Pine cones???

[John Terefenko]

For any of those that make pine cone pens and pinecone bottle stoppers, my question is what cones are used???? I was on ebay and there are many who sell pinecones but there are so many different kinds, and I do not know what are good ones to use. Any help would be appreciated. Also if you do turn these items where do you get your pine cones??? Also would it be a good idea to cast these in resin before turning??? Thanks for any help you can supply. .

[Steve Mellott]

John:

I don't want to hijack your thread, but I have a very similar question relating to the same topic. In addition to describing the pine cones you use, could you please describe the casting process, if you use one? Thanks.

Steve

[Jeff Nicol]

Hey guys, Well I have not turned any pens out of pine cones but have made lots of miniatures out of them. I did sell a 1" tall vase for $61 on e-bay! I used a lot of different things to stablize them but I think the resin is the way to go.

The norway spruce has cones that are 4"-6" long and a little over 1" dia. The squirrels love them so it is a fight to get them when they are ready. If I wait to long then they pop open and spit out the seeds. Here a few pics of some completed, the tall one is from a norway spruce. I sold it as a toothpick holder for $50.00!

Jack pine sometimes have hard cones on them when a limb dies and they are great for turning, but still have to use a lot of thin CA to keep them from flying apart!

Jeff

[Tim Self]

I haven't turned a cone yet either but I must say, those are beautiful!

[Chris Stolicky]

I don't know exactly which kind of pine, but I can tell you a bit about the casting process. You will likely have to use a material like aluminite or polyester resin, and a pressure pot. Hooked up to the pressure pot will likely be both a vacuum and a compressor. I have only casted with PR in a mold, so far; and with no embedded objects.

You first start with the vacuum which will pull the resin into the crevices in the cone, and then switch to pressure to get rid of the bubbles.

There is a lot of discussion about casting on the IAP forum; where I have spent more time lately. There are also some tutorials about casting on the site as well as on youtube. I have mostly turned pens, but I am beginning to branch out a bit these days.

[John Grabowski]

It is essential to cast in PR or alumilite...I prefer PR Resin...Its cheaper. Having said that, it is really important that you have the ability to pressurized and vacuum the mixes. If you don't, you will get voids and they are very difficult to fill.

I personally don't make the pine cone pens. They are a real pain.

If you are interested in casting...I have some video's on youtube that can get the layman going for about 35$ worth of materials. Just search Grub32.

I also have a pen that I recently posted about a pen I cast with wood impregnated in it. You can follow my lead on that and even see how it turned out.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=99372.

IF you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

John Grabowski :cool:

[Chris Stolicky]

It is essential to cast in PR or alumilite...I prefer PR Resin...Its cheaper. Having said that, it is really important that you have the ability to pressurized and vacuum the mixes. If you don't, you will get voids and they are very difficult to fill.

I personally don't make the pine cone pens. They are a real pain.

If you are interested in casting...I have some video's on youtube that can get the layman going for about 35$ worth of materials. Just search Grub32.

I also have a pen that I recently posted about a pen I cast with wood impregnated in it. You can follow my lead on that and even see how it turned out.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=99372.

IF you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

John Grabowski :cool:

I have seen John's videos on youtube. They are actually the one's I was thinking of when I recommended to go there. Too bad he makes Steelers colors! : )

Thanks for doing those, John. They are helpful.

[Jim Evans]

Looking for something a bit bigger try some of these...

Sugar Pine
http://www.pineconefestival.com/Images/SugarPine1.jpg


or these
Coulter Pine
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/images/coulter1.jpg

[Steve Mellott]

I decided to try this with some pine cones that are about 6" tall (I don't know what kind of pine). I started by band-sawing a 1" x 1" blank out of the pine cone approximately 1/4" longer than the pen tube. After cutting the blank, I was able to tell that I would be able to turn the pen down to solid "wood" and did not see the need to stabilize the blank. After drilling the hole, I applied thin CA glue to the ends (as a precautionary measure). The finish is 2 coats of CA glue with Mylands friction finish. Initially, I didn't like the two tone color, but now I think it looks OK.

I don't think the 6" pine cone would have been big enough to turn a stopper.

(Sorry for the quality of the picture.)

Steve