Making Sandalwood Pens

[Bartstar]

I have a friend that has requested me to make a sandalwood mechanical pencil. I've never worked with this wood, and it is actually quite hard to find, tho I did find a supplier. Anyone here have any experience with it. Can it be finished in such a way that you can maintain most of its fragrant qualities?

Thanks
Bart

 

[Fred in NC]

Just sand it to a fine grit (MM), and forget the finish.

 

[youngturner]

Make sure you get the real sandalwood because there is a lot of false sandalwood and it doesn't have the smell. It is very rare to find it, i have a few blanks but had trouble sourcing them.

 

[Bartstar]

I found a supplier in Colorado using woodfinder.com. He claims to be the only supplier of sandelwood blanks in the US. He's sending me some sandelwood burl blanks. Very expensive - He claims the burl is even more fragrant than just straight sandelwood. I'll let you know what I think when they arrive.

Bart

 

[its_virgil]

I purchased a small piece in Hawaii two summers ago. When they saw the sandlewood, they clean the saws and collect all of the sandlewood dust which is sold to their Oriental citizens who use the dust as a medicinal product.

I've made aromatic cedar pens, applied my normal CA finish and have been told by a couple of lady customers that the aroma of cedar exudes from their purse when it is opened. Don't know about sandlewood. My piece is still on the shelf, outgasing probably.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by Bartstar
<br />I found a supplier in Colorado using woodfinder.com. He claims to be the only supplier of sandelwood blanks in the US. He's sending me some sandelwood burl blanks. Very expensive - He claims the burl is even more fragrant than just straight sandelwood. I'll let you know what I think when they arrive.

Bart

 

[C. Scott]

Bart,

Goodluck finding it. Some years ago my in-laws brought back me a chuck of it (literally) from India and I made a few pens out of it. The real reason I wanted it was that my wife wanted a pen out of it (yes, she is Indian). I later found out that my in-laws committed the equivalent of a felony in India. They had no idea that sandalwood was a controlled substance in India. ALL sandalwood trees in India are considered property of the Indian government period. In India it can only be legally purchased from the government in a raw or lumber form. An alternative would be to buy something made from sandalwood and use that for a blank.

If you do make one and you don't put a finish on it it will stain and get "dirty" like any other wood pen would without a finish. However, it will smell great.

Regards,

C. Scott

 

[Bartstar]

Yes - I know about the controls that India has put on Sandalwood. There are however, a few other countries where is can still be exported legally. The guy I bought my blanks from said they are coming from Nepal.

BTW - I just finished turning the burl sandalwood blanks I bought. They are very pretty pieces of wood. While they do have a smell, I would not call it very strong. Its a mild and sweet scent.

 

[BillATsetelDOTcom]

Bringing back an old post...anyone have any pics of turned Sandalwood? I have searched and I got nothing - maybe it was just me, though.

Bill

 

[DCBluesman]

Originally posted by Bartstar
<br />Yes - I know about the controls that India has put on Sandalwood. There are however, a few other countries where is can still be exported legally. The guy I bought my blanks from said they are coming from Nepal.

Buying sandalwood is fraught with peril unless it is in finished form. Our government has been and continues to cooperate with Indian and other foreign governments in stopping the smuggling, even if the purchasor believes the buy to be legit.

Arrest busts sandal log export racket
A STAFF REPORTER
Sleuths from the central revenue intelligence department have stumbled upon a racket engaged in smuggling sandalwood through the Haldia and Calcutta ports.

According to the detectives, the sandalwood was sourced from big smugglers in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and sent abroad, mainly to Nepal, through the city.

The recent arrest of Sunil Singh while he was trying to export a sandalwood consignment, worth around Rs 3 crore, to Malaysia led the sleuths to the racket. Based in Behala, Singh used fake Customs documents to obtain export permits. He was produced in Bankshal court and remanded till September 18.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the 29-year-old employed youths to work as clearing agents for him. They negotiated with warehouse owners and those dealing in large containers on Singh’s behalf.

Singh himself liaised with the smugglers in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and worked out the details of fetching the consignments to the city, the cops said.

“After the logs reached Calcutta, generally by road, they were kept in trusted warehouses. Singh then started work on forged documents to send the sandalwood abroad,†explained an officer of revenue intelligence.

Singh specialised in procuring fake copies of the Customs transit documents required for obtaining the mandatory Customs clearance, the officer added. Singh had claimed that the consignment with which he was caught had arrived from Raxaul, in Nepal.

Buyer beware!