"Shangrila" Series Pen #1

We were doing some yard work at my in-laws lake house on Lake Shangrila, Wisconsin, burning leaves, pruning some trees, when we pruned what we thought might have been a juniper bush. Turns out, it's aromatic cedar (one smell and you know). the branches looked incredibly gnarled and twisted, like they might have some interesting figure, so I grabbed a few and figured I'd see what I could get out of them on the lathe. Turns out (buh-dum-ching) the pieces are the ideal size for turning pens.

I turned it on the lathe, sanded to 1500 grit, and applied 6 coats of CA to finish. The pen kit is black with chrome trim and is a "twist" mechanism ball point.

Thus starts a series of pens, the "Shangrila" Series.

Hickory Chopping Block How-To

Finished product

So the plan here is to describe how to make an end grain chopping block. If you just want to check out pictures of it in its finished form, check out the other post.

Hickory End Grain Chopping Block Finished Post

Okay, new thing, there's going to be two posts on this chopping block. This one is just pictures and general description, the other will be a step-by-step of it how it was made.

Zebrawood Black and Chrome Pen

I turned a pen. It's zebrawood in a black and chrome twist pen kit with a CA finish. It's up for sale on Etsy, if anyone's interested. A bunch of pictures after the jump.

12" Danggai Knife Strip

Just in time for the holidays, someone picked up this knife strip.

I've got enough material left for one more like this, so strike while the iron's hot.