# a few Mesas (and a Gatsby or two)



## duncsuss (Aug 31, 2014)

I haven't had much turning time lately, but yesterday and today I put in some effort and finished off 8 pens (plus I've got some more turned, just waiting on CA finish, and several blanks drilled & tubed ready to turn.)

First, thanks to @MikeMD for these two blanks -- willow crotch and cross-cut spalted ambrosia maple.



 



 

These pieces of aspen burl were from Eric ( @BangleGuy ) a while back ... a Mesa and a Compson click-pen:



 



 
(to be continued ...)

Reactions: EyeCandy! 6


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## duncsuss (Aug 31, 2014)

A couple dressed up in some fine HRB -- I think it was from Marcus ( @mja979 ) -- and some Amboyna burl from Cliff ( @woodintyuuu ).

Reactions: Like 3 | EyeCandy! 6


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## duncsuss (Aug 31, 2014)

... and finally, a piece of aspen burl that I got from a dodgy seller on ebay -- he alleged it was "dry and ready to turn", but it was damp and started to fall apart when I cut it up into pen blanks. It's dry now, and I should probably get it stabilized but tried this one with a bucket of CA. I really like the way it looks, but it was not easy to work with.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 6


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## Tclem (Aug 31, 2014)

Looks good bud

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Johnturner (Sep 1, 2014)

Duncan
All look great - BTW where did you get the Compson click kit.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## MikeMD (Sep 1, 2014)

Those look great, Duncan. Glad you got to use them!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## duncsuss (Sep 1, 2014)

Johnturner said:


> Duncan
> All look great - BTW where did you get the Compson click kit.


Thanks, John. I got this starter set from PennState. (The starter set doesn't come with a drill bit, you'll need 3/8" -- unlike many pen kits, this is at least a standard size!)


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## Sprung (Sep 1, 2014)

VERY nice pens, Duncan! Great work and great pieces of wood!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## duncsuss (Sep 1, 2014)

Sprung said:


> VERY nice pens, Duncan! Great work and great pieces of wood!


Thanks, Matt.

At a certain point, I reached the conclusion that (unless I'm doing it simply for the practice, or to experiment with new ideas) there's no point using characterless wood. The time we put into making them far outweighs the cost of spending a few dollars to get stunning blanks.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## MikeMD (Sep 1, 2014)

Duncan, truer words have never been spoken (or written, as it may be). Life is too short to turn ordinary wood...no matter what you are turning. The exception, in my book, is when you are turning, say, a finial. First of all, if you have never turned a finial, you are likely to blow one or two up learning how to. Secondly, finials, because they are so thin, need to be made of structurally sound wood (straight grained and dense). So, "pretty" isn't a necessity when turning a finial.

The second bowl I ever turned was a plum burl with voids. No, I didn't do a great job on it. But the wood is so pretty, I do display it in my house. If that turning had been done out of plain wood, it might be ashes right now...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## duncsuss (Sep 1, 2014)

... I just thought of one other situation in which ordinary wood is good: when the intention is to embellish the turned object (such as woodburning, airbrushing, carving) and the wood is being used as a canvas not intended to compete with the embellishment.


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## Kevin (Sep 1, 2014)

Great looking pens Duncan. What speceis is the last one in post #2?

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## duncsuss (Sep 1, 2014)

Kevin said:


> Great looking pens Duncan. What speceis is the last one in post #2?



Thanks, Kevin. That one is HRB -- but I'm having second thoughts about where I got it ... now I think it was one of a few pieces that I bought from Matt ( @WMM ) when I was making a fountain pen with sterling silver parts.


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## rdabpenman (Sep 2, 2014)

Great looking batch with some nice looking timbers of those writing instruments.
Well done.

Les

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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