As I mentioned last week, the bunk bed project has completely blocked the lathe with a huge stack of oak and birch plywood. That's going to be a problem, too, because I have recently been asked to help produce a bunch of pens. 

Our town, Chambersburg, Pa, houses an historic building affectionately called the "Old Jail". It was built in 1818, and is a two-story, brick building with a slate covered hipped roof topped by a cupola. The original building measures 84 feet wide by 48 feet deep. In 1880, a cell block was added. The jail yard is divided into two sections and surrounded by a 20 foot high wall. The building houses a museum and genealogical library operated by the Franklin County Historical Society - Kittochtinny. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

The historic society is having the cupola rebuilt and some of the wood from the structure is to be re-purposed into pens- and other turnings- if approved. We were told the wood is American Chestnut but that remains to be verified. This is the reason for the question about American made pen kits/parts, the other day.

I have been working steadily to get the beds done but there's a long way to go!

So this week, I am re-posting an article by David Smith. He has a cute turning project- making a "bobble head".

You can find the complete article here-

http://www.davidreedsmith.com/Articles/FaceBalls/FaceBalls.htm

Safe Turning-

Big shout out to Nate!

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

Thanks Lew!

And I think that pen idea is going to be fun to work on, did you ever find the Made in USA parts?

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Thanks, John, although there may be a stumbling block. I finally got a chance to actually look at the wood. The person who made the original identification failed to look at the end grain. The wood is actually either eastern white pine or hemlock. It's still very old but not what he had hoped for.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

So what does that mean Lew, that it would too unstable to turn for pens?

Lewis Kauffman said:

Thanks, John, although there may be a stumbling block. I finally got a chance to actually look at the wood. The person who made the original identification failed to look at the end grain. The wood is actually either eastern white pine or hemlock. It's still very old but not what he had hoped for.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Haven't tried it yet. I turned some spindles for a cradle from similar wood and the tools had to be kept extremely sharp. When sanding, it took a very light touch to keep from wearing away too much material. 

John Morris said:

So what does that mean Lew, that it would too unstable to turn for pens?

Lewis Kauffman said:

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Hey Lew, isn't hemlock a hard wood? Good pen making material? I did not google hemlock so I am just going off my gut instinct here.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Very similar to white pine

John Morris said:

Hey Lew, isn't hemlock a hard wood? Good pen making material? I did not google hemlock so I am just going off my gut instinct here.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker