pen blanks

[Stephen Sebed]

Some of you may have helped me with some other questions I asked about turning pens from Osage Orange, but I have a couple more questions.

I finally got a piece of an old fence post that I will try to get blanks from. I'm guessing that the post was cut anywhere from 50 -100 years ago. The piece I have was above ground and was cut into a log about 16 inches long last winter. When I cut it into blanks do I need to do anything to keep it from cracking? I don't have a moisture meter but I would guess that the wood is very dry (I live in western Kansas)

Blanks should be 1"x1"x6" right?

Anything else I should know before I cut the blanks?

Thanks,
Stephen

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Stephen, the section of Fence Post you have should be OK for Blanks. Being the the post is an old one, and was above ground, it will be dry enough............and hard as nails too. I have cut dried Osage Orange a few times with the Chainsaw, and it is not uncommon to see sparks thrown from the chain. (You can only imagine what it does to cutters!)
I cut most Pen Blanks 3/4" x 3/4" and anywhere from 5 to 6" long. You can cut them 1" square if you like. The biggest thing I would watch for is getting one good square side, so when you trim the ends, they end up square. Good luck, Osage makes beautiful pens................please post some pictures when you get a few turned out. :D

[Ken Salisbury]

Standard pen blank size is 3/4" x 3/4" x 5". For slimline pens I sometimes cut blanks 5/8" square.

The post should be fine to make pens. Good Luck with it

[Stephen Sebed]

well thanks for the info, I hope to get the blanks cut sometime this week. I also have a hackberry burl that I would like to cut blanks from but I have another question: how can I tell if the burl is solid enough to turn?

Also I was thinking of using hackberry to make boxes for the pen sets that I am making. Has anyone made projects out of hackberry? If so would you mind posting pics so I can see what it looks like.

One last question for today: Can you give me plans or dimensions for a box for a pen/pencil set?

Thanks,
Stephen