Aussie Cork Tree Blank

[mark james]

Several years ago George: http://www.penturners.org/forum/member.php?u=8750 and I did some "horse-trading"and this is one of the blanks I received.

I have looked at it many times, put it back in the drawer, etc...

Well, today was a wet and rainy day outside, so a perfect day to try a challenge - A blank that had three mediums: Resin; soft/spongy outer cork; and an inner hard layer... FUN!

I began this with full intents that this would be a pen for me - If successful!

There were many cracks in the blank, which I had previously applied CA.

I did not record the number on the blank, but I believe it is #24 - Cork Tree. Hopefully my Mate will join the thread and correct any of my mistakes!

First five pictures are of the raw blank; a view of the cracks. You can see in the fifth picture the cork, which is very spongy.

In the 7'th and 8'th pics you can see that as turning the blank thinner, a stem emerged, which I was hoping would stay until the end as a nice visual element.

Minor comments: I was hoping for the best, and expecting the worst! I flooded the blank with thin CA every few passes. The cork was very spongy (I could push my fingernail into it and leave a line). I'm not very proficient with CA, so it was a crap-shot. I intentionally left the profile thicker than optimal, as I was not comfortable turning "cork" to 1mm thickness... After final turning, I dry sanded 240-600. Then applied 2 coats of medium CA, and 10 coats of thin CA. Wet sanded with micromesh up to 12,000. McGuires Plastix; final buffing.

My thoughts... The final profile is a bit "unique." Not bad by any evaluation, but still a bit thick. However - I couldn't be happier how it turned out! This is not a pen I would sell/give away! It was a challenge to turn, and I can remember my "Mate" laughing at me at every difficult turn!

Be well George!

 

[PenPal]

Mark well worth the time,the consumables, real effort to acheive such a wonderful pen.

Our govt so long ago planted a grove of these trees in the middle of Canberra and fenced them off, my experience was without having a feature or more it is indeed a most difficult material to work with.

Your pen is a winner.

Peter.

 

[ssalvage]

That is really cool! I am a big fan of unique pens like this.

Well done. :good:

 

[Hubert H]

NICE!

 

[Jim15]

From your pictures I can see where you were worried. I think the pen you made was well with your effort and worry. Beautiful pen.

 

[mark james]

Mark well worth the time,the consumables, real effort to acheive such a wonderful pen.

Our govt so long ago planted a grove of these trees in the middle of Canberra and fenced them off, my experience was without having a feature or more it is indeed a most difficult material to work with.

Your pen is a winner.

Peter.

Thank you Peter! I value your thoughts.

It was an interesting afternoon and very fun! The three densities were a task. Turning the cork was like sanding a sponge .

 

[bobjackson]

Great job, beautiful pen.

 

[flyitfast]

Very very nice Mark. I like the way you kept the symmetry. It finished up well. Thanks for showing.
Gordon

 

[Edgar]

Well done, Mark! That is definitely a keeper!

I have a few special blanks from George also that I take out of their drawer, admire them, then put them back because I don't quite feel comfortable tackling them yet. I am going to try one of them real soon though. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[magpens]

Great work, and a most unique pen !!!!! . Good work, Mark !!

 

[robutacion]

Hahahah, I had a laugh reading your thread until I got to the pics, they exemplify well the "beast" you were dealing with and one of the things that made slightly worse for you is that, those blanks were put together before I started to use the Epoxy resin so, the Polyester I was using (as any other Polyester resin), its adhesion properties are not as good as Epoxy however, the rest of the blank composition is all the same, every Cork piece is/was stabilized before casting but, and as I so many times said, Cork is one of the most buoyant and liquid resistant materials nature has given us.

Considering casting a blank(s) with such material is something that many folks would consider crazy because of the cork's nature however, even without accepting much stabilization, the wood part did harden well, the rest is history...!:wink:

This would be another one of those blanks where I would suggest the use of the Flap disc, one main important detail is to have the drilled hole well soaked with thinner CA before actually gluing the blank, that will always guarantee a stronger adhesion between the brass and the outer surface of the blank is case you want to try going slim at the barrel shapes but a fatter look suits also these blanks well and as Mark said, is less risky...!

Multiple layers of CA as the finish, bonds well all different materials and turns to soft nature of the cork material into a sufficiently hard surface to resist the wear and tear of most pens usage.

The results are always spectacular and your pen is no different, well worth the challenge, in my books...?:wink::biggrin:

Thank you for taking the time and put the effort to take it to the end, well done...!

Cheers
George

 

[Cwalker935]

Nicely done Mark!

 

[Dalecamino]

Well done Mark! I call that a success all around. Great display of Georges amazing blank.

 

[BradG]

you done a great job with it Mark. what a unique looking blank! love it

 

[mark james]

Thanks to all for your comments!

George: It did flood the tube with thin CA and allowed to dry 24 hrs before I epoxied in the tube. I mixed a bit of blue paint with the epoxy and can see no brass showing. The thicker finished profile probably also helps.

This was a fun rainy day project.

 

[robutacion]

Thanks to all for your comments!

George: It did flood the tube with thin CA and allowed to dry 24 hrs before I epoxied in the tube. I mixed a bit of blue paint with the epoxy and can see no brass showing. The thicker finished profile probably also helps.

This was a fun rainy day project.

Mark,

My observations were more of a general nature when handling blanks such as that, I wasn't sure if you had soaked the drilled hole with CA before gluing the tube, I did however, think that was a good possibility you have follow that preventive step I suggest for any fragile blank, highlighting that aspect may have brought the new turners attention for some so simple but crucial in many occasions.

The resin colours are showing perfectly so, you blank preparation was stop-on, sure, thicker resin over the brass can be sufficient to prevent the brass tube to show but not always

Cheers
George