Pinecone & Resin Pen: Making of

Woodturning, Making, Creating:
This is a pinecone & resin pen I made for a friend for Christmas.
Hope you enjoy!
Please feel free to comment, like, share, & I'd love to have you as a subscriber if you aren't already! :)
Sticker swap? Send your sticker to the address listed below & I will send you one back. Thanks! :)
Michael Zurcher
313 Gordon Drive
Exton, PA 19341
Check out my Instagram here:
/ michael_zurcher
Please feel free to comment, like, share, & I'd love to have you as a subscriber if you aren't already! :)
Sticker swap? Send your sticker to the address listed below & I will send you one back. Thanks! :)
Michael Zurcher
313 Gordon Drive
Exton, PA 19341
Check out my Instagram here:
/ michael_zurcher

[@elizabethpowers7706]

What a gorgeous combination of colors and materials...looks festive with the red and gold...and who doesn't love pinecones...the spine of the pinecone is cool looking in that piece...

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Elizabeth Powers Thanks so much! :) pinecones are cool :)

[@damasydia]

That was awesome...glad it was a two piece kit to show off the blank...almost looks like a spinal column

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Airborne Mike thanks! Yeah I thought the same thing. I'm in the process of making another one, but the next video will show the resin casting process as well! Thanks for stopping by to watch!

[@kevinkp7779]

Fantastic job on this work of art. I would love to own one in turquoise

[@shenaniganstoo]

That's a $1000 design. Turned out awesome.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Sunshines' Shadow Wow!! Hahah...It's yours at that price..shipping no charge...lol ...Thank you so much!!

[@selimemiroglu4780]

Mi chiedo di avere una bellissima penna in questo momento !!!

[@macgyver2417]

That pens drop dead gorgeous.good job.

[@spencerschreffler4]

Like a Demonic rendition of a Spine. . . I Love It! I want one.

[@MichaelZurcher]

I did love how it looked like a spine as well. Hopefully will be making more soon! Thanks for checking it out!

[@traceyosterlind14]

A beautiful project! Anyone would be proud to own it!

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks so much! And thank you for stopping by to watch my vid and leave a comment! I love to hear what people think! See you in my next video!

[@linneabeckman6543]

absolutely!

[@ruzgardeniz4673]

Çok güzel çalışma, emeğinize sağlık...👏🙂

[@SirKingHoff]

Those look like the perfect present. Especially since you got the blank from another friend of yours.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+SirKingHoff thanks, yeah I almost wanted to keep it...haha but my buddy really loves it and that makes me even happier! Thanks for watching!

[@SirKingHoff]

You got a sub man. Cant wait to eventually say that I was here at 250

[@mikebarnstable7038]

Beautiful pen.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Mike Barnstable thank you!

[@dallaswoiken7533]

I so want that pen great job

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Dallas Woiken I'll be making more soon! Thanks for watching !

[@luckychicav7981]

Ohhh wow, what an amazing collectible piece. Gorgeous pen, I even love ❤️ the color😉

[@MichaelZurcher]

+luckychicav thank you! I will be making a new video soon of a new one! I really appreciate all you comments! Thank you for all your kind words! Thanks for watching and being a part of my channel!

[@tapassahoo7724]

Beautiful pen

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thank you!

[@royalmaster203]

very nice

[@briansowers2225]

brad does great casting

[@MichaelZurcher]

He does for sure!

[@icespeckledhens]

Fabulous pen, the colours are beautiful. Thanks James

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thank you!

[@franciscoalfonsin950]

wow cool job l like it..nice nice....

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Francisco Alfonsin thank you! Appreciate the watch and thanks for the nice comment!

[@TristanDare]

That is so darn cool! I'll have to try that

[@MichaelZurcher]

Glad you like it! Yeah give it a try! I'd love to see what you come up with!

[@TristanDare]

That was quick! Yes, i've been wanting to get into turning :) I'll try it out! (but with a homemade lathe)

[@MichaelZurcher]

haha,yeah I just happened to be on here when your comment came through...Homemade lathe Whaaaaa????? That's even cooler!!! yes, please film the process I have to see that!!! at the very least take some pics of the process!

[@TristanDare]

Haha! Yes, actually a Dremel lathe! I saw one on the internet and i will definitly upload. Thanks Michael, you got a new sub! :)

[@karenmartino2063]

Nice job, Mike. Interesting to see the process.

[@franciscoalfonsin950]

your welcome bro is awesome you work congratulations...

[@gbultimate]

wow that is beautiful

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Geert Bruineman thank you so much! Appreciate the feedback :)

[@trikermansbike]

Very nice.

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks so much! Appreciate the comment and the watch!

