# Newbie with a question



## fordman (Oct 29, 2014)

I was given these a few years ago as clock blanks.  Can these be used for pen blanks?  The odd edges I was thinking about trying to cast as worthless wood blanks.  So could these be used and if so anything special I need to know?  Also what kind of wood are they?  Thanks


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## robutacion (Oct 29, 2014)

I don't know what wood species they are but, and without knowing the pieces sizes, I can see some amazing blanks (for casting or not) coming out of those 2 pieces.

If you were close, I would be saying, come over and I will cut those for you but, that is not possible so, the safest way to get the best of of such type pieces, is to use some regular size pen blanks and a pencil.  Put the pen blanks on the top of each piece and orient them to give you the best yield (number) or the best number of full size blanks, as the rest can always be cast.

This way, you can play with it until you are happy with it, after that, use the pencil to mark each blank position however, is better to remember that you have the blade thickness of whatever the tool you will use to cut it with so, remember to leave a space between each blank to match the blade thickness...!

Best of luck...!

Cheers
George


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## fordman (Oct 29, 2014)

The one that is more of a solid piece is about 18x20 and both are 1 3/4 thick.  That is a great idea about the lay out.  Do I need to worry about grain direction?  If you were closer I would have taken you up on the help.  Thanks George for the help.


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## j_b_fischer (Oct 31, 2014)

*You've got some good blanks...*

First, you should know that most pen blanks are 3/4" on a side and 5 1/2" to 6" in length.  If your material is 1 3/4" thick and 18" x 20", then you have 40-ish blanks in that one piece.

Yes, grain can make a world of difference in what a pen looks like.  Layout your cutting to take advantage of the grain, which means you might end up with fewer blanks; but it will be worth it, especially since you'll have plenty of blanks anyway.

I don't know how many pens you've made, but if you cut a few blanks from other pieces of wood (like a branch from the tree in the back yard) and turn them, you'll start to appreciate how grain affects things.  You don't even need to drill these practice blanks, just turn them round to see the results.

Hope this helps ... and don't forget to post the results from your work.




fordman said:


> The one that is more of a solid piece is about 18x20 and both are 1 3/4 thick.  That is a great idea about the lay out.  Do I need to worry about grain direction?  If you were closer I would have taken you up on the help.  Thanks George for the help.


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