Red Cholla pen

[Old Lar]

I made a couple cholla cactus pens a few weeks ago that turned out really nice. I thought (first mistake) that I can cast a smaller piece of cholla in a smaller blank and make a slim or trimline pen out of cholla.

The two pictures show one side that looked pretty good and the other side that was mostly acrylic. I guess I will try harder to drill down the center on the next blank and cast the smaller cholla in a larger blank. I guess on the positive side that its kind of a wasted wood pen.

 

[plantman]

Larry; Here is a little trick I use when drilling Cholla or any other blank that does not have equal grain or size on both ends. I mark the center of the Cholla on both ends of the blank, than bring that line to the outer edge of the top of the blank. Now connect that line from both ends of the blank along the long side of your blank. I shim my blank in the vice so that the drill bit runs down the center of this line and drill the blank. If your center material is realy off center in both directions,you may also have to tilt your blank from side to side. Your material may not come out a perfect match, but your entrance and exit hole will be in the centers of what's there. I also use this method to get the most out of a crooked grain in a blank as long as I have enough meat left to make the pen I want. Jim

 

[Old Lar]

Thanks, my blanks are small and I don't have the extra meat to do a lot of adjusting. I will give that a shot though and see how it turns out.

if that doesn't work, I will pour larger blanks so there is extra meat around the edges.

Thanks again

 

[gbpens]

Try turning the blank between centers before drilling. That might help keep the cholla centered.

 

[rholiday]

Check out Ed at Exotic Blanks technique for centering the hole in a cholla blank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejmLWurBD38

Bob