Streamline, More Elegant then SlimLine..

[James Combs]

... in my opinion.

I had some old barnwood with hickory tie pins. I wanted to turn a pen from one to see what ~100 year old hickory looked like. Found and old Rockler Streamline kit in back of a drawer and gave it a spin. It was a great dress up for the Streamline but the Streamline didn't hurt the wood either.


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C&C appreciated

Here is what they looked like to start with.

[Ron Radliff]

Very nice. It proves the old saying: "you can't judge a book by its cover".

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is one good looking pen. Wood looks good.

[Doug W Swanson]

Beautiful pen, James. I love reusing wood like that. Especially stuff that turns out like that!

[Keith Outten]

Hickory is a very common wood here in Virginia yet very few people seem to use it, except for firewood. I have had the opportunity to turn some and have laser engraved wooden plaques made from hickory, it is really beautiful wood. If you ever decide to have your hickory pen engraved it is capable of a very nice dark mark so there is lots of contrast.

Of the less expensive pen kits the Streamline kit is my favorite and I agree that it is more elegant than the Slimline kits.

Now I've got the bug again......need to look for some hickory to make some pens that I can engrave with my company logo to give to customers.
.

[Michael Stafford]

Hickory makes wonderful boxes as it finishes up beautifully and has terrific grain patterns. It is a very fine turning wood particularly the shagbark variety.

[Jim Burr]

You are the Recycle King JD!! I have a bunch of those kits, just haven't spun one yet.

[Kevin Aylward]

I made a large run of Fraternity/Sorority "Paddles" using hickory last year. The kids loved them for the heft and beauty of the wood, and they took a great finish. The only problem I had was with splitting. Several of the edges split out while being routed to a nice edge. It happened fast and violently when it happened too. The sap wood was more stable, but if you want to get the nice contrast that the outer edges offer, plan to take some minimal risk. I would recommend working with heavy gloves and good push blocks! If you can get through the work without injury, the result is really something impressive! It is also relatively hard on the cutting edges of the tooling. Expect to sacrifice some blades and bits. It is not a bad trade off when you consider how reasonably priced the wood can be, and the very impressive end result.
I also have to note that in the Maryland area, and most other parts of our region, they will also refer to several other species of wood as being Hickory. including Pecan and other nut woods.

[Steve Schlumpf]

That sure is cool! I like that you created a pen that preserves a little history as well as looks great!