Chuck Hans
Member
I was wondering if it's possible to turn a pen from coal? I think it would be interesting to try and it should work pretty well since it's a soft mineral.
Has Anyone Tried this?
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ldimick
Member
Might be too soft. Of course the only coal that we know of here in CA is in the bag for the BBQ!
pastorbill1952
Member
Wouldn't coal leave black on your hands? Pressing the parts would be another problem I would think would have to be addressed. Looking forward to seeing what happens. Try it, worst that could happen is the coal would crumble. BTW will be in your area next week, will try to give you a call.
M
Mudder
Guest
I've tried turning it in raw form and found it to be too soft and crumbly. I have thought of crushing up a bunch and mixing it with epoxy or acrylic (polyester resin) but I haven't found the time yet. I do recall someone posting a pen inlayed with coal dust not too long ago.
Ah Ha!
Here it is....Banksia pod and powdered anthracite coal.
Maybe you can drop William a note and he might clue you in on how he did it.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10388&whichpage=1#104733
Ah Ha!
Here it is....Banksia pod and powdered anthracite coal.
Maybe you can drop William a note and he might clue you in on how he did it.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10388&whichpage=1#104733
Travlr7
Member
HMMMMMMMMM Let's see. The stuff in a bag is Charcoal, a product of heat and wood.
Coal might be hard enough to turn, but use filtration. Coal dust causes Black Lung Disease that killed many miners.
To hold it together, if you have problems, CA should work.
Just MHO.
Bruce[
]
Coal might be hard enough to turn, but use filtration. Coal dust causes Black Lung Disease that killed many miners.
To hold it together, if you have problems, CA should work.
Just MHO.
Bruce[
]rtparso
Member
Ok I am not a geologist but I stayed at a Holiday Inn.
I have worked with geology stuff. Coal is compressed organic solids that have aged to the point that it is mostly just the carbon and trace residues remaining. Think natural charcoal. The thing about coal is the hardness varies from very soft to almost like obsidian. The harder the coal the more it will shatter the softer coal will crumble. If you stabilized soft coal it might be turntable. It Might be neat since coal is stratified (has layers). Find the right piece and you could have black and brown striations.
I have worked with geology stuff. Coal is compressed organic solids that have aged to the point that it is mostly just the carbon and trace residues remaining. Think natural charcoal. The thing about coal is the hardness varies from very soft to almost like obsidian. The harder the coal the more it will shatter the softer coal will crumble. If you stabilized soft coal it might be turntable. It Might be neat since coal is stratified (has layers). Find the right piece and you could have black and brown striations.
wdcav1952
Activities Manager Emeritus
Hey Mudder,
Thanks for the plug, so to speak. I took a piece of anthracite, which as I understand is pretty hard coal, and crushed it to powder. Then, I used it liked any crushed stone to fill the seed holes and solidfied it with thin CA. My technique was not the best, as I had several tiny voids to touch up.
Just from my limited experience, I think coal would shatter very quickly if you tried to turn it. I also don't think you could stabilize it with CA as anthracite is in a crystilline form, which seems to me would not allow significant penetration with the CA, So, IMHO, coal makes a nice accent, not a pen.
Of course, my thoughts only,
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