[@KostasAnnikasDeftereos]

Mike finally !!!! this is one the most beautiful pens that i have ever seen !!! the animation at the begin are nice !!! nice perfect amazing everything !!! great work my brother ! i glad that i meet you have a wonderful year !!!

[@MichaelZurcher]

Hey Bro, Thanks so much, that really means a lot!!! Have fun on your break!

[@coleleavitt1212]

good job man! great looking pen

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks! I was happy with how it turned out, glad you liked it! thanks for watching.

[@nickzammeti]

Wow awesome pen dude , I love it 👍🏽😜

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Nick Zammeti NZ WoodTurning thanks fella! Looking forward to see more pens from you!

[@shelbydevincentis7228]

very beautiful.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Shelby DeVincentis thank you!

[@OlObuffalo]

As soon as you hit that with the liquid, my eyes bugged out and I began to covet earnestly.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+OlObuffalo me too...lol almost didn't want to give it away...haha I'm planning on making a new video of the entire process, including the casting process. I'll make sure the audio is worked out. :)

[@OlObuffalo]

You are a better person than I am as I would've kept it :o( LOL. Looking forward to the next vid.

[@itzpandamonium3013]

pog

[@irenedavo3768]

New Subscriber

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks for subscribing!

[@GabiFodorrasRO]

Big like!👍👍👍👍👍✅💪Felicitări!😎😍

[@cyvonn]

Awesome.

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thank you! Glad you like it :)

[@peytonpearson6638]

I love that pen beautiful. I would love to have one sent my way:) blue an white plz

[@MichaelZurcher]

Lol ....I did make a blue and white one and have a vid on that as well. :) Thanks for watching :)

[@peytonpearson6638]

Michael Zurcher Ya I found that video after I watched the red one an I enjoyed watching both

[@BobbyDukeArts]

freaking cool man.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Bobby Duke Arts thanks brother! Great talking with you in atlanta!

[@levelapr]

Sweet!!!!!!

[@danield679]

THICC! 😛

[@brianrobertsadi]

Fantastic looking pen, a pleasure to watch you work dude. Greetings from Liverpool.

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks so much! Appreciate you watching!

[@TurningWorks]

Awesome job! 👍😎

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks for watching and thank you for your kind words!

[@ZacHiggins]

Finally trying to catch up on some YT videos and realized I hadn't subbed your channel, sorry about that. That turned out awesome, great blank by Brad too. Can't wait to see some more of your projects =D

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Zac Higgins lol, no worries, thanks for checking out the channel! Yeah Brad's blank turned out sweet! He just sent me some stabilized pinecones so I can try and cast a few myself! Really looking forward to trying that!

[@aliraza-qh2rl]

Amazing..awesome.. wonderful.. magnificent... out of this wourld. ... i would love to learn it .. Dr raza Pakistan

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks!

[@goldbunny1973]

Very nice. Sell them to Chiropractors and Orthopaedic Surgeons, they'll like the "spinal" qualities I reckon.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Sally Taylor that's a fantastic idea! Thanks! Appreciate you watching!

[@PeterRusanoff]

Epic

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Peter Rusanoff well thanks! Glad you like it!

[@abnormalhq4536]

You should try wet sanding on acrylic

[@MichaelZurcher]

I did actually wet sand using micromesh pads ...I just didn't record that in this video... but on a side note it wasn't acrylic...it is alumilite resin...but yes wet sanding works very well on both!

[@abnormalhq4536]

@@MichaelZurcher oh I see how that works out but I'm 13 and I make my own aacrylic pens

[@MichaelZurcher]

@@abnormalhq4536very cool! That's awesome!

[@abnormalhq4536]

Thanks I enjoy making them

[@HeathKnuckles_Tasty_Timber]

Beautiful pen Mike! I still have not received it in the mail. lol Nice work brother! :)

[@MichaelZurcher]

Haha...love it! Well maybe the post man decided he liked it more than you??? Thanks bro!

[@mr.mickles]

Very nice! I like your blank holding jig for drilling quite a bit. Much better than mine. What do you do with that 1" cube you cut off? Perfect for beads.

[@MichaelZurcher]

Hey thanks for stopping by and having a watch! Yeah the blank holder isn't really needed but it certainly comes in handy and I am glad I have it. It was given to me by a friend! I usually just put all my cut offs into a box...lol I figure at some point I will either glue them up into new blanks or make some pendants or earings or something...But yeah beads are a cool idea too! Thanks

[@freedomtrailamerica2981]

Cannot hear anything you are saying. Pls check this before you start final version of video. Would have loved to understand it all.

