jcoelho (Joao) sorry mate, I don't have all the right symbols needed to write Portuguese on my keyboard...!:frown:
Anyway, I reckon you are the first IAP member I've seen from Portugal, where abouts are you (town/area)...???:biggrin:
I don't know how popular pen making is in Portugal, how is it...???
You've got some nice old Olive wood in there, and many other nice woods, such as the cork tree (azinheiro/carvalho/sobreiro) and many other I forgot but is one that I worked with a lot and was one of the most expensive woods to buy, I can't remember the name of it, it is I believe an Oak, grows mostly up north and the trees are gigantic and very old. I remember that we wouldn't used it for furniture unless 200 years old or more...!
Anyway, enjoy your time with the IAP folks, you are in the right place to learn and develop your skills, that is no doubt...!
PS: How did you manage your good English...???
Cheers
George
Hi George,
I'm located in Caldas da Rainha, near the coast, not far from Lisbon.
Have you been here?
Pen turning is not that popular over here very few people doing it as far as I know, turning in general is only seen as accessory woodworking activity...
You are right, there are great woods here although burls are not that common and mostly discarded before someone gets to them, since most woodworking done is furniture related.
The wood you mention could be an Oak (commonly known as Carvalho here), which has several species, the Cork Tree (Sobreiro) being on and so is Azinheiro which I believe is known as Holly Oak, this may br the one you refer to as it can grow up to 10m tall and be very durable, it is still used to build houses, boats, etc.
It is also the type of wood used for wine/spirits barrels.
Still working on my English being good, though
Sorry Doc for sort of hijacking the thread. Also, both the pens look great, either reverse painted with black or red and still light years away from what I can achive so far. :good: