My first pine cone pen

[Murphy]

My brother just came up to Canada from sunny florida. Everything was on the ground down there from all the hurricanes, so he picked up some pine cones the squirrels had chewed down and said "Here, see if you can turn this into a pen". So I did. Sorry for the photo, but it was fun seeing what would turn up. This is one of those little twist pens you can wear around your neck

 

[Mudder]

That is a first for me. Never seen a pind cone pen before.
Very interisting.

 

[Darley]

Neat!, those black spots are holes? did you use 1 or 2 pine cone to do the pen?, very interesting

 

[Bob A]

Dale, that's prety cool. Lot's of CA I presume. Is there anything we won't put on our lathes? [] My brother gave me some grapevine to try but it was just too stringy. Nice job on the pen.

 

[Murphy]

My brother also brought me some stems off palm fronds but they were too stringy.
I only put a little CA on before I turned it, none to finish it, just friction polish. CA scares me.[:0]
Serge, I used only one pine cone, that is why it is only a mini pen. I am going to try using two and do a full pen. The spots are not holes, they are the base of the leaves or fingers or whatever you call them on the pine cone. There was also a brown woody part before I got to the white woody centre. Here is a picture of the other side of the pen. The one I meant to keep hidden from all of you perfectionists.
But, I am glad you like the pen.[]
Feel free to critique this.[:I] I am new so I am open to any suggestions.
Thanks.

<br />

 

[Dan]

Remarkable work Dale, but I would encourage you to try the CA finish - just a drop or two will give you a strong glassy finish.

The "eyes" on those cones deserve it, don't you think?

Pardon me, I've gotta go find me some cones...

Dan

 

[wdcav1952]

Dale,

Very innovative! I think the back side of the pen shows the character of the pine cone. I turned a banksia (sp?) pod pen some time back, and filling the holes left by the seeds was a pain. With your pine cone you avoid this problem. Keep up the good work.

 

[Thumbs]

Well done! I've had a few cones on the shelf for awhile and never got around to trying them. I'm glad you did it so successfully. Now the rest of us will have no excuse! []

 

[swm6500]

I had wondered if there was enough material there to make a pen, will have to try that some day.

 

[BillATsetelDOTcom]

Really cool!

 

[ashaw]

Now that is a neat pen.. Great job on the pen and finish....

 

[jbyrd24]

Very unusual pen. I've never heard of anyone in this forum turning
a pine cone. Good going.[]

 

[arjudy]

I have got to try that.

 

[53Jim]

That must have been a rather large (diameter) cone. Last fall I picked up a pine cone with the thought of making a pen out of it, but I didn't think it was large enough to use. I reckon I'm gonna have to pick up a few this week.

Great job, BTW

 

[saftrep]

Did you use a green cone or was it fully matured? I have several trees of what we southerners call the long leaf pine. The cones are about 8" long. Don't be standing under them if they fall before maturing.

David

 

[Murphy]

David, the cone had already fallen and the squirels had chewed off most of the leaves (or whatever they are) so I had a solid little mass. Remember this is a mini pen, but I am going to try a larger pen using 2 cones. My brother thinks it is a slash pine but I would love to see some from other pines also. Let me know how it goes.

 

[Rifleman1776]

There is no end to innovative thinking here. Nifty. And the naturalness is definately an asset.