I would like to make you an offer...!

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Beautys_Beast

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Sep 27, 2017
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Wisconsin/
This is a cross post, from show off your pens, but thought it would be good to post here as well.

I received my blanks from George this week, and turned this beauty yesterday.

Working with this blank was very easy. I am not an overly experienced turner, as I have only been turning for about a year, but I do turn a lot of Rhino plastic, which seems to be kinda brittle as opposed to other acrylic I have turned, so I have learned to take things slow, and keep my tools really sharp.

I painted the tube blue, as I didn't want to find out to late, that the acrylic part would show through.

I sharpened both of my skews, and both of my roughing gouges right before turning this blank. The acrylic portion turned like normal, run of the mill acrylic. It didn't "feel" brittle under the roughing gouge or the skew. The coconut husk kind of turned to dust under both the roughing gouge and the skew. Not in a bad way, as the blank was very solid, It just didn't ribbon, or shave off, but "dusted" off. I took gentle cuts with it, but that was because I didn't want to screw it up.

After I turned it to shape, I lightly sanded with 600 dry. The Coconut husk sands beautifully. I then wet sanded, still on the lathe from 1500, to 12k with micro mesh. I wiped it down between each pad to get the "slurry" off of it, as I didn't know how it would react. After sanding to 12k, I stopped the lathe, and took a good look. I noticed that there were a few places on the coconut husk, that didn't polish. Most of it had, but a few places it hadn't. I applied 4 coats of thin CA glue, letting it dry about 5 minutes between coats. After the 4th coat, I removed it from the lathe, and placed it on a peg to dry for about an hour. I don't use accelerator. I then put it back on the lathe and re-sanded it with my micro mesh pads from 1500 to 12k, then buffed it with a quick coat of Maquire's for a really deep shine.

George, once again, I really appreciate the "Offer" and I look forward to turning the other 3 blanks. They haven't told me what kind of pen they want to be yet, but they will when it is their time.

P.S. If I may ask, what is in your acrylic, that adds the micro glitter? I really love it.
 

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robutacion

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Aug 6, 2009
Messages
6,514
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Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
This is a cross post, from show off your pens, but thought it would be good to post here as well.

I received my blanks from George this week, and turned this beauty yesterday.

Working with this blank was very easy. I am not an overly experienced turner, as I have only been turning for about a year, but I do turn a lot of Rhino plastic, which seems to be kinda brittle as opposed to other acrylic I have turned, so I have learned to take things slow, and keep my tools really sharp.

I painted the tube blue, as I didn't want to find out to late, that the acrylic part would show through.

I sharpened both of my skews, and both of my roughing gouges right before turning this blank. The acrylic portion turned like normal, run of the mill acrylic. It didn't "feel" brittle under the roughing gouge or the skew. The coconut husk kind of turned to dust under both the roughing gouge and the skew. Not in a bad way, as the blank was very solid, It just didn't ribbon, or shave off, but "dusted" off. I took gentle cuts with it, but that was because I didn't want to screw it up.

After I turned it to shape, I lightly sanded with 600 dry. The Coconut husk sands beautifully. I then wet sanded, still on the lathe from 1500, to 12k with micro mesh. I wiped it down between each pad to get the "slurry" off of it, as I didn't know how it would react. After sanding to 12k, I stopped the lathe, and took a good look. I noticed that there were a few places on the coconut husk, that didn't polish. Most of it had, but a few places it hadn't. I applied 4 coats of thin CA glue, letting it dry about 5 minutes between coats. After the 4th coat, I removed it from the lathe, and placed it on a peg to dry for about an hour. I don't use accelerator. I then put it back on the lathe and re-sanded it with my micro mesh pads from 1500 to 12k, then buffed it with a quick coat of Maquire's for a really deep shine.

George, once again, I really appreciate the "Offer" and I look forward to turning the other 3 blanks. They haven't told me what kind of pen they want to be yet, but they will when it is their time.

P.S. If I may ask, what is in your acrylic, that adds the micro glitter? I really love it.

Thanks for your detailed description of your experience with this particular type of blank.

I use epoxy resin it has better qualities than the Polyester that can be brittle in occasions. Yes, you couldn't expect ribbons from the stabilised coconut husk as even stabilised woods turns to bust when turned, the coconut husk being a compressed bunch of fibres would never produce ribbons when turned.

As for the "micro gliter" effect you are referring to, part of it is a natural look of many Pearlex powders used in the resin, some colours show it more than others however, I also tend to use Micro-Pearl to accentuate that effect.

I'm sure you will work out what kits will go with the other blanks, I look forwards to seem them

I would like to furthermore say that, I had intended to have some fairly new turners among the group of 10 members this "offer" endup covering, this means that despite that fact that I make some blanks of "difficult" handling, I was never expecting these coconut husk blanks to be part of that category, my experiencing in turning a round sample with the CA finish at the time I made them was pleasent however, others may feel differently the very reason I decided to allow a few of you have a go with them and tell their experiences.

