colored wood options

[Dvoigt]

I am looking at doing some segmenting and that would incorporate some yellow, white, blue, and green wood.

I'll need to get dyed wood for the green and blue (unless there are some abnormal trees out there that I don't know about).

I was assuming maybe Holly for white, but I'm concerned about that for segmenting it next to other colors, are there other options?

What about wood that is yellow in color, I know of Yellow Heart, but how yellow is that really?

Opinions?

Thanks,
Derek

 

[hewunch]

Yellowheart is very yellow. Holly will work but I would recommend not sanding it with the other woods.

 

[Crashmph]

Or... when you sand the all the woods together, use an air compressor directly on the pen while you sand to prevent cross contamination of the different dusts to the holly.

 

[Monty]

Don't know how green you want the wood but lignum vitae is sorta green. Two other yellow woods are mulberry and osage orange.

 

[On Edge]

Possible alternative woods

You might want to consider stabilized and dyed buckeye or maple burl blanks.

 

[Rick_G]

There are some maples that are very white also. Got some from my son's tree last year, I was surprised how white it was. Here's an example.

 

[Constant Laubscher]

Stabilize the Holly and use it with the other stabilized colors.

 

[wdcav1952]

What Constant is too modest to mention is that he has some great colored and stabilized blanks that might fit the bill for what you are looking for.

 

[ssajn]

Check with Ed at exotic blanks, he has some dyed and stabilized wood.

http://www.exoticblanks.com/index.p...ategory_id=62&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=60

Dave

 

[brokenbit]

The bleeding will not be a problem if you use CA while turning, it will seal the color in the inlay. url]http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=[50428[/url]

 

[bradh]

You could use Canarywood for the yellow. I have seen some of that have a strong yellow hue.
You can also get some green colour out of Yellow Poplar. You can pick this one up in the wood trim section of the big orange box store. Sort through the stock and you can usually find some strong green colour variations.
Coloured blanks are always an option, but I do find people often prefer natural colours on a natural product like wood.
I have no suggestions on the blue, I think you will need to go with a dyed wood for that.

 

[bobskio2003]

The problem with many of the natural colored woods is that over time their color usually darkens to a shade of brown. This happens with all the yellow woods I can think of, purpleheart, redheart, and even lignum vitae (which is a nice green). I read someplace someone was finishing with SPF 50 suntan lotion but I don't know if that would really work in the long run. If you want to stay natural and are looking along the blue lines then I would recommend either buckeye burl or blue mahoe. Not bright blues but more grayish blue. Bob I.

 

[fernhills]

I use accenting Acrylics with woods, the dust doesn`t penetrate the Acrylic, and the color contrast is sharp.

 

[DurocShark]

snip.. If you want to stay natural and are looking along the blue lines then I would recommend either buckeye burl or blue mahoe. Not bright blues but more grayish blue. Bob I.

My blue mahoe dip pen set I made a couple years ago has turned gray/green over time. Still unique and beautiful, but nowhere near the wonderful blue it was when raw.

 

[zig613]

If your are looking for a green wood try sumac.

Wade

 

[leehljp]

The problem with many of the natural colored woods is that over time their color usually darkens to a shade of brown. This happens with all the yellow woods I can think of, purpleheart, redheart, and even lignum vitae (which is a nice green). I read someplace someone was finishing with SPF 50 suntan lotion but I don't know if that would really work in the long run. If you want to stay natural and are looking along the blue lines then I would recommend either buckeye burl or blue mahoe. Not bright blues but more grayish blue. Bob I.

Yes, this is very prevalent. Purple Heart can turn brown, Padauk will turn from vivid orange to brown, Mulberry will turn from yellow to almost walnut brown, and there are others that I can't think of at the moment.

Dyed or colored markers would be my choice for permanence.

AS to sanding and sanding dust: Click here for an thread that deals with getting a smooth finish without sanding and sanding dust. I wish I had the link of a pen that someone (I can't remember who at this moment) made a couple of months ago that used this no-sanding technique and did a remarkable job. Normally, sanding dust with metal segments are a problem, but that pen was brilliant in its contrast because of the lack of sanding dust.

I found the link to the theme with no dust:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48783&highlight=sanding+dust
(by Brian "B Glad" Gladden) . . . but there is another one that I am thinking about that I cannot find at the moment.

 

[nava1uni]

I would avoid the Sumac as it can be a very nasty allergen if inhaled by someone sensitive, especially if inhaled.

 

[woodale]

I recently picked up some Brazilian Talowood from a Canadian vendor on eBay. It is blue like the IAP logo on my screen. Didn't believe the picture until I saw it in person. However, researching online I could not find anything about this wood. Does not look like it has been dyed because it has some white streaks in it. I'll post a pic after I get a pen turned.

 

[mdburn_em]

I haven't seen anyone mention it for awhile, but there is a website where the people have figured out how to dye the wood while the tree is still growing. When it's cut up, it's already colored.

Unfortunately, I can't find the website. Anybody else?

 

[GouletPens]

the best bet would be to go with acrylics, but if you really want to use wood, getting stabilized woods with the dye impregnated in them would be the way to go. Just off the top of my head I've seen stabilized curly maple, curly poplar, and box elder burl blanks from arizona silhouette in at least a dozen colors of each. Not the cheapest way to go, since each blank will cost you $5 or so, but it will certainly yield more desireable results in the long term than using woods like yellowheart and lignum vitae. And for the record, I don't think you can make a strong case for calling buckeye BLUE! It's grey at best, if not a darker almost black color. IMHO