Sometimes I see 1" square spindle blanks available. What are some common uses for these besides large pens?
It seems like a bit of a waste to me and I really don't value a 1" blank much more than a 7/8" pen blank.
Thoughts?
Hi Dan,
I may not be able to give you all the possible uses for a 1" square blank but, I can tell you that, I have a few people that ask me regularly to cut and or make blanks that are that size.
I also know, as you seem also to acknowledge, some pens require more than the norm 3/4' or 7/8' and that for me, is more then enough reason to make/cut some of those and have them available for those that need them.
However, I have to say something about the way you see the value of a 1" blank, that off-course will depend upon what the blanks is made of or cut from, but for example, you cut a burl into 1" blanks, you are going to get a lot less blanks from that burl so, its cost has to be adjusted to accommodate the extra "volume/material" from a smaller blank.
With less valued or expensive materials, the difference is not so significant unless, the material that blank was processed from, is of rare or almost impossible to find.
Another aspect that can increase the price of a 1" square blank instead of the normal 3/4", is in the cases where you have a board that is 45mm thick, you can make 2 pen blanks from its thickness however, if you cut a 1" blank, what is left is just too thin for a pen blank therefore, a waste.
I have also many occasions where, I'm working a tree or shrub species where, I just manage to cut 4 normal size pen blanks from its diameter, if I was to process blanks of 1", I can only yield 2 blanks for every 5"1/2 to 6" of length, the waste in that case would be also considerable so, I can't price those blanks with then same price as the 3/4" ones.
Again, in relation to the possible use for a 1" square blanks, they probably be too many to mention here but, I recall the reason some of those that request such blank sizes, were going to be used for, and some of them are, a large number of kitchen utensils that you can buy without a handle so that you can make your own, I have also a number of folks that make some type of knifes where the 1" blanks size is just ideal.
There are many more uses for such blank size, and I'm drawing a bit of a blank at the moment, to remember other possible uses, I was told of so, I'm sure, some other folks here, will but-in with some uses...!
As a blank maker, I hate waste, even if I get paid to do it however, I like to know I have available some other blanks sizes to cover the best I can, the people's needs.
Now, what I'm curious about is, what made you think of this subject...???:wink::biggrin:
Cheers
George
