First pen from new mulberry wood

[sbwertz]

I'm giving this as a late xmas gift tomorrow, and didn't want to set up the lightbox, so I tried the scanner. I don't much like the reflection, but wanted a pic of it before I give it away. The new wood is beautiful. I have about a hundred blanks in the dehydrator right now.

 

[Cabhog]

Good looking pen, the wood is beautiful!

 

[Jim Smith]

Beautiful pen! I love the look of the blank.

Jim Smith

 

[JD Combs Sr]

Very nice. You say Mulberry, is it a burl with casting inlay? Mulberry I have used tends toward yellow until it ages to a honey brown.

 

[sbwertz]

Very nice. You say Mulberry, is it a burl with casting inlay? Mulberry I have used tends toward yellow until it ages to a honey brown.

It isn't a burl. When you poll a mullberry tree to keep it from getting too big, you cut off all the branches back to half a dozen major limbs every winter. As a result, scar tissue forms big knobs on the ends of the major limbs. This wood comes from those scarred knobs. The trees have been polled every year for fifty years, and the knobs are upwards of three feet in diameter. So far I have only been able to cut up some of the smaller knobs because I don't have a big enough chain saw. The trimmer is going to come over with his 4' commercial chain saws and cut some of the big pieces for me.

These were live trees, so the wood is green. If cut and stacked it will take up to 6 months to dry, depending on your weather. Here in AZ in the summer, they will dry in about 6 weeks (10 % humidity, 110 degree heat )

In the dehydrator they take about a week.

Right now the supply is limited to what I can fit in my dehydrator, and what I can cut with my little electric chainsaw.

If you want green wood and are willing to cut it yourself, I can send you slabs of green wood. Note...There are a lot of voids, pith, etc in these knobs because of the nature of the knobs, and because the trees were old and diseased. Most of the major branches were hollow inside (why they were being cut down.) So there is a lot of waste. When I cut up a big piece, I can only use about 50 percent of each piece, the rest is waste. A lot of the blanks have voids. This is what I prefer, since infilling with gemstone, particularly turquoise, is my forte. So I will keep most of the "holey" blanks for myself unless you specifically ask for it.

 

[Rodnall]

Wow, I like it. Is it a single piece of wood?

 

[Hexhead]

Pleasantly pleasing pen, the turquoise makes it pop, nice work.

 

[sbwertz]

Yes, it is one piece. Colors vary from almost pure white through gold, light brown, chocolate brown and black.

Wow, I like it. Is it a single piece of wood?

 

[rizaydog]

Very nice pen! I really like that wood and the turquoise really sets it off.

 

[Dalepenkala]

Nice looking Sharon! I like the wood!

 

[Mintman]

Beautiful pen! I love the mulberry!

 

[penmaker1967]

very nice pen i love the wood

 

[ironman123]

Sharon, that pen turned out to be an eye-popper. Beautiful job you did.

My chainsaw is 16" electric. Works pretty good on all these broken Pecan limbs I get every time the wind blows.

What size slabs do you have? Any small enough to get a few in a Medium Flat Rate Box?

Thanks,

Ray

 

[Charlie_W]

Wow Wood!

 

[jimm1]

Crazy good Sharon.
Tell me how I can get some of that.:bananen_smilies008:

 

[sbwertz]

Sharon, that pen turned out to be an eye-popper. Beautiful job you did.

My chainsaw is 16" electric. Works pretty good on all these broken Pecan limbs I get every time the wind blows.

What size slabs do you have? Any small enough to get a few in a Medium Flat Rate Box?

Thanks,

Ray

My electric is a 14 inch. and is working it's little heart out.

The problem with slabs, is that there is so much pith and rot in the crowns that only about 50% of each slab is useable, and often I can only get 3" long blanks. When the trimmer brings his big saw over so I can cut up some of the big crowns, I should be able to get some nice slabs. Right now I am cutting up small crowns about a foot or so across.

The voids from the pith aren't a problem for me because I fill them with turquoise! Not a flaw...a feature!

I cut another hundred or so blanks today, It is green and wet, and next weekend when this batch comes out of the dryer I will put in one more batch. Then I will air dry the rest. My dehydrator is a big commercial job with 14 big trays, but I don't want to ruin it. Running it for two straight weeks is bound to shorten it's lifespan

It takes about two months in the winter to dry 3/4 inch blanks, half that in the summer. (Phoenix)

If you want green wood, I can send it to you now and let you dry it yourself. This is from living trees that were taken out because they had heart rot. Most of the limbs were almost completely hollow. They are about 50 years old.

If you have a dehydrator, it takes about 4 days to dry a batch of 3/4 inch blanks. Keep an eye out and you may find one at a yard sale or goodwill.

 

[sbwertz]

Crazy good Sharon.
Tell me how I can get some of that.:bananen_smilies008:

All this current batch is spoken for, but I will run one more batch next week. Then I will air dry and they will be ready in the spring.

I will send you a small flat rate box if you will pay the postage.

PM me.

Sharon

 

[penmaker1967]

let me know when u have more i will take a flat rate box just let me know and i will get the money in the mail to you.

 

[robutacion]

Sharon, that pen turned out to be an eye-popper. Beautiful job you did.

My chainsaw is 16" electric. Works pretty good on all these broken Pecan limbs I get every time the wind blows.

What size slabs do you have? Any small enough to get a few in a Medium Flat Rate Box?

Thanks,

Ray

My electric is a 14 inch. and is working it's little heart out.

The problem with slabs, is that there is so much pith and rot in the crowns that only about 50% of each slab is useable, and often I can only get 3" long blanks. When the trimmer brings his big saw over so I can cut up some of the big crowns, I should be able to get some nice slabs. Right now I am cutting up small crowns about a foot or so across.

