Questions about pen blanks

**RobbieB** · 28th October 2018, 09:20 PM

Hi all,
Been cleaning up in the shed and have realised I am generating way too many offcuts. Rather than burn them I'm thinking about cutting into pen banks and offering them for sale on the forum. Since I know absolutely nothing about pen turning, my questions are:

Is 125 x 20mm square pretty much the standard for blanks? Most are at least this size, or up to 25mm square. Are smaller pieces (say 18mm) ok?

Do they need to be cut perfectly square, or would say 20x25mm be ok?

Would pen turners prefer the blanks be a little longer than 125mm (if I have a 300mm piece I'd just cut it in half) or just a standard 125mm? Would people prefer to cut them to length from 300-400mm sticks themselves?

Timber is mostly an assortment of hard maple (lots of maple),

New Guinea Rosewood (heaps of that too),

lebbeck, neem, red gum, gidgee, lancewood, cassia fistula (golden rain tree) and mango, along with odd bits of random stuff like Burdekin plum and quinine, white cedar, Mackay cedar. Also spalted tamarind if you don't mind bug holes. Probably end up with a dozen or so packs of 50 to sell off - I know 50 blanks will just fit in a 3kg Mailman satchel which brings postage down.

Cheers, Robbie.

**mature one** · 29th October 2018, 08:49 AM

you can get away with 18mm if its square pushing the limit if not square ,150mm long is the best allows for some blowout when drill bit exits when drilling for tubes.

**Treecycle** · 29th October 2018, 04:15 PM

You can get away with smaller than 20mm square if making the smaller pens but for ease of selling 20mm and upwards would be preferable. Cutting them reasonably square would also be better as 20 x 25 makes them a bit difficult to hold in a chuck, but can be done. 125 is suitable for a lot of pens but as MO says, 150mm allows a bit more leeway.

**arose62** · 29th October 2018, 04:23 PM

There are other sizes of blanks which are popular, for bottle stoppers, bottle openers, cutlery, keyrings, needle boxes etc.
Google "project blanks" to see what other sizes are used for what ...

**plt43** · 31st October 2018, 06:44 AM

My 2c :

As above, squared is preferred for a better hold in the chuck.

Thickness depends on the wood itself - if prone to chipping out than a larger piece is needed. But hard and solid acacias can be smaller.

Length can be whatever suits - different kits have different needs and offcuts can be laminated up.

Sounds like a good variety - put me down for a pack !
phil

**Mobyturns** · 31st October 2018, 07:50 AM

Robbie, I live in "Brownsville" too. Would you be interested in selling some of your offcuts in bulk with local pickup? That way you can save your self a lot of processing on at least some of it.

Cheers
Geoff.

**RobbieB** · 31st October 2018, 05:36 PM

Thanks for all the replies - looks like 20mm + square and 150mm will be the way to go, and I'll see if there is anything I can cut bigger. Phil, will pm you on the weekend with what I have. Geoff, happy for you to come over and have a look, will pm my phone number and address before weekend.
Cheers, Robbie.

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