Experimenting

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KenB259

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Dec 24, 2017
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It occurred to me, any pens I have made with dyed blanks, the blanks have always been dyed before turning. On this one, I turned it down to finished size, and then applied some blue stain, let it sit overnight and then applied a ca finish. I am very happy with the results.
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Lucky2

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Mar 2, 2012
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New Brunswick/ Canada
Ken, it's a nice color of blue, I like it real well. I've done the same as you have, I've often colored my blanks after turning them to size. All I used to color them with, was felt tipped markers from the dolor store. They're great for coloring the blanks once turned, and you can change the tone of color by applying more as you turn the blank. Just hold the felt tip to the blank longer, to get a much deeper color.

Len
 

TonyL

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Mar 9, 2014
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I really like it. Would love to know how you dyed it. I bet it would look nice engraved too!
 

1080Wayne

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Feb 5, 2006
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Brownfield, Alberta, Canada.
That was what I did with a few of the first pens I made . It was so easy that I decided to never purchase a dyed blank . It`s fun to play around with light coloured figured wood to see whether the figure can be enhanced . Don`t have to use a solid uniform colour . Try complementary and contrasting ones also . Have fun .
 

robutacion

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Aug 6, 2009
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Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
That is a simple colouring process that will work even on the densest of woods where dye penetration through "soaking" will fail.

Is also a quicker way to change the appearance of a piece of wood that hasn't much to go for, depending on what material you are using for colouring, you have the opportunity to darken or lighten the colour, hiding or enhancing wood grains to your desire, a "firm" coating over this colouring process is most important to prevent the colour from being removed/damaged, CA would be one of the recommended finishes...!

Cheers
George
 
Last edited:

sbwertz

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May 11, 2010
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Phoenix, AZ
I do it all the time. The whiter the wood, the truer the color. Holly works well, as does aspen. It's hard to get a nice blue like that if the wood has a yellow cast to it...it tends to be greenish because of the color of the wood. Really good job. I use dyes to make pens in school colors and colors of sports teams. You can mix the dye in a little denatured alcohol to get a lighter color.

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