adding accent to pen tubes

[penmaker1967]

hi i saw a thread awhile back where this pen turner had used pearl powders to inlay a pen tube where it had knots or some other hole in the wood. i can not seem to find it i am wanting to try something like this but not sure how to go about it any info would be welcome
thanks

 

[GrantH]

Are you possibly talking about "worthless wood" blanks?

 

[PenMan1]

Todd:
I frequently use ground stone such as turquoise or Pearl Ex powders to add highlight into materials that have checks, voids and pits. IMHO, it adds interest beyond just putting a finish over the defects.

It is the same principle as using shavings or sawdust with CA to fill voids. It is just as quick and easy to add the stones as sawdust.

The powdered stones can be purchased from Arizona Siloheutte and several vendors here. Pearl Ex is as close as your nearest Hobby Lobby.

I hope this helps.

 

[GrantH]

PenMan1 obviously knew more about what you were talking about. I'll have to keep this in mind.

This is why I love this site, you always learn something knew when you hop on!

 

[penmaker1967]

thank you pen man for the info i have a hobby lobby 30 miles from me and will be paying them a visit. i have several barrells that i dont won to lose and tbis sounds just like i was looking for.

 

[Texatdurango]

thank you pen man for the info i have a hobby lobby 30 miles from me and will be paying them a visit. i have several barrells that i dont won to lose and tbis sounds just like i was looking for.

I love filling voids with PearlEX powders. I even use it in bowls and hollow forms.

I started out putting a small amount of powder in the void then dropping thin CA into the powder but I found that it was messy to deal with and often had tiny "dry air pockets" in the powder so I had to redo many little voids. I then started mixing the powder with epoxy and it not only is a lot neater to work with, I think the powder suspended in the epoxy looks stunning.

 

[Ruby pen turning]

Mica powder in Ramon stump.

 

[randywa]

I'm a little partial to this persimmon.http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=84699

 

[PenMan1]

Thanks for the epoxy tip, George! I still use thick CA to do this, and it's messier than a soup sandwich.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to be much neater in the shop. I think I may change over to the expoxy/Pearl Ex poultice .

Thanks!

 

[penmaker1967]

thanks to for the ideas