Author Topic: Red Pen Blank "wood"  (Read 4777 times)

Offline julcle

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Red Pen Blank "wood"
« on: November 26, 2019, 12:10:16 PM »
I have been asked to make a Red Pen by a friend as a stocking filler, he would prefer it to be wood but I have showed him some good acrylic which he would be happy with. I have some Blood Wood which I was thinking of using but how long do people think the colour would remain ? I had thought about using some beech and staining it Red then telling him it's copper beech !! are there any other "Red" woods that could be used ?
Thanks in advance  --  Julian
Location: S. Wales
Crowvalley Woodturners
Julian

Offline fuzzyturns

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2019, 01:17:06 PM »
All naturally red woods will eventually discolour into some shade of brown, with the speed depending on the exposure to sunlight. If you want a stable red wood, then I would suggest to start with sycamore or holly (or a similarly quite blonde wood) and stain it red, and then seal it with polyurethane lacquer. That should be quite stable.

Offline julcle

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2019, 01:52:44 PM »
Thanks Fuzzy, that's why I thought of stained beech or Acrylic. I have both so will run off some samples for him to choose.  --  Julian
Location: S. Wales
Crowvalley Woodturners
Julian

Offline Twisted Trees

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2019, 04:19:41 PM »
I am not fond of this, but have used it for pens and Xmas decorations....

Start with any neutral'ish wood, use Windsor & Newtons red ink (there is a choice of shades) I usually apply with an airbrush but it is easy to apply with cloth or brush etc. Then put about 10 coats of CA glue on. (run the lathe at about 300rpm, put a dollop on a piece of paper run the paper under the spinning pen blank, spray with activator and repeat with fresh paper) finally buff it up with some Brasso or other mildly abrasive polish.

Any woodgrain will show through, but the colour is stable more stable than most stains, and it will feel like acrylic (because it basically is plastic on the outside)

I am sure other ink products are also suitable, but I have only used Windsor and Newton which I buy from The Range art section.

https://www.therange.co.uk/arts-and-crafts/art-supplies/ink/winsor-and-newton-14ml-drawing-ink#107601



TT, AKA Pete, but that name is taken :-)

Offline julcle

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2019, 05:05:54 PM »
Hi Twisted Trees, I have used CA as a pen finish for an few years now and found it to be very durable. We have a Range in town so I may pop in there and see what I can find, thanks for that. I am not sure but were you at the Emma Cook Demo in Bristol a few weeks ago? I think I may have spoken to you if you were.  --  Julian
Location: S. Wales
Crowvalley Woodturners
Julian

Offline Twisted Trees

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #5 on: November 26, 2019, 09:05:49 PM »
Yes I was, I put the Manta Ray box in the competition. Will be there in December too if possible, it clashed with a funeral this month.
TT, AKA Pete, but that name is taken :-)

Offline julcle

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2019, 10:39:55 AM »
I can't make the December meeting as it clashes with our club Quiz and Refreshments night, hope to see you again in the New Year.
Julian
Location: S. Wales
Crowvalley Woodturners
Julian

Offline crazylegs

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2019, 06:38:55 PM »
what about padauk ?
never try to be better than others just better than you were yesterday.

Offline bodrighywood

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2019, 06:59:16 PM »
what about padauk ?

Invented for turners with masochistic tendencies. Evill stuuf. LOL

Petf
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Offline The Bowler Hatted Turner

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2019, 12:01:28 PM »
I tend not to use CA glue as a finish. The fumes are no good for your lungs to begin with (have you ever seen how they "lift" finger prints on CSI?)and there is also the danger of sticking your fingers together or glueing bits of paper to your work but.....after a while CA finishes break down and leave an unsightly mess. They are not designed to be used as a finish. Better off dyeing a piece of wood once the turning is finished, wood dye or ink is very good and then use a cellulose sealer and melamine but dye them both with the ink or whatever. That way you get a better depth of colour.

Offline julcle

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2019, 12:15:40 PM »
Hi John/ Pete,  thanks for that, I didn't realise the long term breakdown of CA but in saying that I made a matching steering wheel boss and gear stick knob for a vintage car a couple of years ago and finished that in CA and I have to say that 4 years have gone by now and it's still the same as it was when made so will see how long it will be before I have to make another pair. I don't like Padauk either, a friend of mine makes Longbows from it and I have a few offcuts. I have done it now in acrylic and it looks fine, more importantly he is over the moon with it.   Julian
Location: S. Wales
Crowvalley Woodturners
Julian

Offline Twisted Trees

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2019, 01:53:10 PM »
Hi John/ Pete,  thanks for that, I didn't realise the long term breakdown of CA but in saying that I made a matching steering wheel boss and gear stick knob for a vintage car a couple of years ago and finished that in CA and I have to say that 4 years have gone by now and it's still the same as it was when made so will see how long it will be before I have to make another pair. I don't like Padauk either, a friend of mine makes Longbows from it and I have a few offcuts. I have done it now in acrylic and it looks fine, more importantly he is over the moon with it.   Julian

That is a better test than mine, I have made a set of xmas tree dangly things half in red ink with CA glue as a finish, the other half in gold leaf 10 years on the CA is still perfect, but they spend 11½ months a year in a box in the attic.

Have a play with the ink one day it is shellac based, and quite effective on various woods sort of cross between stain and paint!
TT, AKA Pete, but that name is taken :-)

Offline bodrighywood

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2019, 02:01:44 PM »
Note that inks will fade in sunlight like watercolours. Mo uses them to do the decorated pieces and a gallery put one piece in the window with disastrous results. Not a happy wife.

Pete
Turners don't make mistakes, they have design opportunities

Offline Twisted Trees

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2019, 05:27:37 PM »
Note that inks will fade in sunlight like watercolours. Mo uses them to do the decorated pieces and a gallery put one piece in the window with disastrous results. Not a happy wife.

Pete

It does depend on the ink, which is why I specified the Windsor & Newton one. they were in turn recommended to me by a friend who is a chemist for Hewlett Packard, makes the inkjet inks for them, there is a lot of chemistry and a lot of variety involved. Some inks are designed to get darker with age and last thousands of years, others fade completely in any environment.
TT, AKA Pete, but that name is taken :-)

Offline bodrighywood

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Re: Red Pen Blank "wood"
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2019, 07:34:08 PM »
Note that inks will fade in sunlight like watercolours. Mo uses them to do the decorated pieces and a gallery put one piece in the window with disastrous results. Not a happy wife.

Pete

It does depend on the ink, which is why I specified the Windsor & Newton one. they were in turn recommended to me by a friend who is a chemist for Hewlett Packard, makes the inkjet inks for them, there is a lot of chemistry and a lot of variety involved. Some inks are designed to get darker with age and last thousands of years, others fade completely in any environment.

Windsor and Newton are the ones Mo uses and they do fade in sunlight. I could show you a bowl that we can't sell thankjs to the gallery putting it in a window.  There is no protective coating or type of ink that will prevent this happenning. Trust me we have researched this a lot, we (Mo) does a lot of this work. If you find an ink that claims to be UV resistant we would be glad to hear about it LOL.
Printing inks such as used by HP may be different but they tend to be very thick and difficult to work with I should imagine. Also they are the most expensive liquid on earth LOL.
#Pete
Turners don't make mistakes, they have design opportunities