Thank you,:biggrin:

Cheers
George
 
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SpecialV4213

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Jun 22, 2017
Messages
140
Location
Florida
I would gladly offer my meager services if for no other reason than to gain experience,which is of course the reason I am on this forum.
As far as turning anything new I as a rule make sure my tools are sharp and I go slow.
Anyway I'm probably too late to help out. Maybe next time.
 

robutacion

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Aug 6, 2009
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Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
I would gladly offer my meager services if for no other reason than to gain experience,which is of course the reason I am on this forum.
As far as turning anything new I as a rule make sure my tools are sharp and I go slow.
Anyway I'm probably too late to help out. Maybe next time.

Yeah sorry, too late for this time...!

As you said, there will be other possibilities in the near future...!

Cheers
George
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Messages
493
Location
Davis Oklahoma
George, Here's my attempt at your blank. I did pretty much the same as Mark(Beautys Beast) did, except for painting the tube black. It cut quite easily with carbide and I had to use CA to fill in the empty spots, then continued with micromesh up to 12k. I then took Meguires plastic polish to finish. It's on a Atlas pen from Woodcraft. I'm having a tough time taking a picture well enough to do this blank justice. The colors and the glitter effects of the Pearlex are absolutely beautiful. I'm going to continue trying to get some better pictures to post for you, I'm just going to have to find the right lighting and setup to hopefully at least give it a chance of showing its true color and brilliance.

IMG_0494.jpg
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Ambidex

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Nov 2, 2011
Messages
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Location
Bristol NH 03222
Here's my attempt at your blank George. I used a white painted tube, turned with a sharp gouge(as I use for every material I've turned so far) and finished with 6 coats of thin ca, mm'ed to 12k and a couple coats of ren wax. The only thing I noticed was the difference in the density of the husk and the acrylic, which I expected. Thank you very much for the opportunity and count me in anytime!:biggrin: Don't know why the pics flipped when I added them..:mad: I DID warn you I'm not a photographer:)
 

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robutacion

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George, Here's my attempt at your blank. I did pretty much the same as Mark(Beautys Beast) did, except for painting the tube black. It cut quite easily with carbide and I had to use CA to fill in the empty spots, then continued with micromesh up to 12k. I then took Meguires plastic polish to finish. It's on a Atlas pen from Woodcraft. I'm having a tough time taking a picture well enough to do this blank justice. The colors and the glitter effects of the Pearlex are absolutely beautiful. I'm going to continue trying to get some better pictures to post for you, I'm just going to have to find the right lighting and setup to hopefully at least give it a chance of showing its true color and brilliance.

Even without bigger pics I can see that you've done a beautiful job with it, I can see some sticking effects on the coconut husk from stabilizing it blue, the resin contrast is also pretty.

Thank you very much for being part of this "offer" and for making the pen...!

Cheers
George
 

robutacion

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Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
Here's my attempt at your blank George. I used a white painted tube, turned with a sharp gouge(as I use for every material I've turned so far) and finished with 6 coats of thin ca, mm'ed to 12k and a couple coats of ren wax. The only thing I noticed was the difference in the density of the husk and the acrylic, which I expected. Thank you very much for the opportunity and count me in anytime!:biggrin: Don't know why the pics flipped when I added them..:mad: I DID warn you I'm not a photographer:)

Neither am I so I know how it goes.

Is great to see 100% success rate so far, and I hope that I will see 10 pens made of this material, is also pleasant that the workability experience has been within expectation there is, everybody seems to get it done without many issues.

I appreciate your participation in this "offer" and I like what you've done with it, thank you...!

Cheers
George
 

robutacion

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Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
You are a little too late for this "offer" there will be others so, keep your eye open.

Persistency is one of the ways to get better...!

Cheers
George


I would love to try these I am a beginner. Turning for only 3 years. Always up for a challenge. Have to say I did have some blow outs but never give in. Onward upward. Cheers.


Sent from my iPad using Penturners.org mobile app
 

gimpy

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Mar 10, 2012
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Danville, Pa
So, as promised, I turned the blank that George had in his offer. I painted the tube flat black and picked the hardware, which was a Le Rio Major with a satin finish. I didn't have a issues drilling the blank nor turning it. I used medium CA to fill a void or two. Started sanding with 180 grit and went all the way up to 600 grit. The blank really looking good. I then used a three step finish which looked impressive. Take a gander..........The issue was that I got greedy and was attempting to get a real nice sheen to it. At the end, I held a sock to it and it got to hot and melted the blank and fell off of the tubing.....So sorry George, I definitely would like another attempt.
 

