Driftwood Pens

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tmegow

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Messages
14
Location
Eastaboga, Alabama
A friend is sending me some driftwood to have a pen make from.
Can I maintain the gray bleached look?
Will turning and sanding get into the regular color?
She has not stated a preference and I did not bring the subject
up, as I am at a loss as what to expect
Thanks
Tom
Ala
 
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Rink

Member
Joined
May 12, 2013
Messages
327
Location
NW Arkansas
I don't think the sanding should hurt anything. Be sure to blow the sanding dust out with compressed air before finishing. I don't know about other finishes, but CA will darken the wood tone somewhat. Good luck!
 

ssalvage

Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2016
Messages
61
Location
SoCal
I have only ever turned one driftwood pen as a test. Was just playing around and trying a couple things out.

What I learned from that experience:
1) The wood (at least what I used) was VERY easy to turn... almost too easy. In fact, looking back I am surprised I didn't blow it out. Ed from Exotic Blanks (ed4copies) offers some really good tips for using thin CA to deal with punky wood that hasn't been stabilized.
2) The wood did change color. It was very grey and washed out on the outside, which leads me to..
3) I was extremely surprised and pleased with the color and spalting I found inside after I turned it down!

I'm sure every piece of driftwood is different, but that was my experience. (picture attached)
 

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PapaTim

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2008
Messages
449
Location
Gainesboro, TN
You could try drilling it in a way that kept some of the outside color unturned. Kind of like drilling antler.
 

ThatGuysPens

Member
Joined
May 28, 2016
Messages
5
Location
Tacoma, Wa
When I turned mine it lost its color and ended up looking like maple with weird grain. Had bits of dirty looking wood in it as well. Mine was also kind of a pain to turn. It seemed very dry and I had to use CA to keep it from blowing out.

I'd imagine it's a crap shoot for drift wood though. Mine was sourced from the PNW. Not sure what wood it was.
 
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