Tree limbs as pen blanks

[Doug Jones]

I have a willow tree and one of the limbs (about 1" diam.) hung low and was a real pain to mow around so I cut it off. I threw the limb in my little brush burn pile. It sat there for a day or two then I thought that it might make a decent pen. So I cut about a 12" long piece off the limb and its now sitting in the shop.

Can I (or anyone) cut off a limb of a tree and use it as a pen blank?

Thanks for any info, Doug

 

[Daniel]

As long as it is large enough I would not see why it could not be used.
a couple of experience and learned things though.
I read it is not good to turn wood from the center of the log or limb. i had done this once before and was having all sorts of problems withthe grain peeling oof the turning. don't know if that was any part of the problem but when I read the info about not turning from the center of a log it brought this to mind. also the wood will need to dry and will crack on te ends. coating the ends will help stop the cracking.

 

[tipusnr]

I did some limbs from my peach tree. I let them sit in the brush pile for 6-9 months before cutting and them just used my band saw to cut them down the middle and, again, set them aside for a month then turned them for pens. The blanks twisted a little during the final drying but otherwise had no problems.