[@MichaelZurcher]

sorry you couldn't hear it, not sure what is wrong the audio plays fine on all my devices.

[@OlObuffalo]

clicked through to see how you made *this gorgeous pen*...can barely, barely hear you though.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+OlObuffalo thanks for watching. I'm not sure why that happens. I've spoken to youtube about it. For some weird reason it's perfectly fine on some devices and not on others. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do to fix it without uploading a new one. But I'd loose all comments, views, likes and shares

[@Axlepup1]

Hello Michael, I was wondering how much you'd charge me to make me the blue beautiful ink pen? I love your work, they'd make the best gift EVER!!!

[@Axlepup1]

Thanks for responding but what about making me some pens?

[@irishm9812]

hey if you could give me some insight on how you polish your pens because we always just sand and seal it, we don't use glue or anything, which is I think what you are using

[@MichaelZurcher]

I use a about 3 to 5 coats of thin CA glue, then use micro mesh pads and water to sand the CA to a smooth polish, then use a plastic polish to finish off the pens and they get a glass like look. hope that helps!

[@valborchardt3596]

That was very nice, thank you, pity the audio was so low

[@MichaelZurcher]

+Val Borchardt thanks for checking out the video, I've had some people tell me the audio is perfect and others say it was low for them. I'm not really sure where the issue is. It seems fine when I view it. But thanks for watching and letting me know!

[@jensalko6411]

SO cool! I wish I could hear you better! :)

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks Jen! Is the audio coming through really low? I'll have to look into that! Thanks for letting me know.

[@jensalko6411]

Michael Zurcher It comes through ok on my phone, but I couldn't hear you at all on my laptop. Hmmmm.

[@ussul6524]

The music is ok, but the speech is low. Try to level it out. The video is great. Thank you :-)

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks, I am aware of the issue and not sure why it works fine on some devices and not others. Unfortunately KZbin doesn't allow me to change or alter the audio once uploaded. In light of this I am in the process of making a new video of the entire process....including the resin casting.

[@Moth_Wizard]

Turn the volume up.

[@lawrenceburckhard3169]

You should make a lot of pens out of that blank, also , where did you find the blank?

[@MichaelZurcher]

+lawrence burckhard thanksa I had that blank made by a friend. But I have started making my own. I just released a new video on my channel where I show how I make a blank and another pen if you are interested.

[@LoveLandforChrist]

Breathtakingly beautiful audio is very low

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thank you very much! I am aware of some people having issues on certain devices with the audio in this video but KZbin won't allow me to boost or change out the audio without loosing all the video's history. Hopefully they will add this feature in the future. But for now please try a different device and see if it helps. Thanks again for watching!

[@michalsiegel1242]

Beautiful! What did you use in 7:22, some kind of oil?

[@MichaelZurcher]

Michal Siegel thanks! No that was denatured alchohol. I use it alot to clean off the dust before applying the finish.

[@michalsiegel1242]

Thank you!

[@OJWoodworkingCrafts]

did you use plastic to apply ca? if so....why plastic instead cloth or paper towel? By the way....beautiful pen!

[@MichaelZurcher]

OJ Stevens, thanks for watching! Yes I did use plastic. I find that you use less CA this way. It doesn't soak in like using paper towels. Also, the plastic provides a stick free and smooth surface for applying. It's just another method of application.

[@OJWoodworkingCrafts]

Thanks. ...I will have to try that out!

Amazing pen. Where did you get the blank?

[@MichaelZurcher]

+José Pedro Filipe thanks! This blank was custom made for me by a freind. But I've started making them myself now! Thanks for watching!

[@ronnibuck1504]

That is beautiful. I've never seen anything like this before. Can the blanks be hand carved or is this pretty much a lathe process?

[@MichaelZurcher]

Hi, Thank you very much! I've never tried to hand carve them, my guess is it could be done but would probably be difficult. There are however lot's of videos around on KZbin showing how to make pens without a lathe. Some people have used a drill press, some have used belt sanders, or even just a drill. So there are other options that may be able to achieve this result other than a lathe. Thanks again for watching and for leaving a comment! Cheers!

[@ronnibuck1504]

Thanks for your reply. I was thinking of a slightly larger blank or laminating several together to carve a knife handle. I was poking around on google last night and found exoticblanks' website and also found Brad's YT channel. Can you recommend any sources that are producing larger blanks that would be more suited for knife handles?

[@MichaelZurcher]

Hey Ronni, I have seen people use larger blanks liker this to make Knife handles...and they look Amazing!!! The alumilite resin is very "sanding" friendly so I am sure making knife handles would be fine with this material. Off the top of my head I don't know any online stores that sell the large blanks...I just bought the stuff to be able to make my own blanks. What size would you need, maybe we could work something out and I could make one up for you?

