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Diagonal Pen Blank
I started out with a 1-1/2"x2" by 6" long piece of
zebra wood. I split this in half and glued
the edges together to make a nice book matched grain pattern.
My work piece is now 4' x 6" about 11/16" thick. I jointed both edges to clean
up joint and laid out a diagonal line. Now cut down the middle of this line on your
bandsaw.
Now your going to glue the two jointed edges together.
This last glue up is a little tricky. Because of the diagonal shape the pieces want
to slide. I got past this problem by using the clamp with the yellow pads to prevent
the sliding issue. I placed 2 clamps straddling the glue line to keep the pieces
flush, and 3 clamps to actually squeeze the pieces together. It was a balancing
act getting all those clamps in there! But the end result is worth it because...
and you wind up with a piece like this! It's now about 11/16" thick, perfect for
a pen blank. I set up a fence on my bandsaw at 5/8" and rip the blank into 4 blocks.
That's enough for 4 pens or 2 pen/pencil sets.
The next day after the glue dries, remove the your work piece from the clamps and
clean off any glue that has squeezed out. Then set up your bandsaw to rip the blanks
into strips. You want about 1/2" to 5/8" of stock to work with on the lathe. I think
it's much too dangerous to attempt this cut on a table saw!
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