Greetings from the Chesapeake Bay

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TomG737

Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2015
Messages
5
Location
Stevensville, MD
Just a quick hello to the members from here on Kent Island, Maryland, and a heartfelt thanks to the moderators for creating such a wonderful forum!

I have been working with wood for a long time, but just started turning wood about a year ago. My 17-year-old daughter loves pens, so I had the idea of buying a little mini-lathe and turning a few just to see if we liked it. She made a few, my older son had made a few and even my 11-year-old son is turning now! He just turned a dyed-spalted buckeye yesterday that he is thrilled with!

I have been concentrating on turning reclaimed Chesapeake Bay driftwood. I find likely pieces on the shore and then mill the wood into blanks. Blanks that have some character are then dried in a small solar kiln I built. Since most of the figured and interesting blanks are punky, I use a vacuum to infuse a heat activated, two-part resin (Cactus Juice) into the blanks to stabilize them before turning. Some of the pens turn out plain, but most turn out quite beautiful. Attached is one of my latest, a spalted white oak fountain.

Thanks for a wonderful forum. It's a pleasure to be here!

Tom
 

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Welcome to IAP, Tom !!! . Hmmm, you are a pilot, eh? . You are the second one I have welcomed today. . Do you know Adam C (Virginnia)?

Lovely pen you displayed. . Seems that you already have some skills you could teach some of us !
 
Welcome from Texas, Tom.

That's a very nice pen, I hope we'll see more of your work in the upcoming BASH contests. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
magpens said:
Welcome to IAP, Tom !!! . Hmmm, you are a pilot, eh? . You are the second one I have welcomed today. . Do you know Adam C (Virginnia)?

Lovely pen you displayed. . Seems that you already have some skills you could teach some of us !
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Thank you for the nice compliment and yes, when not turning pens, I fly airplanes for an airline where "Bags fly free." I do not know an Adam C. from Virginia, but if he turns pens and flies planes, he's probably not be trusted!

The vacuum infusion is a pretty cool trick and you can infuse dye at the same time as the resin. I've also been fooling around with a little 40 watt CO2 Laser to engrave the pen with whatever and it does a great job of engraving those little velvet pen boxes and other scraps for displays. I've also started turning acrylic which buffs up so nice!
 

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TomG737 said:
Just a quick hello to the members from here on Kent Island, Maryland, and a heartfelt thanks to the moderators for creating such a wonderful forum!

I have been working with wood for a long time, but just started turning wood about a year ago. My 17-year-old daughter loves pens, so I had the idea of buying a little mini-lathe and turning a few just to see if we liked it. She made a few, my older son had made a few and even my 11-year-old son is turning now! He just turned a dyed-spalted buckeye yesterday that he is thrilled with!

I have been concentrating on turning reclaimed Chesapeake Bay driftwood. I find likely pieces on the shore and then mill the wood into blanks. Blanks that have some character are then dried in a small solar kiln I built. Since most of the figured and interesting blanks are punky, I use a vacuum to infuse a heat activated, two-part resin (Cactus Juice) into the blanks to stabilize them before turning. Some of the pens turn out plain, but most turn out quite beautiful. Attached is one of my latest, a spalted white oak fountain.

Thanks for a wonderful forum. It's a pleasure to be here!

Tom
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G'Day Tom and welcome to IAP>

Well done in getting your children into woodturning. I have the kids im my street wanting to turn a pen each. Some say they want to give it to their teacher.

Are any of the pictures of the pens turned by your children?

Dave.
 
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