[@ronnibuck1504]

The size would depend on the depth of the pine cone. The orientation of the pen at 9:42 would be ideal with the pine cone cut to produce the same look at the top of the handle to match up with the knife spine. It would have to be a pretty large cone so the finished handle would be aprox 1 1/8" w x 2 1/2" h x 6" l (give or take a little). I think that would be large enough to play with a pommel and possibly a guard. I'm thinking of a solid handle in place of a stag horn for a bone or flint blade. Did that make sense?

[@MichaelZurcher]

Yes that makes sense. I think you need pine cones with a thick core to get what you are looking for. Then cut the blank in half and use them "book-matched" to get it to look like the spine is on both sides. I don't think a solid handle would give you the "spine" look. I am heading down to Atlanta next week, I know thy have some big pinecones down south...Ill see if I can find some. Here is a site that has some pinecone knife handles : www.barkriverknives.com/index/handles/pinecone/ and I believe you can buy the knife scales here on etsy: www.etsy.com/listing/477131941/pink-pine-cone-handle-material-knife?&gclid=CNH-svqE6NICFdKEswodgikMmw Not really sure if this is what you are looking for??

[@janemiklich1554]

I want to buy one of the red pine cone pens . Please let me know some more information.

[@MichaelZurcher]

+jane miklich I'm planning on making a few more soon. I'll let you know when I get some ready.

[@abdulsolak4985]

How is red raw material made?

[@MichaelZurcher]

I use dyes and alumilite resin

[@abdulsolak4985]

@@MichaelZurcher thank you 😆

[@smartypants5036]

Love the pen. Love the Vice. What is it called so I can search for one. EBay ??

[@MichaelZurcher]

www.amazon.com/Self-Centering-Bottle-Stopper-Drilling/dp/B06ZXTGY1B/ref=asc_df_B06ZXTGY1B/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309807921328&hvpos=1o11&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8026260829701944387&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007348&hvtargid=pla-715100148872&psc=1

[@bernardorios302]

where could i buy pen blanks like that one?

[@MichaelZurcher]

A friend of mine made that one custom for me, I am planning on making some on my own now that I have all the equipment, just haven't had the time. I am not sure where they sell them but you might try Etsy!

[@tapassahoo7724]

How to purchase raw materials. where are seller?

[@surething3993]

Do you make pens for dale?

[@MichaelZurcher]

I do :)

[@surething3993]

Where do I find them? Do you have a web site?

[@MichaelZurcher]

If you contact me directly through either Facebook messenger, Instagram, or email I'll be happy to discuss the creation of a custom pen for you! Thanks!

[@surething3993]

Michael, what is your email add?

[@MichaelZurcher]

[e-mail]

[@kiltit]

What kind of pine tree did the cone come from?

[@MichaelZurcher]

I'm not really sure...sorry :(

[@chestor]

where can i get a diy pen like that? or the "blank" pen

[@MichaelZurcher]

Hi well there are two options : Make the blank yourself. Check out: kzbin.info Zac is a great guy & has a ton of great info on making resin castings. Or You can get them online from someone that makes them. Maybe Etsy or this site has them, www.exoticblanks.com/Pine-Cone-and-Acorn-Blanks/ I haven't tried their products so I can't say how they turn out, but they sell pinecone pen blanks Hope that helps!

[@chestor]

Michael Zurcher trank you! also forgot to mention very beautifull work!

[@sernchern]

do you sell those pen? where can i buy it?

[@MichaelZurcher]

I am going to make a few more soon, I'll let you know....are you looking for any specific colors?

[@rlj612]

volume is too low....otherwise great.

[@MichaelZurcher]

Thanks I am aware of the volume issue on this video, I have contacted KZbin about it but they said they didn't see an issue...so I have to either upload a new one and loos all my history on this video, or just leave it. I apologize, but I think the rest of my videos the volume is working. Thanks for watching!

[@garcj108]

That pen is too fat! ... LOL just kidding :-P

[@MichaelZurcher]

😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@magicallmoments]

hey, can i get a pen

[@MichaelZurcher]

Send me a DM and we can discuss :)

[@magicallmoments]

i like the one you did on this video. but can i get blue

[@magicallmoments]

I like the one you did on this video. can i get it in sky blue and deferent shades of blue. as for Dm i have no clue

[@MichaelZurcher]

Sure they can be customized to any colors you like. My email is [e-mail] if you want to send me some sample colors you like and we can discuss through email! Thanks!

[@mealex303]

Very manly music..... NOT!!!

[@MichaelZurcher]

😂🤣😂