I have an idea for a pen blank. Good or bad?

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lobster

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My brother is a salesman for a builders supply out in MD. He used to sell engineered wood trusses exclusively. I just had a brainstorm about some pens to make for him to give away to his customers / potential customers as freebies.

Engineered I-Beams basically use OSB as the center structural component if I recall correctly. Why couldn't I make blanks from 3/4" OSB, have them stabilized, then make pens for him to give away? Might be cool for him to have those as giveaways and they just might look cool period!

While at it, couldn't I make pen blanks from leftover / scrap glue-lam beam pcs?

I don't think these pens would win any awards at an Art Fair. But for him they could be spot on.

So should I rush right over to the patent office or are 50 people already doing this?
 
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There are already some done on this site. I think they were called poly-lam or something like that. Also. CSUSA sells dyed and stabilized OSB blanks.
 
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That lam-whateveritscalled make a pretty cool looking pen. It might be called pro-lam. Ive seen them on sale on ebay sometimes. Even the USB sounds cool for someone who works with it. A personal connection to a material can often make up for a lack of visual appeal. Make a blank, drown it in CA, and give it a spin.
 
Did one of those a few years ago for a friend who husband is a contractor, just used OSB, and plenty of thin CA. Now I have a hunk of Lambeam from the kitchen remodel I am doing, will try that some time, with the density of that not sure if it will need thin CA.
 
I found regular OSB looks really cool and sells really well as a pen, but it was not worth the time and effort involved. Maybe Paralam will turn better, but OSB turns really difficult, and yes I soak it over and over again with thin CA.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I called CSUSA and they dont have any actual OSB blanks...their version is called Kogo. It looks similar, but after seeing a picture of it, my brother thought it looked nothing like OSB. (your opinion may vary)

So then I called River Ridge Products and they are going to clear stabilize some actual OSB and send me 5-6 blanks. I'll do some testing with that and see what my brother and his sales crew think about it.

Wish me luck.
 
Even if they are stabilized, they are going to be a real bugger...trust me! They are so touchy, it isn't worth the extra money stabilizing them. It's like the sunflower seed blanks..you have to be real careful and pray. I found that although it was a ton more work, I had better success using a piece of oak with 30 grit paper glued to it that I did with a chisel.
 
penmaker56 said:
It is called "Paralam" which was becoming a generic term when I was selling it here in MD, I have a small block of it for sale on my site www.richardlgreenwald.com. What supply house does your brother work for?
Click to expand...



I just went to your site. NICE STUFF! I must admit though, I have never seen a 4 dimensional piece of wood.. Is that a characteristic of the paralam? It comes in 4 7/8 X 4 7/8 X 4 7/8 X 5 inch pieces?



I also really like the roust picture in the slideshow thingy. My brother would love that.
 
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