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robutacion

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So, as promised, I turned the blank that George had in his offer. I painted the tube flat black and picked the hardware, which was a Le Rio Major with a satin finish. I didn't have a issues drilling the blank nor turning it. I used medium CA to fill a void or two. Started sanding with 180 grit and went all the way up to 600 grit. The blank really looking good. I then used a three step finish which looked impressive. Take a gander..........The issue was that I got greedy and was attempting to get a real nice sheen to it. At the end, I held a sock to it and it got to hot and melted the blank and fell off of the tubing.....So sorry George, I definitely would like another attempt.

Is a shame when that happens and like any other hybrid blank, there is always the possibility that it doesn't make it to the end, there are so many reasons why as you all know so, what I'm trying to say is that I wasn't sure if we would endup with all 10 of the coconut husk pens successfully finished and that doesn't bother me much, is said but, life goes on, turn another pen to help to forget the failure, like I said is not the end of the world and I'm sure, you can have more of these blanks anythine you feel like it.

I'm thankful for your attempt never the less, forget about it, life is too short to worry about such small things...!:biggrin::wink:

All good...!:)

Cheers
George
 
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Fuquay Varina, NC
Someone say something about slow??? In my defense I had a 28 pen order to turn in less than 14 days... Good news, I did it!

So, here's the shop pencil I made from the palm blank. My only problem was George was supposed to send me something challenging and instead he sent this well put together and incredibly easy to turn hybrid blank. I will say there was one part of the palm that was DENSE to the point where I rotated my carbide to a fresh part. Wasn't hard to turn, it was just tough stuff! Did my usual CA finish like I would for a wood pen. There really weren't any holes to fill in the material so was mostly just to shine it up all pretty like for photos.

I've got one more hybrid to turn from that package George and I'm trying to figure out what kit to do it with. My goal is to have it done for you here in the next week at most. That big order put me way behind on my own casting and commitments like this. My apologies!
 

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robutacion

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Someone say something about slow??? In my defense I had a 28 pen order to turn in less than 14 days... Good news, I did it!

So, here's the shop pencil I made from the palm blank. My only problem was George was supposed to send me something challenging and instead he sent this well put together and incredibly easy to turn hybrid blank. I will say there was one part of the palm that was DENSE to the point where I rotated my carbide to a fresh part. Wasn't hard to turn, it was just tough stuff!

I've got one more hybrid to turn from that package George and I'm trying to figure out what kit to do it with. My goal is to have it done for you here in the next week at most. That big order put me way behind on my own casting and commitments like this. My apologies!


Wow, very pretty pencil fit and finish there is only one thing that you are incorrect about and that is what that blank actually is, is not Palm as you mentioned but Coconut crushed Husk, you may be confused because I said that, this material was the closest thing I could find to the Palm root I used for a little while but was unable to find any more while this Coconut material is produced commercially and sold at various location, the problem is how to handle it when you take it home and try to stabilise it...!:mad:

Anyway, I'm pleased that you found very easy to handle this type blank, I did also mentioned at one time that even though I'm know for making some blanks that are very difficult to handle, I stated that, these blanks were not in that category and that was a surprise to me, as the Palm root ones are a challenge.

Thank you for your participation in this "offer" let's hope everybody id as lucky as you...!

Cheers
George
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Messages
493
Location
Davis Oklahoma
George, Here's my attempt at your blank. I did pretty much the same as Mark(Beautys Beast) did, except for painting the tube black. It cut quite easily with carbide and I had to use CA to fill in the empty spots, then continued with micromesh up to 12k. I then took Meguires plastic polish to finish. It's on a Atlas pen from Woodcraft. I'm having a tough time taking a picture well enough to do this blank justice. The colors and the glitter effects of the Pearlex are absolutely beautiful. I'm going to continue trying to get some better pictures to post for you, I'm just going to have to find the right lighting and setup to hopefully at least give it a chance of showing its true color and brilliance.

Even without bigger pics I can see that you've done a beautiful job with it, I can see some sticking effects on the coconut husk from stabilizing it blue, the resin contrast is also pretty.

Thank you very much for being part of this "offer" and for making the pen...!

Cheers
George

Thanks George, I did my best on turning that and It turned out better than I could have ever hoped for. I wish I could truly express what you mean to me and others here. Because of you, I've learned massive amounts about different woods, that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else. Between you and Edgar, and of course many others, but mainly you two, I've learned more about not only different woods here locally, but about different woods from all over the earth and that's a good thing. I don't know if you realize how much of resource that you and Merissa are, but it's hard to find treasures such as yourselves. Many people take a lifetime looking for the treasure that you bring, and many people would fail to find it, if it weren't for people such as yourself. I certainly for one, would be a worse off if I had never made you as a friend. You've made my hobby so much fun that I really can't explain it.
The only thing I can do to show it, is to say thank you. Without you and others such as yourself I would have never realized all of the beautiful things I could make. I know this is sappy, and I'm sure it is. That's ok, I'm good with it being that. I think that it needed to be said and I don't think I'm the only one to think it. So anyone that thinks otherwise can kiss me where I sit if they don't like it.
 

