Turnable or Not?

[scoutharps]

Guys, if you haven't guessed it by now, I'm very new at this. It's like crack--one hit and you are an addict! Anyway, while checking my "orchard" today, I realized that the big, thick, got to get it out wild grape vine (or this one may be honeysuckle, they are both out there) is just sitting there, waiting to be hauled off. I'm talking vines up to 2 inches thick here--and certainly over one inch. Hmmmm....I don't have a maple such as Mr Frost's, but would this be possible? And aside from the possible, would it be SAFE?!?!?!? I don't know much about relative hardnesses of different woods, much less vines--and I don't want to have things flying all over with me in the way. Any input?

Thanks!

 

[karlkuehn]

Turn 'EM! Vines make nice pens, too!

I'd love to have some old grapevine like that, lemme know if you want to work a trade for some.

 

[gwilki]

Get out of the way, Karl. It's mine. Mine I say.

As Karl said, vines are great for pen making. Stay away from poison ivy vine, but I'll be interested in seeing anything you make from grape.

 

[scoutharps]

How do I cut, season, etc? I have a vague idea of going out with a hand saw, for foot long or so chunks, but what do I do then to start getting it ready? I'm up for a swap! I'm not sure if you would be getting grape or honeysuckle, at least until it leafs out. The more info I have, the better your chances of getting something you can use!

 

[Russianwolf]

Originally posted by karlkuehn

Turn 'EM! Vines make nice pens, too!

I'd love to have some old grapevine like that, lemme know if you want to work a trade for some.

there not ready yet, but I planted 4 wild grape vines today.

But I did get to harvest some Dogwood, Butterfly Bush, Lilac and Plum. Some redbud and wild honeysuckle bush are up for tomorrow.

If it's wood, you can turn it.

For drying, like you said, I cut 1 - 2 foot lengths then just toss them in the shop. Ones that are 1 inch thick will dry in a couple months, thicker ones may take a year or so. You can speed up drying by microwaving them.

 

[JayDevin]

if you are needing a home for the vines just let me know!
they turn wonderful!

 

[Dalecamino]

Val , I'd like to try a piece of that Grapevine ! If Karl will LET me ! Send me a PM with a price , or a trade . Thanks !

Please Karl , let me get just one blank ! [8D]

 

[karlkuehn]

Originally posted by dalecamino

Val , I'd like to try a piece of that Grapevine ! If Karl will LET me ! Send me a PM with a price , or a trade . Thanks !

Please Karl , let me get just one blank ! [8D]

Ohhhh, I suppose! []

I don't want all that many in actuality. I've had a couple of pen projects in mind for a while, so I've been looking for some decent grapevine.

 

[bobskio2003]

Grapevine turn pretty well. I has some quirks that provide a little challenge (fairly open end grain) but isn't that hard. One thing you will find in drying it, however, is that it is very prone to checking (usually the whole length of a piece) and since it is a vine the check isn't usually straight but usually follows the grain and spirals around. Still not all that of a big issue but you won't get quite as many pieces as you might have wanted to from each piece. Bob I.

 

[karlkuehn]

Originally posted by bobskio2003

Grapevine turn pretty well. I has some quirks that provide a little challenge (fairly open end grain) but isn't that hard. One thing you will find in drying it, however, is that it is very prone to checking (usually the whole length of a piece) and since it is a vine the check isn't usually straight but usually follows the grain and spirals around. Still not all that of a big issue but you won't get quite as many pieces as you might have wanted to from each piece. Bob I.

All that sounds like music to my ears! Gotta love that character!

