Pink Ivory

[nightowl]

I am turning my first Pink Ivory pen blank and is seem very difficult to drill. I had to very slowly because of the heat it was building up. Is this normal? Also what's with the wax coating on the outside?

 

[igran7]

It is a very dense hardwood and commonly difficult to drill. The wax build up on the outside is a protective coating used to keep the moisture in. Without it your green (wet) wood would dry out too quickly making it more prone to cracking. Make sure you drill at low RPM and take small cuts, because the excessive heat will also cause it to crack. I have made quite a few Pink Ivory pens, and quite a few have cracked, sometimes weeks later.

 

[aurrida]

i had commented earlier in another topic:

There are some woods you should treat as a long term project, snakewood! i would also include pink ivory.

after you are sure it has stabalised, then drill slowly over hours rather than minutes then leave it for another month.

glue in your tube and turn it to within 2 mm, 1/8, of finished dimensions, then leave for another month.

turn and sand to dimensions, leave for another month before filling in cracks and finishing and leave for another month before assembling pen.

it may seem excessive but if you want to sell difficult woods... even after all this effort there is no guarantee.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by aurrida

i had commented earlier in another topic:

There are some woods you should treat as a long term project, snakewood! i would also include pink ivory.

after you are sure it has stabalised, then drill slowly over hours rather than minutes then leave it for another month.

glue in your tube and turn it to within 2 mm, 1/8, of finished dimensions, then leave for another month.

turn and sand to dimensions, leave for another month before filling in cracks and finishing and leave for another month before assembling pen.

it may seem excessive but if you want to sell difficult woods... even after all this effort there is no guarantee.

With all that involved and still no guarantee that it won't crack, IMHO, it simply is not worth the effort. I don't believe you could sell a finished pen for enough extra money to recompense for the time and work involved. Pink Ivory, Snakewood and real Ebony are three that I simply will not bother with.

 

[aurrida]

frank in principle i agree as to whether it really is worth it. but if you want try to work with certain woods, being patient doesnt necessarily have to take much longer in labour, for most of the time you do nothing, just let nature take its course and accept that perhaps only low percentage survive.

 

[fernhills]

Hi, i have purchased Pink Ivory from wolfdancer,i think about 10 blanks, I have made about two slimlines and about 3 segments,with PI being the primary wood. I have had no trouble with it at all other then what you would do with any other hard wood. Drill at 900rpm steady,no pecking,sharpen often while turning,don`t push turning tool. Good luck,it is one beautiful wood and worth the extra effort. Carl

 

[Rudy Vey]

I think sharp tools are the trick. Drill with a freshly sharpened bit and you will see a big difference. Just don't force the bit, back out often and clear chips. And for turning, sharp tools do the trick here, too. I have had one PI pen crack over the years, and I have made at least 50 from PI, if not more.

 

[nightowl]

Thanks for all of the info. guys. I did finally get it drilled and hope it dosen't crack later on. I used an ultimate cigar kit and to be honest I wasn't real pleased with how it turned out. The bland did not match very well top to bottom. I expected more out of a high dollar blank. Oh well, it is made now and I will have to chalk it all up to learning curve. I might not purchase another PI. It would help if you could see what you had through the wax.