Jindora Burl

[Old Griz]

YUP, that's what this is... JINDORA BURL... I managed to score 5 matched sets of pen blanks.. will probably never see anymore again.. I believe it is an Asian wood, I can't find any info on it in Google..
Edit: Found out the proper spelling is Sindora and it is actually a Legume from Tailand and Laos... SO this pen is made from a bean plant.. LOL

Real pretty wood and like most burls a little tricky to work with..
The pen is a Berea Perfect Fit Convertable... nice size and feels real good in the hand.. best part is that it takes a Parker style refill and you only need to buy a $2.00 pencil converter that fits in the kit... no special pencil only kit that costs more..

 

[Efletche]

Nice grain patterns and a band I haven't seen before. I'm jealous!

 

[ilikewood]

How could you do that to us?....get a one of a kind wood and not share it??[]

BTW - nice work and really a beautiful wood!

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

Man that is nice, Tom. I really like the wood and that kit looks like it might be a good seller. My only problem with Berea is understanding their mandrel, tube, and bushing labels. Does this kit fit on a standard mandrel (the kind that 7mm tubes fit on)? If so, what bushings would I need?

 

[Old Griz]

I got the wood when this posting came up... http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=98 ... unfortunately he has no more.. or I would have bought all he had and cornered the market and made millions.. LOL... According to the thread it is called sindora burl.. but the blanks were marked Jindora Burl..
I really hope he gets more of the exotic blanks he was selling.. the price was right and the blanks are amazing...
The Perfect Fit Convertable Pen uses the B (larger mandrel).. the bushings will not fit on a standard mandrel.. I like the Berea mandrels.. so I bought both sizes when I started..

 

[Kurt Aebi]

Gorgeous, just Gorgeous!

Does that happen to be a picture of some of your Excellent Scrollwork behind the pen?

Your pen-making is definitely rivaling your scroll talents, Tom.

Great work!

 

[Tom McMillan]

That is ONE NICE PEN!!!! Very nice---including the presentation.

Tom McMillan

 

[Old Griz]

Yes Kurt that is one of my scrollings... lousy picture... not enough resolution.. but one of mine..

 

[Rudy Vey]

This is really nice stuff this Sindora Burl. Got myself 10 blanks, too, and thinking now, should have gotten more. Made a set of the streamlined El Grande's in Platinum finish for our nephew and his bride for their wedding as a gift - they really liked those pens.

Rudy

 

[melogic]

Great Looking pen Tom. I really like your presentations also.

 

[Scott]

Tom!

That is a great looking pen! I finally broke into my stash of Sindora burl last week when I was entertaining my friend, Bob Swartzendruber (Texas Bob as he's known around here). We took turns turning on a couple of pens. The Sindora seemed to be prone to chipping, but we did get a nice pen from it! Bob got the Sindora pen (maybe he'll show pictures of it!) and I got the Bocote one - well, my Dad did! ;-) Anyway, the Sindora is very nice to look at! You did it proud! I think I got 25 matched sets from Ed. Collecting nice wood is one of my sicknesses! ;-)

Scott.

 

[Old Griz]

Scott, So your the guy who bought all the Sindora I wanted to get, LOL... I found that taking very light cuts with the skew and sanding in some medium CA with 320 grit paper helps the chipping and voids in the burl...
My final cuts are made with a 1/2 skew ground to a slight curve and razor sharp using a cut that is kind of a combination scrape and planing cut.. but very very lightly.. when I am done I can usually start sanding with 220 or 320 grit paper..
I have found that using Micro Mesh or the black sandpaper on Sindora seems to darken the wood, but most of that can be removed with some Mineral Spirits followed by EEE Polish.. I will not be using MM on my next one..

 

[wayneis]

The Perfect fit is fast becoming a favorite with me, it has a different look and a nice feel to it. In fact I just took BB up on his sale and ordered ten kits and some pencil refills. I also like the schmidt pencil that this kit uses, for my money its about the best on the market. I like to be able to turn the lead in and out, it doesn't break so easy.

Wayne

 

[Mudder]

That is one fine looking pen.
I hope that one day I can make one as nice as that one.