matt.mackinnon
Member
4-5 years ago I got into turning pens and it was great fun. I had a small General midi lathe and it was a great way to pass the time. When I moved, I sold my lathe and have since bought a much larger OneWay. I have invested in a whole array of interesting woods from all over the world with quite a bit of burls and exotics. I also invested in turning between centers and have the CNC turned bushings made. I have had in the past times when turning that the the wood (burl) just blew out. might have been a catch, but could have been a screw up on my end.
I am getting back into the pen game again as I have found new relatives in the UK and they all want a pen, and it seems their friends to too and are willing to pay good money to get interesting wood.
I have invested in a vacuum chamber and a pressure pot and now can stabilize and cast pens too. I am wondering for all my pens if it is worth stabilizing them all before turning. The thought that these are now being sold and the last thing I would want is for a pen to crack as you generally turn the wood to essentially a thin veneer around the brass tube. Will adding cactus juice help increase the strength of the pen to withstand more abuse (like getting dropped) or am I fooling myself?
I know all about using thin CA for a finish, but wonder if this is more of a surface treatment than being an integrated part of the wood. My thinking is that wood being a collection of fibrous cells that hold moisture when the tree was alive, the stabilizing process fills those cells back up with resin.
Thanks for any advice that can be given.
Matt
I am getting back into the pen game again as I have found new relatives in the UK and they all want a pen, and it seems their friends to too and are willing to pay good money to get interesting wood.
I have invested in a vacuum chamber and a pressure pot and now can stabilize and cast pens too. I am wondering for all my pens if it is worth stabilizing them all before turning. The thought that these are now being sold and the last thing I would want is for a pen to crack as you generally turn the wood to essentially a thin veneer around the brass tube. Will adding cactus juice help increase the strength of the pen to withstand more abuse (like getting dropped) or am I fooling myself?
I know all about using thin CA for a finish, but wonder if this is more of a surface treatment than being an integrated part of the wood. My thinking is that wood being a collection of fibrous cells that hold moisture when the tree was alive, the stabilizing process fills those cells back up with resin.
Thanks for any advice that can be given.
Matt