chrystalia
Member
Hello:
I am a newbie, both to this forum and pen turning. I live in Arizona, and I have 2 very large cactus skeletons I have been slowly disassembling making lamps, beads, etc. I also have tons of cholla skeletons of all sizes and configurations. To date, I have prepped the saguaro ribs by peeling off the outer skin and merely sanding the ribs smooth, then finishing projects with various wood stains, paints, and polyurethanes.
NOW, however, I have discovered pen turning... and I noticed someone had made some beautiful pens out of cholla... so I wondered if there is a special preparation for cactus to make them suitable for becoming pen blanks? And once I have successfully created pens (minus the ink cartridge etc-- just the bodies of pens) how do professionals determine the price of their products for wholesale and retail? Sorry to sound so ignorant, but all my current experience is limited to gourd art, jewelry and stone sculptures/ obelisks/pyramids etc. made of stone from my gold mine (both ore and country rock).
Which leads to the last question-- what sort of special equipment is needed to make pens out of round stone stock, as I have access to the tools to produce round stock and some of the stone from my mine, when stabilized, is truly spectacular to look at-- and now I am thinking it would make cool pens
Thank you in advance for your advice
I am a newbie, both to this forum and pen turning. I live in Arizona, and I have 2 very large cactus skeletons I have been slowly disassembling making lamps, beads, etc. I also have tons of cholla skeletons of all sizes and configurations. To date, I have prepped the saguaro ribs by peeling off the outer skin and merely sanding the ribs smooth, then finishing projects with various wood stains, paints, and polyurethanes.
NOW, however, I have discovered pen turning... and I noticed someone had made some beautiful pens out of cholla... so I wondered if there is a special preparation for cactus to make them suitable for becoming pen blanks? And once I have successfully created pens (minus the ink cartridge etc-- just the bodies of pens) how do professionals determine the price of their products for wholesale and retail? Sorry to sound so ignorant, but all my current experience is limited to gourd art, jewelry and stone sculptures/ obelisks/pyramids etc. made of stone from my gold mine (both ore and country rock).
Which leads to the last question-- what sort of special equipment is needed to make pens out of round stone stock, as I have access to the tools to produce round stock and some of the stone from my mine, when stabilized, is truly spectacular to look at-- and now I am thinking it would make cool pens
Thank you in advance for your advice
