Thread: What is a pen blank

Originally Posted by footrot

Gday pen turners. I've no experience in turning or pen turning but do have a timber mill cutting a variety of timbers.
What contitutes a pen blank (sizes, any treatments etc). What makes a good timber pen blank. What Australian species timbers are popular?
Cheers
Footrot

Hi and welcome footrot pen blank sizes vary dependant on the kit being used generally from 15mm sq x 100 long to 25mm sq x 100 this give plenty of scope for most pen kits.

Colour, feel, weight, the smile on the face of the recipient.

Anything as long as its cheap free is best.

Hello Footrot, any thing and everything that can or even can't be turned is a pen blank, the wooden trim upholstery of a Rolls Royce is a pen blank!, an old rum keg-ask Darren aka Bdar(when he sobers from his last turning!), a ship wreck, a cactus plant, etc.
As for our beautiful Australian timnbers, all have a beauty of their own, some wood that appears bland may yield exciting grain when cross cut. The Burls are always popular and spectacular- Red Mallee Burl, Mallee Burl, Eucalypt burl--etc. Hope that gives some idea, If you look up the threads in "CASTING" you will find things cast in resin and turned that are also amazing. Welcome to the pen turners addiction, Amos

Hey Footrot,

Welcome to the mad house, I used to have a 60 litre drum for my off cuts, its now my pen blank bin, as said above, anything big enough to drill a hole in and have a tube glued in can be a pen blank. You will be supprised what comes out of an ordinary looking piece of timber when you cut it at an angle, as stated above the Burls are the most interesting, you never get two the same.

HazzaB

Hi footrot and welcome to this little collection of eccentrics.

Second what the others say but would add that with timber, the more interesting the grain the more likely you are to have a good blank.

Hi Footrot, arrrgh hic still haven't sobered up from the rum barrel, then to bourbon and finished off on wine barrel from Wombah Winery. Amos is right, anything can become a pen blank if you think outside the square so to speak. As for size I prefer my blanks if i by them to be 3/4" or 1" x 6" long to allow for closed end pens and free turning. Amos has said about the Mallee and Eucalypt Burls. Timber that have striking grain features, from cutting from crotch areas in branches, spalting in timber also is nice to look for as well.
Cheers

darren

To get a visual Idea of what pen makers generally look for ,have a look on E-Bay under pen blanks lots of piccies and some idea on general pricing . cheers ~ John

As others have said, 3/4-1" square by 5-6" long is about best.

For grain, the more interest the better. The finished product is pretty small so what constitues interesting grain in a table would be boring in a pen. Mind you, I quite like strong, straight grain for pens as they look more like timber!

They also have to be completely dry - as you end up with a veneer of timber at the end, any movement and it will crack and the pen is junk.

If I was milling slabs, I'd be watching the offcut bucket for pen blanks... It doesn't need a lot of timber to find a nice bit for a pen

Cheers,
Dave

Any piece of wood you can lay your hands on is a potential pen blank. always intriguing to see what its going to turn out like as a pen.

Thanks everyone for the responses, most appreciated. As I'm cutting I'll definately keep my eye out for any unusual bits going into the offcuts pile, its reasonably common those imperfections not wanted in a plank are big enough for a pen blank or two.

Originally Posted by footrot

Thanks everyone for the responses, most appreciated. As I'm cutting I'll definately keep my eye out for any unusual bits going into the offcuts pile, its reasonably common those imperfections not wanted in a plank are big enough for a pen blank or two.

Sounds like an excellent idea.

The next step would be for me to send you my address, and you post them to me

Good luck with it. I'm sure you'll collect more than you can handle in very short order.

Cheers,
Dave