TheCraftyCarver
Member
Hi All, I have a question about dyed blanks and if this is normal (and if not if I should try to return/ask woodcraft for something else).
Yesterday at my local woodcraft, I purchased a hot pink curly maple pen blank. It's HIGHLY figured (it's really amazing looking) but as I went to cut & drill the blank yesterday, I noticed that the pink dye only made it into the blank about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way thru the wood & not evenly. I cut the blank in half to prep for tubes and I saw that the dye went thru on a diagonal and so half the blank is a pink triangle inside and the other half is basically plain maple. I sanded down a mini chunk of it and the inside is plain maple with a hint of pink fibers.
This pen is for my grandmother; she is turning 94 next week and flamingo pink is her favorite color. I had wanted to make a slimline (because it's light and has more wood showing than a heavier Wall Street 2 pen) but if I turn the wood down to a slimline size, there will be NO pink showing on the wood. I don't want to use an acrylic pen blank because my grandpa, (her late husband), was a woodworker and I want to present her with a wood pen as an homage to him as well.
Does this happen with all dyed pen blanks? Should I go in to woodcraft today with my cut up blank and show them my issue and ask for a new one (or is this a "you get what you get" gamble type of purchase?) I understand the density (& amazing figure) of the curly maple can make dyeing difficult, so maybe a spalted tamarind would be a better choice?
I don't have any means to dye my own blanks (at least right now) and I need to get this made and mailed ASAP so I don't quite know how to proceed. I have some hot pink Wilton gel food coloring that I might be able to rub in to a complete blank before sealing, but that kind of defeats the point of spending $9 on a pink blank.
What are your thoughts on trying to take it back and choose something else?
Yesterday at my local woodcraft, I purchased a hot pink curly maple pen blank. It's HIGHLY figured (it's really amazing looking) but as I went to cut & drill the blank yesterday, I noticed that the pink dye only made it into the blank about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way thru the wood & not evenly. I cut the blank in half to prep for tubes and I saw that the dye went thru on a diagonal and so half the blank is a pink triangle inside and the other half is basically plain maple. I sanded down a mini chunk of it and the inside is plain maple with a hint of pink fibers.
This pen is for my grandmother; she is turning 94 next week and flamingo pink is her favorite color. I had wanted to make a slimline (because it's light and has more wood showing than a heavier Wall Street 2 pen) but if I turn the wood down to a slimline size, there will be NO pink showing on the wood. I don't want to use an acrylic pen blank because my grandpa, (her late husband), was a woodworker and I want to present her with a wood pen as an homage to him as well.
Does this happen with all dyed pen blanks? Should I go in to woodcraft today with my cut up blank and show them my issue and ask for a new one (or is this a "you get what you get" gamble type of purchase?) I understand the density (& amazing figure) of the curly maple can make dyeing difficult, so maybe a spalted tamarind would be a better choice?
I don't have any means to dye my own blanks (at least right now) and I need to get this made and mailed ASAP so I don't quite know how to proceed. I have some hot pink Wilton gel food coloring that I might be able to rub in to a complete blank before sealing, but that kind of defeats the point of spending $9 on a pink blank.
What are your thoughts on trying to take it back and choose something else?