Pine Cone Help!!

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dl351

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2010
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236
Location
Livermore, CA
Hello all. I have a pine cone that is drilled and the tube glued into. It's still a whole pine cone, so I need some help. What are some tips for turning this? I've read about some people having pine cones fly apart, so I'd like to do my best to avoid that. Should I just apply CA as I turn the whole thing? Thanks for any help.

Dave
 
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Be sure it's glued to the tube real good. I usually coat the inside of the hole with thin CA and cure it before putting the tube in. Then I soak thin CA in as I turn depending on how fragile the cone seems. I also do the entire job with a skew, sharp as you can get it.
In your case if there seems to be gaps between the tube and the blank run some thin CA into the gaps and let it cure. Then proceed with care, light touch.
 
I cut the pine cone flowers off of it until all that is left is the core. I stabilize it with hot glue and then cut into a rough shape. At that point a decision needs to be made to continue by SANDING or using the skew or a sharp gouge.
 
I have done quite a few of them, I start by soaking them in thin CA then let them dry. Then I round off my blank with my band saw, I made a jig out of plywood and a 1/4" bolt that clamps to my band-saw angle guide and this lets me cut the corners off to round it off. Then I start turning it on the lathe, after 3 or 4 passes with my skew I soak it again with thin CA. Skew, soak, skew, soak and so on until I get it down to the size I want. then I apply my CA finish. I hope this helps, good luck I think they are worth all the extra work.
 
Thanks for all your help!

I turned my first pine cone yesterday, and it's a success! A couple hours at the lathe and lots of CA later, I have my first pine cone pen! I'll post pics in the photos section in the next day or two.
 
Maxman400, probably a dumb question about your process but here goes.....When you say soak in CA, what does that mean? Do you apply CA from the bottle around the pine cone until its wet or do you literally soak it in a cup or something? Thanks in advance for your consideration.
 
Usually when the term "soak in CA" is used it is meaning to pour from the bottle. I dont speak for Maxxman but I would think it very expensive to actually soak in a cup. I think usually just dribbled on untill all coated then let set and turn..repeat.
 
I have done several pine cones and they turned out pretty well. I used a procedure similar to Max's. They take a lot of CA, but if you don't, pieces fly. Slow and easy is the way to go...
 
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