Another pen rescued from the aquarium 😀

[hallelujahal]

Streamline dressed in wood rescued from the aquarium (Mopani)

 

[Kenny Durrant]

What do you mean aquarium? I've had several aquariums with drift wood and none looked like that. Very nice wood and workmanship.

 

[hallelujahal]

Saw these recently in a local aquarium shop, only £4 each and managed to get a few pens already out of them. The wood is Mopani, rock hard and beautiful, too nice to be dumped in water for a few fish to swim around lol! Bargain though

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Anyone remembers the scene from naked gun when leslie nielsen managed to drop a very rare pen in an aquarium? Anyway nice work, kudos for rescuing it from the fishes, cheers!

 

[BULLWINKLE]

Beautiful wood. I hadn't heard of it before. Great work on the pens

 

[Darios]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm now adding pet stores and aquarium shops to the list. If I did the math right those chunks were about $5 usd

Hardwood database lists it as mopane and sings it's praises.

> Mopane is generally considered to be difficult to work, mainly on account of its incredibly high density. Machining has a severe blunting effect on cutters. Mopane is excellent for turned objects.
....Likely to be somewhat expensive, exceeding the cost of most imported African hardwoods, with the exception of the scarcer species such as Pink Ivory or African Blackwood.
.... Mopane is an often neglected and overlooked African hardwood, though its density and durability are virtually unrivaled. The wood is also said to have excellent acoustic properties, comparing similarly to African Blackwood—at a more economical price.

 

[hallelujahal]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm now adding pet stores and aquarium shops to the list. If I did the math right those chunks were about $5 usd

Hardwood database lists it as mopane and sings it's praises.

> Mopane is generally considered to be difficult to work, mainly on account of its incredibly high density. Machining has a severe blunting effect on cutters. Mopane is excellent for turned objects.
....Likely to be somewhat expensive, exceeding the cost of most imported African hardwoods, with the exception of the scarcer species such as Pink Ivory or African Blackwood.
.... Mopane is an often neglected and overlooked African hardwood, though its density and durability are virtually unrivaled. The wood is also said to have excellent acoustic properties, comparing similarly to African Blackwood—at a more economical price.

Mopani = Yep all of the above - it's very hard and dense - however with sharp tools (I only used a Skew on the above pens, from roughing through to finish cut) it cuts very nicely and can produce long strings of shavings. Once shaped, I sanded from 320g to 600g with couple of coats of sanding sealer, coated with around 6 shots of Melamine Laquer and then put an overcoat of Microcrystalline wax on and voila!
I'm happy - the aquarium shops we have over here in UK are often within garden centres which we have an abundance of in my locality (and my wife insists on visiting very regularly) which is how I discovered this wood.
AL

 

[Kcimdrib]

Great work looks like a Saturn kit.

 

[hallelujahal]

Great work looks like a Saturn kit.

Thanks Michael, it's actually a streamline

 

[Kcimdrib]

Thanks Michael, it's actually a streamline

I'm sure it's the same kit under a different name

 

[hallelujahal]

I'm sure it's the same kit under a different name

I don't know as I'm very new to turning