided the pen had to be a perfect as I could make it, so I used up my other blank and a new set of tubes, and had this done by about 4:00:
46896
Here's another shot:
46897
Due to the rush nature, I didn't get a chance to photograph the pen in my photo booth...instead, I put the pen in my sister's back lawn <g> and used the blue New Mexico sky for lighting.
The day after my mom's memorial service, I gave the pen to my dad in a nice display box, and shared the story behind the motivation for it. We shared a tear and a hug, then I went out into the garage (the smoking room at my sister's house). A few minutes later, he came in the garage and handed me back the display box. He patted the pen (now in his shirt pocket) and said "I don't need this nice box, the pen's going to stay right here."
I intend to make a lot of pens, but I doubt many will have as much meaning as this one. Just wanted to share the story.
- Vaughn