robutacion

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Thanks George, I did my best on turning that and It turned out better than I could have ever hoped for. I wish I could truly express what you mean to me and others here. Because of you, I've learned massive amounts about different woods, that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else. Between you and Edgar, and of course many others, but mainly you two, I've learned more about not only different woods here locally, but about different woods from all over the earth and that's a good thing. I don't know if you realize how much of resource that you and Merissa are, but it's hard to find treasures such as yourselves. Many people take a lifetime looking for the treasure that you bring, and many people would fail to find it, if it weren't for people such as yourself. I certainly for one, would be a worse off if I had never made you as a friend. You've made my hobby so much fun that I really can't explain it.
The only thing I can do to show it, is to say thank you. Without you and others such as yourself I would have never realized all of the beautiful things I could make. I know this is sappy, and I'm sure it is. That's ok, I'm good with it being that. I think that it needed to be said and I don't think I'm the only one to think it. So anyone that thinks otherwise can kiss me where I sit if they don't like it.

G'day David, Wow mate, I had to call Merissa to ready your strong and meaningful words that worth more to us that you can ever imagine.

Such a beautiful sentiment and very well expressed, Merissa and I we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, this will be something that we will remember for many years to come, thank you.

On the other hand, is rewarding to read you manage to turn it into a fun exercise, one that you kept pushing to limits you didn't know you had, I'm most thankful to be responsible for that, according to your own words.:biggrin:

I just don't know what could ever be a more powerful statement/sentiment than this, your words of appreciation are all the fuel I/we need to keep going.

Thank you...!:biggrin:

Cheers
George
 
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robutacion

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OK, guys, I have been a little "slack" with this thread and at this moment I have no idea who did what and how many have didn't a thing with the coconut husk so, I will start to look at all the posts so far and see where we are at.

If you are one of those that haven't yet made a pen with that blank, I would like to ask that you have it done as ASAP so that I can conclude/close this thread offer/deal.

Because each person endup with only one of the coconut husk blanks, if you have destroyed yours for whatever reason and are unable to complete that pen, please let me know here so that I can count you in on the total of blanks sent Vs pens made.

Thank you,

PS: If you have complete your pen but have posted it elsewhere please let me know...!


This is the updated list of participant names and completed pens

*-mckenziedrums---pen done
*-magpens---pen done
*-Wce274---pen done
*-Beautys_Beast---pen done
*-Hopco---pen done
*-gimpy--- (second attempt on the way)
*-Ambidex---pen done
*-camb
*-Karl_99---pen done
*-Noot17---pen done


Cheers
George
 
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Karl_99

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Aug 20, 2012
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Winfield, PA
Sorry for the delay. I got sidetracked between work and the holidays...Blank has been cut, drilled and back painted. It should be ready to spin tonight.
 

robutacion

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I have received an email from Noot17 (Eric) explaining that his pen was done but we haven't yet worked out how to download pics into his album so he attached a couple in that email, he said;

"Turning this was fairly easy, and finishing wasn't bad either."

Eric
 

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robutacion

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Karl_99

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Vertex Click with the Coconut Husk Hybrid Blank

I chose to put the smoky coconut husk hybrid blank on a gun metal Vertex Click pen. The blank was easy to turn and finish. There are orange-copper highlights in the husk. The top one shows them the best.

Thank you for the opportunity.


View in Gallery


View in Gallery
 

robutacion

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I chose to put the smoky coconut husk hybrid blank on a gun metal Vertex Click pen. The blank was easy to turn and finish. There are orange-copper highlights in the husk. The top one shows them the best.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Beautiful pen and kit/blank combinations.

The coconut husk material is quite a pretty material when chopped up and compressed like this, I still believe this will be the closest material I will ever have to the old Palm root stuff that so many people loved, I still have a few of those Palm root blanks left, after that, I may never get any more of it.

As for the coconut husk pen blanks, I really would like to go through the E-cig blanks I have and either sell them as is (block) or cut them into shorter pen blanks such as the ones used in this offer, their length is the length that at the time the E-cig blanks were requested to be made at, longer ones were ordered sometime later but never many and I don't think that I had made any of the longer ones with the coconut husk.

There are still a bunch of the shorter blanks left on my web-store, I will only consider making full-size pen blanks after these (blocks and shorts) are all gone.

So far, and with only 2 members still not accounted for out of the initial 10 , the consensus has been that the blank made this way, is fairly easy to handle and finish, this was indeed what I noticed when I first made them and turned a sample that I will try to find and post a pic or two.

Thank you for completing your pen.:biggrin:

Cheers
George
 
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