A Couple From Plywood

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mchech

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I found a hunk of Baltic birch plywood a few weeks ago. Took a good bit of CA while spinning but I like the stacked one best. Someone posted a plywood pen a few months ago and that planted the idea. The long grained one took some wet sanding with CA glue to fill in the voids in the torn veneers. Anyways they are just slimlines and the wife likes them so I'm glad for the experience.
 

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wyone

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I like them BOTH. I seem to be finding that I want to try new and different things to turn. Maybe if I was more skilled at turning it would not be that way, but in the meantime I am more depending on the materials to help make up for my skills. You do not need to do that as these are both turned VERY well, and as an added bonus the wood is gorgeous! Great work
 

vferdman

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These are awesome! Extra points for resourcefulness. I like the longitudinal one myself, but wow! Both are fantastic and I will definitely try one some day. Have you ever turned Dymondwood? It's engineered plywood made for turning. It's pretty much mostly resin of some sort, but visually presents as layered wood. Check it out. I think that would make a similar effect in a pen.

Thanks!
 

mchech

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These are awesome! Extra points for resourcefulness. I like the longitudinal one myself, but wow! Both are fantastic and I will definitely try one some day. Have you ever turned Dymondwood? It's engineered plywood made for turning. It's pretty much mostly resin of some sort, but visually presents as layered wood. Check it out. I think that would make a similar effect in a pen.

Thanks!

Somewhere I read about wet sanding with CA. That saved the long grained version for me because the thin veneers of the Baltic birch wanted to chip and delaminate. It was fun and I learned and that's what makes this world go around.
 

mchech

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would cutting to blank size and stabilizing work??

Probably would work. When I cut to blank size I squirted some thin CA on the edges and left set overnight. It looked like the glue had penetrated the entire thickness. Still I had to wet sand with CA when I got close to finished form. I will try a couple pieces of ply in the next batch of blanks I stabilize and post the results.
 

D.Oliver

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Great job. One of my favorite slimline pens that I carry is plywood with chrome components I made a few years ago. It seems to get noticed quite a bit, as I'm sure yours will too.
 

mchech

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Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Most of what I make I give to family or friends so I'm not in this hobby to make money. I like testing my limits and learning. As with these plywood pens I am positive I've seen examples on this forum. For your exchange of ideas and techniques I want to thank those who "lead the way and share the info". Have a good one!!!
 

bjbear76

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Louisville, KY 40299
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Most of what I make I give to family or friends so I'm not in this hobby to make money. I like testing my limits and learning. As with these plywood pens I am positive I've seen examples on this forum. For your exchange of ideas and techniques I want to thank those who "lead the way and share the info". Have a good one!!!

Mike, It may have been my pens you saw awhile back. I had posted a couple cigar pens from plywood. I found the biggest obstacle was the pieces would get hot while drilling and separate. I switched to epoxy for gluing and kept the drill bit cool. I didn't try sanding with CA, just sanded normally and finished with CA. Definitely need a sharp skew to avoid chip outs. I also had some blanks stabilized. It works fine for those that want to go that route.
It's good to see someone else give it a try. Definitely unique.
 
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