lyonsacc
Member
Just before Covid hit we moved my ailing parents to an assisted living facility near us (they were previously 4 hours away). A large portion of their 4 bedroom house resides in our basement (most of it in my workshop). With the additional time taken to care for my Mom (Dad passed early on from Covid) I haven't been in the workshop much until this summer. I turned a couple JohnU blanks - snake skin, and my favorite candy (always a joy to turn his blanks). Finished off some pens for a friend. He bought an old run-down Carnegie library and with the intent to rehab it into some office space and a restaurant. These were made from one of the old rafters. They were some of the hardest pens I have had to make! Old pine. The growth rings are very hard, they chip pretty easily, so I would soak them with CA and turn a little off, then soak with CA again . . . . And sanding was nearly impossible. The growths rings are so hard they would barely sand and the soft wood would fly off, so I ended up with a very wavy feeling pen. Ended up having to turn them smooth with a square end carbide tool and not touch them with sand paper. I still have 10 more waiting to finish turning. But was nice to get back into the workshop. (Also built a desk with my son, which was a really good time)
