# A New Spin on Sweet Gum Pods



## Ankrom Exotics (Sep 29, 2019)

Turned this one this morning. It's an Elegant Sierra from Berea Hardwoods with a satin chrome finish. The blank is made from several Sweet Gum Pods arranged in a row and cast in white Alumilite. Kind of a pain to make but I like the results.


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## magpens (Sep 29, 2019)

The result certainly is interesting and very attractive !! . Well done !!


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## Woodchipper (Sep 29, 2019)

Used to have a sweet gum tree in the yard. Got rid of it. This was before woodworking and penturning. That is a unique blank and pen!


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## FGarbrecht (Sep 29, 2019)

That is one extremely cool pen!


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## Sly Dog (Sep 29, 2019)

I love it!  Always liked sweet gum trees (except for stepping on those pods).  Beautiful fall tree tho.  Very interesting blank.


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## JohnU (Sep 29, 2019)

Looks Great !  I’ve made a lot of multi colored resin pod blanks and pens but the pods often get lost in the colors.  I like how the white shows off everything the pods have going on. Keep up the great work!

Worst part in making them is picking them up and cleaning them.  Brings back lots of memories of a sore back!


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## Ankrom Exotics (Sep 29, 2019)

Thank you all for the feedback and comments, they're very much appreciated. I'm going to have to try one of these blanks on a larger pen and see how they turn out.


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## hbillings (Sep 29, 2019)

Wow those are fantastic!


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## bsshog40 (Sep 29, 2019)

Very nice!


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## PenPal (Sep 30, 2019)

Ripper Pat and Lynn this is a first using these this cway and I agree astounding detail and contrast,delicate treatment you two.

Peter.


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## PBorowick (Oct 1, 2019)

Funny thing, I picked a whole grocery bag of those last week thinking the would look great in resin....now I have proof that they do!
Thanks for sharing.


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## ramaroodle (Oct 3, 2019)

Do you oven dry or stabilize them before using?


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## Ankrom Exotics (Oct 3, 2019)

ramaroodle said:


> Do you oven dry or stabilize them before using?




The resin does a pretty good job of making things stable. The pods are dried in a dehydrator for several hours prior to casting to prevent any moisture issues with the Alumilite.


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## Ankrom Exotics (Oct 3, 2019)

PBorowick said:


> Funny thing, I picked a whole grocery bag of those last week thinking the would look great in resin....now I have proof that they do!
> Thanks for sharing.




You won't get this same look by just casting these in a mold and pouring resin over them. Here's a photo that will hopefully give you an idea of how I made this blank (from left to right).


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## PBorowick (Oct 3, 2019)

That is quite the prep of those pods but it is well worth the effort to get that end result.


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## ramaroodle (Oct 3, 2019)

Ah Ha.....cutting them off and inserting a stick down the middle!  I've done pine cones before but that was the process I should have used to avoid the voids between them!  Excellent!  Great technique and process.  Thanks.


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