The voids from the pith aren't a problem for me because I fill them with turquoise! Not a flaw...a feature!

I cut another hundred or so blanks today, It is green and wet, and next weekend when this batch comes out of the dryer I will put in one more batch. Then I will air dry the rest. My dehydrator is a big commercial job with 14 big trays, but I don't want to ruin it. Running it for two straight weeks is bound to shorten it's lifespan

It takes about two months in the winter to dry 3/4 inch blanks, half that in the summer. (Phoenix)

If you want green wood, I can send it to you now and let you dry it yourself. This is from living trees that were taken out because they had heart rot. Most of the limbs were almost completely hollow. They are about 50 years old.

If you have a dehydrator, it takes about 4 days to dry a batch of 3/4 inch blanks. Keep an eye out and you may find one at a yard sale or goodwill.

Hi Sharon,

What dehydrator do you have, I've been looking to buy one for some time but I can't make my mind on which one as I don't know how good and effective they are so, some info on the one you have been using, would be most appreciated.

I also like your pen and the wood you are processing, Mulberry can produce some amazing bits of wood, huh...???

Cheers
George

 

[Dminelli]

VERY nicely done!

 

[lyonsacc]

Fantastic!

 

[sbwertz]

Hi Sharon,

What dehydrator do you have, I've been looking to buy one for some time but I can't make my mind on which one as I don't know how good and effective they are so, some info on the one you have been using, would be most appreciated.

I also like your pen and the wood you are processing, Mulberry can produce some amazing bits of wood, huh...???

Cheers
George

I have a Nesco American Harvest like this one

Amazon.com: Nesco American Harvest FD-1018P 1000 Watt Food Dehydrator Kit: Kitchen & Dining

with 14 trays. I've had it for more than 20 years and am on my second motor. I use it a lot.

Sharon

 

[propencity]

Beautiful pen Sharon. I like the turquoise material used to fill in the voids.

 

[Tom T]

Beautiful pen thank you for sharing it with us.

 

[nava1uni]

Beautiful work. I really like Mulberry. The last that you send me made beautiful pens.

 

[leehljp]

That is a beautiful pen! Thanks for explaining where the dark brown color came from. I too have used mulberry quite a bit. Both Japanese mulberry and US mulberry (in the South), and all of it has been/is golden in color. I even had a mulberry tree in my yard when I lived in Japan. When not treated, it turns a beautiful brown as it ages.

But yours is a beautiful color that is different from what I have used. Having used wood from other trees similar to your explanation of "polling" I know that that wood in the other trees are certainly not like the normal wood of those trees, nor the sapwood either. I have some walnut that was taken from burl caused by cutting a limb a long time ago, and the color of that burl looks nothing like walnut or even the sapwood of walnut.

Thanks again for the explanation!

 

[mikespenturningz]

Love that blank. Very nice indeed.

 

[robutacion]

Hi Sharon,

What dehydrator do you have, I've been looking to buy one for some time but I can't make my mind on which one as I don't know how good and effective they are so, some info on the one you have been using, would be most appreciated.

I also like your pen and the wood you are processing, Mulberry can produce some amazing bits of wood, huh...???

Cheers
George

I have a Nesco American Harvest like this one

Amazon.com: Nesco American Harvest FD-1018P 1000 Watt Food Dehydrator Kit: Kitchen & Dining

with 14 trays. I've had it for more than 20 years and am on my second motor. I use it a lot.

Sharon

Thanks Sharon,

I have been looking at the 12 trays square shape units with double fan, I though for drying pen blanks and other blanks, the square ones would be better but, maybe not, 20 years using that sort of white goods is a lot more than I would expect them to last, I'm a little worried about the power consumption as @ 1000W working non stop for weeks at the time 24/7, has to consume some considerable amount of power in that up here in SA, is the most expensive State/place in the whole of Australia, I have already a considerable consumption charge per quarter of about $900.00 that is already a damn killer...!

Cheers
George

 

[sbwertz]

It only draws 1000w if you have the temp all the way up to maximum. I NEVER run it that high, even when drying jerky.

For pen blanks, I run it at no heat (fan only) in the summer time, and at 100 degrees in the winter. The fan itself doesn't take much power.

Hi Sharon,

What dehydrator do you have, I've been looking to buy one for some time but I can't make my mind on which one as I don't know how good and effective they are so, some info on the one you have been using, would be most appreciated.

I also like your pen and the wood you are processing, Mulberry can produce some amazing bits of wood, huh...???

Cheers
George

I have a Nesco American Harvest like this one

Amazon.com: Nesco American Harvest FD-1018P 1000 Watt Food Dehydrator Kit: Kitchen & Dining

with 14 trays. I've had it for more than 20 years and am on my second motor. I use it a lot.

Sharon

Thanks Sharon,

I have been looking at the 12 trays square shape units with double fan, I though for drying pen blanks and other blanks, the square ones would be better but, maybe not, 20 years using that sort of white goods is a lot more than I would expect them to last, I'm a little worried about the power consumption as @ 1000W working non stop for weeks at the time 24/7, has to consume some considerable amount of power in that up here in SA, is the most expensive State/place in the whole of Australia, I have already a considerable consumption charge per quarter of about $900.00 that is already a damn killer...!

Cheers
George

 

[mdromey]

Sharon

I have a question. I am going to work up some very pretty ash today. Very tight grain pattern and wonderful colors in the wood. When you put the wood in the kiln to you cover the wood? Do you cut oversized to allow for warping, etc that can be trimmed off? I have a good dehydrator that I would like to use but I didn't want to start the process without doing some research. The only thing that I already had in mind was to use low heat 100 degrees. Just any guidance to get me started would be helpful

Mie