 

[Dalecamino]

Thanks Karl ! That's good of you . I can't wait to see what you're gonna do with yours !! [8D]

 

[scoutharps]

OK, I went out a few minutes ago, and here's the scoop:

I have a dozen or so pretty straight chunks, a few "probaly straight enough" chunks and I think it was three "definitly have a major bend in 'em" chunks. It looks like I cut this whopping big vine last summer, and left it there in the middle of the bramble patch. In other words, it was cut at both ends! So I thought it was sure to be fairly dry--but I have the chunks in front of me and at least half a dozen of the ends are sappy. I am honestly not sure if this is grape or honeysuckle. They both grow wild and rampant here. I can tell you that I likely pulled this thing down out of a tree last summer while mowing. (Mowing, in this case, means taking a standerd little yard mower into places a bush hog would have trouble with. I am slowly reclaiming a several acre hay field from wildness, and planting an orchard--5 apples and one cherry tree so far. Lots of wild vines, berries, wild rose, and just plain sticker vines.) It is NOT poisen ivy--we have that stuff too, I know what it looks like, and I am highly allergic, so I avoid it! There are NO arial roots on this piece, It has a fibrous bark, Diameter ranges from slightly bigger than my thumb to maybe a thumb and a half. I was able to cut them with long handle loppers with moderate effort.

Whew! That all being stated! Karl, Grant, Dale and Jay--you are in line if you still want some, after this rather more complete description. All others--let me know. There is more out there, and I'm sure I will be "harvesting" this summer. After things leaf out I can tell you if it is grape or heneysuckle. Meanwhile, anyone who PMs me with a name and address, I'll send these out. Probably two each unless we get a bunch of requests, then it will be first come first grab. The really bent sections I think would still make nice handles for something--letter openers or soemthing, or Wall Street pens, so if you have a need for one, I'll put that in your envelope extra until I run out.

Payment? Because I really don't know what I am offering you, how does this work? When you get yours, if you like it, and have some thing hanging around that you think I might like, a blank or what ever, I don't even have a scrap barrel started here yet! I'd like to work towards making some Christmas ornaments, letter openers, bottle stoppers, that sort of thing. I have a steel city 5 speed, and the bushings for the Classic American from WC. Even drill bits would be nice if you really like this stuff and have an extra! In other words, don't feel obligated to send money, just look around for something you think fair.

Sorry this got so long, but I don't want to promise something I cannot deliver. Now, should I dip the ends of these in wax, or just leave them in the bag I popped them into to carry them inside?

 

[scoutharps]

Update number 2--There is another with the same bark in the front yard that is thicker than my wrist! I would love to have it come down. However, it is crossed over by a poisen ivy vine. Steve in Franklin, and somebody in the north of Nasville area--I think I am between you guys. If you would like some of this, I'll give you first grabs on the biggy if you will come help harvest!

 

[karlkuehn]

I'm in for a couple. Hopefully you have big thumbs. LOL

I have some stuff I can send you to get you started.

As for drill bits, almost every one of my pens is done using one of those $20 'titanium nitride' coated sets that go from 1/16" to 1/2" in 1/64" increments. The exceptions are the big Churchill bit and the 7mm brad point bit that I have.

Don't dip mine in wax. I like the cracks and checks! The bent stuff is good for me, too. The more weirdness, the better in my book. I'll PM you my address.

 

[scoutharps]

20 $ bits are way over what I had in mind! I'm used to thinking cheap....

OK some straights and a bent will be heading your way!

 

[Hello]

Originally posted by scoutharps

Guys, if you haven't guessed it by now, I'm very new at this. It's like crack--one hit and you are an addict! Anyway, while checking my "orchard" today, I realized that the big, thick, got to get it out wild grape vine (or this one may be honeysuckle, they are both out there) is just sitting there, waiting to be hauled off. I'm talking vines up to 2 inches thick here--and certainly over one inch. Hmmmm....I don't have a maple such as Mr Frost's, but would this be possible? And aside from the possible, would it be SAFE?!?!?!? I don't know much about relative hardnesses of different woods, much less vines--and I don't want to have things flying all over with me in the way. Any input?

Thanks!

dude, somebody recently made a pen out of dryer lint....you can turn the vines!

 

[redfishsc]

Originally posted by scoutharps

20 $ bits are way over what I had in mind! I'm used to thinking cheap....

OK some straights and a bent will be heading your way!

