help?

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Hello

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
185
Location
Brattleboro,VT, USA.
Greetings and stuff.
I'm a fan of corncob pens. My family are fans of corn - so I've got quite a few corn cobs all cleaned and dried. Anyone willing to stabilize a few for me? I have enough that I'd be willing to give up 4 or 5 as payment!
 
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Micah,

Every stabilized corn cob I have ever used needed touching up with thin CA. The quickest solution is to use thin CA and stabilize as you go. Turn until it feels too soft, then saturate with thin CA. Repeat until the blank is completely turned and finish with CA.
 
I agree. They felt hard, but still went through a lot of super glue.

Go to Wal-Mart, buy the cheap 6 pack of superglue(CA) and saturate from the ends... Wait overnight. Then drill a little, fill this "pocket" with CA, wait overnight; repeat... Takes a week, have nice stiff cobs. Re-drill, be generous when you glue tube in. Turn with Sharp Tools, Light Touch. Add CA as needed...
 
I like your style! Willing to give a few cobs for payment are you? Years ago when the idea started on this site, I sold some cobs. It was at the start of winter and some couldn't get the cobs. I told my brother the farmer that I was getting about $75 a bushel for cobs, he was getting less than $3 for the corn at that time.

Once you get past the chaff, the cob will turn about like soft maple with a skew. You can get really nice curls. The biggest deal is getting a good glue up with contact at the center of the cob. If the drill you use for the tubes does not contact that hard section, the drill will rattle around and it is tough to get contact. I have a piece of 1/4" brass tube that I use like a drill in the drill press. I took a countersink tool and sharpened the inside of the tube. It will take a core out of the soft white and let you get good glue contact, plus keep the tube centered. After the tube is glued in with CA, I soak the ends of the cob with thin CA. The ends are the trouble spots. Wear gloves because the cob will wick the thin CA all the way from the center to the outside of the cob. Then trim the ends and turn away. Be gentle on the ends and you should have good success.
 
I've turned two cobs that I'd bought from Rockler a few months back, no issues at all - they seemed soft, but I'm a light touch turner anyway, so it didn't really seem that different to me. Has anyone had any experiences with the stabilizing service offered by River Ridge? www.rrpwhite.com/
 
River ridge does a great job. I have turned a number of blank that they have done and have always been happy. It was a lot easier than the time I tried to turn glass, but that another story.
Johnnie
 
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