# Camelthorn with Torquoise Inlay



## hewunch (Jul 9, 2009)

OK, so I am at one of my favorite wood shops (Woodzone in Columbia,SC www.woodzone.com) and the owner there is a great guy named Carl. Well, he says, "hey we got this new wood, maybe you would like to make a pen out of it". I say, "Yeah, what is it called?" He says, "Camelthorn".

Well, I have never heard of camelthorn, and to be quite honest this blank had so much wax on it, I was not looking for anything exciting. Boy, was I blown away by the grain. Almost like a cross between bloodwood and bocote. So, our last meeting a guy is showing inlays. And mentions the next time you are near one of those rock stores on vacation pick up some cheap torquoise or malichite and bust it up yourself. Well, the next week I am in Helen, GA. And what do they have there? You guessed it Torquoise and Malichite. So here is my first torquoise inlay on my first piece of camelthorn. Comments welcome.


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## kirkfranks (Jul 9, 2009)

Hans,
That is a new wood to me also.
Nice combination with the inlay.  Was it hard to crush the Turquoise?


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## hewunch (Jul 9, 2009)

kirkfranks said:


> Was it hard to crush the Turquoise?



Thanks for the complement. Not hard, just use a hammer and beat out some frustrations :biggrin: The hard part is keeping all the dust.


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## rjwolfe3 (Jul 9, 2009)

Wow that is sweet looking. New wood to me too.


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## DaveM (Jul 9, 2009)

Great looking pen.  Reminds me a bit of a beefwood blank I had a couple of years ago.  (Ironically it ended up going home with a local meatcutter!)  I really like the turquoise bands.  Tasteful and nicely done.

Dave


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## workinforwood (Jul 10, 2009)

That's a beauty of a pen there Hans.  I'm grateful this thread wasn't in the gutter...it was just childish brain reading the title.


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## hewunch (Jul 10, 2009)

I usually try not to title things in a risky way. I guess we all can't be perfect all the time.


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## markgum (Jul 10, 2009)

That is really cool.


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## artme (Jul 10, 2009)

Good looking pen. Like the inlaid rings.


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## jleiwig (Jul 10, 2009)

I like it!  I would definitely keep that one in my pocket!  Good tip on the turquoise.


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## Russianwolf (Jul 10, 2009)

I was going to say that it looks like a member of the padouk family, but I'd be wrong. It's an acacia from the kalahari.  (have a look about 2/3rds down the page). http://www.cbd.int/programmes/outreach/awareness/kalahari.shtml


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## bobskio2003 (Jul 10, 2009)

Camelthorn is probably one of the hardest woods I've turned.  It does have beautiful grain but can be miserable to work with.  A lot of the pieces I've gotten have cracks in them (although they can be easily filled).  I guess I'm just trying to say that Camelthorn isn't a wood I'd recommend to a beginner.  Bob I.


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## desertyellow (Jul 10, 2009)

sweet!


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## hewunch (Jul 10, 2009)

Bob, you are right, it is hard. Harder than purpleheart and close to ironwood. I have a carbide tool that I use for most of my lathe work, so it comes off in ribbons. I was pleasantly surprised. Thanks to the others for their kind words, even though there is a big chunk out of the Turquoise in the pic.


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## cnirenberg (Jul 10, 2009)

Beautiful wood.  I like the grain.


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## Ligget (Jul 11, 2009)

That is a new wood to me also, amazing grain right enough, beautiful pen!


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## Exotichardwoodpens (Aug 5, 2009)

I have been working with camelthorn for quite a while now it is easy to work with and takes a beautiful finish just aquired some with sapwood in it


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## workinforwood (Aug 5, 2009)

Hans will buy anything.  Why just last week I sold him some Dingleberry.:rotfl:


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## hewunch (Aug 5, 2009)

Rofl!


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## Bree (Aug 5, 2009)

hewunch said:


> OK, so I am at one of my favorite wood shops (Woodzone in Columbia,SC www.woodzone.com) and the owner there is a great guy named Carl. Well, he says, "hey we got this new wood, maybe you would like to make a pen out of it". I say, "Yeah, what is it called?" He says, "Camelthorn".
> 
> Well, I have never heard of camelthorn, and to be quite honest this blank had so much wax on it, I was not looking for anything exciting. Boy, was I blown away by the grain. Almost like a cross between bloodwood and bocote. So, our last meeting a guy is showing inlays. And mentions the next time you are near one of those rock stores on vacation pick up some cheap torquoise or malichite and bust it up yourself. Well, the next week I am in Helen, GA. And what do they have there? You guessed it Torquoise and Malichite. So here is my first torquoise inlay on my first piece of camelthorn. Comments welcome.


 
Lovely pen Hans!  Excellent.  How did you glue in the inlays?  CA?  What viscosity did you use?  I used CA and found when using some very fine glitter that it ran when I used thin and it didn't get all throughout the thick or medium.  It wasn't easy to get a uniform blending.  And it is very messy!!

Next time I am doing all glitter gluing outside of the workshop!!!


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## YORKGUM (Aug 7, 2009)

Camelthorn = _Acacia erioloba
South African.

http://www.kyffhauser.co.za/1_Trees/Acacia-erioloba-a.jpg


_


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## Marc (Aug 7, 2009)

Very nice pen and I like the thought about crushing your own turqoise and malachite.  I'll bet there are quite a few other rocks that would look good.

Here is Nevada, lots of the tourist places include rocks and gemstone shops where there are a variety of highly colored rocks.  Most are polished up so I don't know what they would look like when they are crushed up.  Seems like it might be worth a few dollars to find out.

Keeping the crush contained does sound like a challenge.


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## handplane (Aug 7, 2009)

Nice looking pen.

The best trick I've seen for crushing stone is an electric coffee grinder.  Makes a lot of noise but you can get chunks or dust or anything in between.


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