I don't think he was talking about a single bit for $20--- I think he was referring to one of those "drill catalog" sets that cost $20 for the whole platoon.

 

[karlkuehn]

GAH! You won't see this boy paying $20 for a single drill bit ever, unless it either drills the whole by itself or it's a Forstner or something. No, the whole set was $16.99 I think at Tractor Supply. The bits work great, and I can sharpen them on my grinder lickety split. I've never had a kit that I can't find a bit for in there. There's only on that falls right between the sizes, and I either just hog the hole a little with the smaller bit if I'm drilling wood, or use the bigger bit and goop the epoxy in there if I'm doing acrylics. So far so good, just need to make sure I keep the brass centered on the bigger hole if used..

 

[thetalbott4]

$20 drill bit? Must be made out of diesel fuel.

 

[Russianwolf]

Yeah I think I paid $45 for a 100+ bit kit at Tractor Supply. It hase all the ones from Karl's kit+ all the lettered bits, and a another group as well.

definitely worth the money, I've even figured out which bits fit closely inside the tubes to use with custom sanding trimmers.

 

[karlkuehn]

Hey Mike, do you know if these are the same as the Ti-coated sets that you can get from Grizzly and/or Harbor Freight? I've seen no reason why these wouldn't work for lots of people, and it's really silly to keep paying $8 and $9 for drill bits when these seem to work great and can be sharpened with ease. I've run them through some really dicey/fragile stuff, and they cut really clean and don't 'pull' themselves through the wood. I think case pine cones are the most fragile thing I've ever worked with, and these do great in there as long as you're not horsing the bit through.

I can't imagine that TSC is spending any more money on 'really good' imported drill bits, so it's my guess that the HF/Grizz ones are the same.

 

[ldb2000]

Hi
If karl dont get them all I'll take a couple ..the bent one too it might have some interesting grain... I can send a box of extra wood pen blanks or mix in some acrylics if you like I'll never turn all the blanks I've got so a few new ones seem like a good idea....I think....well....A LITTLE HELP HERE GUYS... I need to rationalize this to myself

 

[karlkuehn]

Butch Butch Butch, you blasphemer, you!!

Of course you'll never turn all your blanks, but their value in the marketplace will always go up! You're investing in your future, my friend! Why, I bet most of your circle of influence doesn't make half of the quality, well-thought out investment decisions that you make, and if you keep going the way you are, you'll die a happy man!

What if Bill Gates would've second guessed himself and said...geez, I don't know...how popular can a simple operating system get...what if I never use it?"? I mean, can you imagine the world-altering ramifications if he'd abandoned his dream?! My God, man! We'd all be using mouses with just ONE button, and not experiencing the joys of patching our computers every three or four hours!! Oh, the dire times we'd indeed be in but not for one man's perseverance and dedication to his craft.

That help? []

If not, then I'm sucking all that vine up myself!

Hey, just offhand, at what point did I get the reputation for monopolizing all the good stuff that pops up!? Geeeeeezzzz...you try to do a few people a favor, and look what it gets you...[}]

 

[bitshird]

Karl, I have quite a bit of wild Muscadine Grape vine, I had a short 5 or 6 ft piece on my porch that I cut a few months ago,it has some checks that are pretty wide, Should take PR pretty well. PM me with an address and I'll send you a couple feet I'll cut it just long enough to fit an envelope. If it ever quits raining, I'll cut some more, there's a hundred feet or more I have to clear out.

 

[JayDevin]

Ive got some California Native stuff I can trade with ya.
let me know when you are ready to swap...

 

[ldb2000]

Karl I thank you for showing me the error of my ways , you are absolutly right it IS an investment with far reaching proportions , all I have to do now is convince the CFO (LOML) that I NEED! these so I can someday grow up to be the Bill Gates of pen blanks and we can all make pens that have to be clicked or twisted every hour to make them work again
Thank You so much you have taught me a valuable lesson

 

[scoutharps]

Hey Butch, send me your address! I can't believe how many of you guys want the bents as well! So far, I have confirmed takers of: Karl, Mike and Rob--Grant Dale and Jay, if you want in on this particular harvest, speak up! I'll most likely have some more later this summer....

