# What to do with excess wood.



## Wooden_Pen_Turner_11 (Dec 2, 2008)

I have only done slimline and cigar style pens but when I cut them, there is always a little block at the end. What can you do with a bunch of them?


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## spiritwoodturner (Dec 2, 2008)

Sometimes I square off a little waste pice and laminate it on the end of a blank for contrast. More often than not I laminate a bit of pickguard in between. I've even seen some pens where the guy cut thin slices (say, a quarter inch) of waste, rotated them a bit with each layer and glued them back together, then drilled for the tubes, etc.

Bottom line is, do something with them! Do anything (that's safe) that comes to mind with them. You just might stumble on to the greatest innovation ever in woodturning! The guys that create these wild products are not geniuses. They're just fearless about failing.

Have fun with it!!!

Dale


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## Rick_G (Dec 2, 2008)

I save them and then make things like this with them.  Kids like them for their board games.


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## d1carter (Dec 2, 2008)

11:
I have made center bands from the little cutoffs. You can drill to proper size and turn to fit pens of contrasting color. 
All the best.

Don


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## CaptG (Dec 2, 2008)

Hi Ryan, cut them at different angles, glue them togather (they will be crooked and rough looking) and make "scrap" pens.


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## Wooden_Pen_Turner_11 (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks everyone!


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## nava1uni (Dec 4, 2008)

I use them for center bands, and I also make key tags from several glued together. Sometimes the pieces can be quite big and it doesn't take many to make a piece big enough to make quite a few different things.  I also use them when drilling blanks, I place them underneath the blank to prevent blowout.


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## rherrell (Dec 4, 2008)

Glue them together in about 6" lengths, turn them to round and put a finish on them. Put them in your pen case and use them as samples for customers. Make 10 of them and you can have 60 different kinds of wood and synthetics to show your customers.:wink:


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## Skip_Evans (Dec 4, 2008)

Last night my grandaughter saw my little bag of cutoffs. She offered: 'If you glued those together for a pen that would be KOOL'


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## jttheclockman (Dec 4, 2008)

some people use them for bookmarkers. That is what I am going to do.


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## ahoiberg (Dec 4, 2008)

i put them all in a bag of ever increasing bulk. i think "someday..." but someday has never come.


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## sbell111 (Dec 5, 2008)

ahoiberg said:


> i put them all in a bag of ever increasing bulk. i think "someday..." but someday has never come.



That's just silly.



I use a big bucket.


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## jskeen (Dec 5, 2008)

You're both crazy, I use the bottom drawer of my rollaway tool chest.  How else can you get them out of sight before  the wife comes out to the shop and says "where did all these wood scraps come from?  

James


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## Wooden_Pen_Turner_11 (Feb 19, 2010)

A big fat LOL at those.


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## HSTurning (Feb 19, 2010)

ahoiberg said:


> i put them all in a bag of ever increasing bulk. i think "someday..." but someday has never come.


 I use a box


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## arioux (Feb 19, 2010)

Hi,

There is a great article from John Uteck in the librairy about making fridg magnet from blanks cut off.

http://content.penturners.org/articles/2009/fridgemagnets.pdf


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## Jon-wx5nco (Feb 19, 2010)

sbell111 said:


> That's just silly.
> 
> 
> 
> I use a big bucket.



I could have sworn that is what the wheel barrel and the 55 gallon "storage bin" is used for :smile-big: :RockOn::RockOn::RockOn:


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## keithkarl2007 (Feb 19, 2010)

A mate of mine uses them for cufflinks, don't ask me where he gets the kits but i seen a few he had done and one in pink ivory really caught my eye


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## thewishman (Feb 19, 2010)

Mine are in a bag in a drawer. Been thinking about making refrigerator magnets - the bag is so full we'll need another fridge or two...


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## David Keller (Feb 19, 2010)

I've glued them together end to end into about 6 inch lengths.  Then I split them down the middle lengthwise on the band saw.  I then flip one of the pieces end for end and glue them back together.  Rotate the blank 90 degrees along the long axis and cut it lengthwise again.  Flip one side end for end again and reglue.  Now, just cut, drill, and turn.  It makes for great pens, and they have sold like crazy for me.

If you do several of them, you can mix and match.  You can add veneer, aluminum, etc between layers to create more interest.  I usually just use titebond glue, and it seems to hold well.

Don't have any of them made up right now because they all sold.


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## bgibb42 (Feb 19, 2010)

Centerbands, custom finials, segmenting....

Or you could just send them all to me!:biggrin:

(Just kidding, by the way)


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## Wooden_Pen_Turner_11 (Feb 20, 2010)

David Keller said:


> I've glued them together end to end into about 6 inch lengths.  Then I split them down the middle lengthwise on the band saw.  I then flip one of the pieces end for end and glue them back together.  Rotate the blank 90 degrees along the long axis and cut it lengthwise again.  Flip one side end for end again and reglue.  Now, just cut, drill, and turn.  It makes for great pens, and they have sold like crazy for me.
> 
> If you do several of them, you can mix and match.  You can add veneer, aluminum, etc between layers to create more interest.  I usually just use titebond glue, and it seems to hold well.
> 
> Don't have any of them made up right now because they all sold.



Hey man, next time you make one, PM me a picture, or post it on here. I bet everyone would love to see 'em.


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## Minotbob (Feb 20, 2010)

Wooden_Pen_Turner_11 said:


> Hey man, next time you make one, PM me a picture, or post it on here. I bet everyone would love to see 'em.


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## jtdesigns (Feb 21, 2010)

Here is one that hasn't been mentioned especially for those "nice" grain species.  In the fall find an oak tree that produces huge acorns and look around the ground.  All those acorn caps about 3/4" to 1" will be lying on the ground.  Find as many as you can.  Take them home and brush them off and put some danish oil in a pan and let them soak for awhile.  Let em dry.  Take your little cut offs and drill a 3/8" hole in the end and glue a little section of 3/8" dowel rod.  Use your jaw chuck or better yet Beall Collet Chuck and turn a wooden acorn.  I get close to the diameter and use my dremel tool to grind the inside of the cap to fit.  Glue the cap on.  Make about 20 or 30 and put them in a turned bowl.  Makes one of the coolest decorations for the Mrs.  She will absolutely love it.


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## Wooden_Pen_Turner_11 (Feb 21, 2010)

jtdesigns said:


> Here is one that hasn't been mentioned especially for those "nice" grain species.  In the fall find an oak tree that produces huge acorns and look around the ground.  All those acorn caps about 3/4" to 1" will be lying on the ground.  Find as many as you can.  Take them home and brush them off and put some danish oil in a pan and let them soak for awhile.  Let em dry.  Take your little cut offs and drill a 3/8" hole in the end and glue a little section of 3/8" dowel rod.  Use your jaw chuck or better yet Beall Collet Chuck and turn a wooden acorn.  I get close to the diameter and use my dremel tool to grind the inside of the cap to fit.  Glue the cap on.  Make about 20 or 30 and put them in a turned bowl.  Makes one of the coolest decorations for the Mrs.  She will absolutely love it.



Wow, that does sound cool


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## Nolan (Feb 21, 2010)

I cut my pen blanks at 4 1/2 inches long so I don't get any little squares. But before I started the wood supply end of this "hobby" I used to do glue ups and make pens out of them. They sold real good to folks who were shopping with their kids.


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