I'm new to turning, but I justified the purchase of the lathe by telling my wife that I'd make pens for Christmas presents. Thus the bank account and all of us would be happy. So it's Thanksgiving weekend and its time to perform on the deal!
Thursday and Friday I cut out and bored 40 blanks. Today I turned 18 pens! I'm very enthusiastic about the project because it means that I can put some treasured cherry to very good use. I know that I'm not alone here. Many of you hang on to wood for a very long time. This cherry has been with me since 1978! The photo below shows the cherry tree in 1965 (I'm the handsome guy on the mower). It was on the property in 1943 when Dad bought the place. In 1978, the old tree came down, and Dad sawed some of the best limbs into lumber. Unfortunately limbs do not make good lumber! The lumber was very twisty, and didn't make it into any furniture, that's for sure.
But pens? That's a different story. This Christmas about forty family members will get a piece of this family tree. It was the playground, gathering area, and picnic site for countless family events over the years.
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