 

[Jarheaded]

I'm in for some. I like it as gnarly as it comes. And if Bill Gates made pen blanks, they would have to be replaced every 2-3 years, and every time you were just about done writing a letter, the pen would stop working and all the ink on the paper would disappear. I love my Unix system, boots quicks too.

 

[scoutharps]

JJ--I am packaging as I type--so send me your address quick! I'm sorry I did not get this out Friday as planned--Our bathroom floor had rotted out, and i was helping to replace it. We have a great guy who does jobs like this, and is willing to let us help if it cuts his time, and there fore our bill! I will be making the post office run at lunch tomorrow.

 

[Rifleman1776]

People are saying they turn grapevine and I'm happy for them. How they do it, I don't know. I have tried cutting and drying some and find it way-way too fibrous for turning. When it dries, you can actually see through end to end it is porous. And it dries with a thick sugar crust. If stabilized it can be turned, no doubt. That's how dryer lint is turned, I'll bet. Or cast in resin. But, you would be making a pen that is more resin than grapevine. Whatever, if it works for you go for it. I have a few pieces kicking around that will never be lathe mounted.

 

[Russianwolf]

Originally posted by karlkuehn

Hey Mike, do you know if these are the same as the Ti-coated sets that you can get from Grizzly and/or Harbor Freight? I've seen no reason why these wouldn't work for lots of people, and it's really silly to keep paying $8 and $9 for drill bits when these seem to work great and can be sharpened with ease. I've run them through some really dicey/fragile stuff, and they cut really clean and don't 'pull' themselves through the wood. I think case pine cones are the most fragile thing I've ever worked with, and these do great in there as long as you're not horsing the bit through.

I can't imagine that TSC is spending any more money on 'really good' imported drill bits, so it's my guess that the HF/Grizz ones are the same.

I can say that the bits look similar. And in the price range, I bet they probably come from the same place. I'll have a look when I get home and see if I still have the "name" brand for them, they did come in a nice fancy red metal box after all.

I agree they aren't the best quality, but so far I've had no issues with them. they are nice and sharp and cut round holes that are straight. I'm not sure what else I would want them to do.

 

[karlkuehn]

Originally posted by Russianwolf
I can say that the bits look similar. And in the price range, I bet they probably come from the same place. I'll have a look when I get home and see if I still have the "name" brand for them, they did come in a nice fancy red metal box after all.

I agree they aren't the best quality, but so far I've had no issues with them. they are nice and sharp and cut round holes that are straight. I'm not sure what else I would want them to do.

Oh man, you got a red box!? Mine's stupid old gray.

I bet yours go way faster, but your insurance is through the roof, right? heh

I agree, mine have been great, and when one of my Baron ones got a little iffy, I just touched it up on the grinder, and it's better than ever!

Great stuff, gotta like cheap tools that actually work. Sometimes the Harbor Freight (or any other 'discount' store) stuff I get is real disappointing.

 

[scoutharps]

Yeah! The Post Office run has happened at last, and a flock of fat white envelopes is flying in assorted directions as I type. I was clearing out some more "stuff" from the orchard, and had several saplings, so bits of them are also in the envelopes. Winged Elm and hickory.

Guys, i hope you can use these blanks, If they turn out useless, I'm sorry--I tried to describe them as best I could, but I don't really know how to judge wood yet. As stated before, if you can use them and would like to send something in return, thanks, but it is totally up to each of you. If these turn out usable, I'll likely have more later this summer.

Anyway, some of you can start watching the mail now!

 

[karlkuehn]

Originally posted by scoutharps

...If they turn out useless...

hehe...no such animal here, unless they vanish into thin air.

Ooooh! Air casts! Intentional bubble blanks. heh...whip them up like cream just before they gel...I'm going to have to try that!

 

[JayDevin]

im glued to the mail box....and like Karl I can cast anything....



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