Firewood - I Think Not

[adirondak5]

Every year in late spring a group of friends , myself included head up to the Catskills to our Hunting Camp and get our firewood out for the year . Last year there was a piece of maple there that had a small burl on one side , I grabbed it and have had it in my shed since. A few months ago I sliced a few pieces off of it and made sure they were nice and dry and stabilized a few pieces . After seeing Dan Masshardt's thread on the Tiny Giant Pens the other day I thought that would be a nice pen to try some of this maple on , thanks for the tip on those Tiny Giants Dan , and on Turners warehouse
So here it is , I am thrilled with the maple , its got spalting , figure , and just looks good to me . The pen did'nt come out bad either , like Dan said in his thread they are small , a good size for a check book pen or pocket pen . I like them .

 

[JohnU]

Nice Save on the firewood! and I like the finished product. Full of character and really catches the eye.

 

[Sappheiros]

The wood is simply gorgeous! So much character! The pen turned out really well. Great job!

 

[leehljp]

Beautiful pen! Congratulations!

The cut-offs and throw aways from flat work make the best pen blanks. Knots and weak spots also. Firewood contains some great pen blanks too. These throw-aways, discards and burnables usually have the most unusual grains.

My wife tells me I have a wondering eye when I get around small chunks of wood that no one else would look at. :biggrin:

This past spring, I went over to the MS river (live about 7 miles from it) and spotted a whitened driftwood tree with a base of 6 inches. I knew when I saw it that it was the aromatic eastern cedar. I brought it home with me. Smells great and will be used in some pens in the future.

 

[adirondak5]

Nice Save on the firewood! and I like the finished product. Full of character and really catches the eye.

Thanks John , I caught this piece just at the right time , looks like almost no punky to it , it still pretty solid , stabilized it turns like butter .

The wood is simply gorgeous! So much character! The pen turned out really well. Great job!

Thanks Avi , yes , I am pretty happy with the wood , what a surprise when I started turning it and the beauty started to show itself .

Beautiful pen! Congratulations!

The cut-offs and throw aways from flat work make the best pen blanks. Knots and weak spots also. Firewood contains some great pen blanks too. These throw-aways, discards and burnables usually have the most unusual grains.

My wife tells me I have a wondering eye when I get around small chunks of wood that no one else would look at. :biggrin:

This past spring, I went over to the MS river (live about 7 miles from it) and spotted a whitened driftwood tree with a base of 6 inches. I knew when I saw it that it was the aromatic eastern cedar. I brought it home with me. Smells great and will be used in some pens in the future.

Thanks Hank . Yes , I also have a wandering eye when it comes to wood , I always on the lookout for anything that looks interesting .

 

[OZturner]

Oh! What a Magnificent Feeling,
When you Unveil a Gem in the Firewood.
The Maple Blank has Everything, Colour, Spalting, Figure, Features, and while it is difficult to detect in a Photograph, I think I can see some signs of the Brilliance of Chatoyance.
Great Fit and Finish.
Congratulations,
Brian.

 

[Sataro]

That is an amazing chunk of firewood. You made a nice save with that piece of wood. Pen looks great!

 

[adirondak5]

Oh! What a Magnificent Feeling,
When you Unveil a Gem in the Firewood.
The Maple Blank has Everything, Colour, Spalting, Figure, Features, and while it is difficult to detect in a Photograph, I think I can see some signs of the Brilliance of Chatoyance.
Great Fit and Finish.
Congratulations,
Brian.

Thank you much Brian . Yes , there is a chatoyance there also , its really an amazing piece of wood . This week I am going to get the rest of it sliced up and prepped for the cactus juice . I've got about 10 blanks done up and estimate another 20 -25 waiting to be freed from the block

That is an amazing chunk of firewood. You made a nice save with that piece of wood. Pen looks great!

Thank you Billy . It was a big piece of wood , the fellows went to split it on the splitter and it wouldn't split , one of the boys then took a chainsaw and cut it long ways in half . I looked at it and said that looks pretty good when I saw the inside , it was already spalted , one of the other guys said , looks like rotten wood to me . :biggrin:

 

[adirondak5]

Here's a companion to the fire wood pen out of another piece , while not quite as lively as the Tiny Giant fire wood its still very nice . This one is a Sierra /Gun Metal