Pinecone Pen

[RobertTaylor]

i had a couple of large pinecones so with some coaching from IAP forum member papaturner i had to give it a try. it is a chrome euro kit and a ca finish.

[curiousgeorge]

A very nice looking pen. But, you're not getting off that easy. How did you stabilize the cone enough to turn it without it flying apart?

[cv3]

That is nice a looking pen. I would have never thought of using a pine cone.

[mickyd]

Whodathunk?? Looks real nice.

Your using the brown tight cones that fall off the trees before they are matured? (not the green ones).

[mickyd]

That is nice a looking pen. I would have never thought of using a pine cone.

Do I see some carving in the future?:D

[RobertTaylor]

A very nice looking pen. But, you're not getting off that easy. How did you stabilize the cone enough to turn it without it flying apart?

i held the small end of the pinecone with a spring/squeeze type clamp eyeballing about a half inch off the center. then with the flat side down i made three more cuts half an inch off center thus giving me an aproximately one inch square blank about four inches long. i guessed the center of each end as best that i could with a spring loaded center punch. then i mounted the blank between centers and turned it to a 3/4" round blank with a sharp gouge, i used a 3/4" open end wrench for a sizing caliper so to speak. then the round blank was mounted in a collet chuck and drilled with a 7mm bit. i then cut the blank to within 1/8" of the tube length and glued the tubes in with gorilla glue. the next morning i trimmed/squared the tubes to the length of the brass and applied ca glue to the ends of the blank. after mounting on the shopsmith lathe mandrel i tuned them to about 5/8" in diameter and now is when i applied ca for the stabilizing process to begin. then turned as any normal softer type wood blank adding ca glue as i went. after shaping and sanding with 320 and 400 grit i added two more coats of ca glue and wet sanded with micromesh from 1,500 to 12,000 grit. then polished with "brasso" and a coat of carnuba wax. it really was easier than i thought it would be. seems the pincone gets lighter the more you remove or deeper you go. the darker areas are where it was closer to the surface.

[RobertTaylor]

Whodathunk?? Looks real nice.

Your using the brown tight cones that fall off the trees before they are matured? (not the green ones).

they were on the ground and pretty dry i would say. did not put the moiture meter to them. picked them up february of '09 at a rest area along I-26 in south carolina, i had them in the basement for eleven months. going to florida again on wednesday and you can bet i will be looking for more. put two grocery bags under the seat of the car already lol. my wife rolled her eyes back and gave me "the look" last year. after seeing the completed pen she has changed her tune. nothing should surprise her now as i have made pens from denim and corncobs too. the dryer lint pen did not work out though. the lint repelled the ca glue instead of absorbing it. back to the drawing board on that crazy idea.

[tom_k/mo]

Bob, really nice. Another medium to consider now...