Woodturning | Bamboo & Resin!

[@sovietbear1917]

I think the white and the green are the best looking, though all are beautiful.

[@formanwoodworking]

Thanks so much!

[@jaysontwombly8261]

These are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I'd die to own the slack or green one!!! Really, actually any color!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

[@Smakre99]

purely stupendous and fantastic.....so impressed.....wanna learn to turn

[@michele7944]

You’re right, they are fantastic looking. Not sure which colour I liked the best, but the green and the black we definitely standing out . Very nice work.

[@formanwoodworking]

Thanks so much, Michele! The green might be my favourite as well!

[@daniellevasquez8266]

Happy New Year! The parable of the Chinese Bamboo Tree teaches us lessons about patience, faith, perseverance, growth and development and importantly… human potential! Which is what you’ve shown in creating these beautiful pens, well done.

[@formanwoodworking]

You have a way with words, Danielle. Thank you!

[@daniellevasquez8266]

@@formanwoodworking 🖤

[@cathylebouef4026]

So cool. They each look fabulous. You did an amazing job on them! Bravo!

[@bigboy9706]

Very beautiful pens. Fantastic job on all

[@formanwoodworking]

Thank you, Michael, I appreciate it!

[@lizettewalker34]

What an excellent surprise 👍🏻brilliant

[@silviagracielastaviaky8590]

Que ingenioso, muy artístico, hermoso trabajo!!!! 👏👏👏💖💖💖🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷

[@patsydalgarno8365]

Simply beautiful!!

[@mvecellio1]

Great looking pens. I do exactly the same procedure with chola cactus. Nice job. Mike

[@formanwoodworking]

Thank you, Mike!

[@drewber565]

Wow!! That is too cool!!! I was wondering what in the world you were going to make! Very nice!!

[@weltfrieden4122]

Tolle Idee und super schön 🤩

[@georgebrill3072]

NIce job.

[@conniswilson6717]

Was wondering about your finishing process, could you talk about what finish you use and the steps you take to achieve the beautiful outcome?

[@formanwoodworking]

Hi Connis! Sure thing. For all my pens, once I'm done turning, I start sanding the pieces at either 150-240 grit, depending on how rough they are, and then to 320, 400, 600, and a final hand sanding with 600 lengthwise along the blanks. I then clean off all the dust with some alcohol on a paper towel, let the blanks dry, and then apply 12-16 coats (depending on how porous the wood is) of thin CA glue with the lathe turning at its lowest speed. I just apply the CA glue with a paper towel and use an accelerator to quicken up the drying process between coats. After the final coat, I then wet sand the blanks with micro mesh, starting at 1200 grit and finishing at 12000, and then finish the pieces with some plastic polish on moderate turning speed. Hope that helps!

[@davidbondi]

Really nice looking pens! I have been wanting to try turning bamboo. In fact, I bought a bamboo cutting board from Ikea figuring I'll try using that, I can parallel or perpendicular to the grain or even diagonal. How did you find turning the bamboo? Did you turn all the blanks? Would you consider selling one if you have any left? I liked the White and Black the best!

[@formanwoodworking]

Thank you, David! Regarding the turning, I actually found it quite tricky. I've turned pens strictly from bamboo before (kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5XJkpeobLqEqrM), and they turned very easily with minimal tear out. However, those blanks were turned with bamboo in an "end-grain" orientation, and it felt almost like I was turning an onion or something; the layers of fibers just peeled right off. These, however, were turned more like side-grain oriented wood, and I ended up getting quite a bit of tear out. I think it just has to do with the nature of the bamboo, where the fibers can quite easily peel away from the rest of the shaft. So far, I've been finding that a sharp blade is key (I usually do a quick re-sharpen once I have about 70% of the material removed and I'm getting closer to the bushings), and when I cut near to the edge of the blank, I always cut inwards (starting from the bushing and moving in towards the center of the blank). Those two things seem to be giving me better results, but it's still a slow and delicate process. As for selling, I'm currently working on putting an online store together. Hoping to have that setup sometime in the next 4-5 weeks, and these will definitely be included on there!

[@davidbondi]

@@formanwoodworking Thanks for the insights! I'll watch for your online store.

[@newenglandtoffee9190]

💖💯💖💯💖

[@jerrycouncil8328]

Can you make ballpoint and do you sell these? Great work, BTW...

[@formanwoodworking]

Thanks, Jerry! I haven't made any of these with ballpoint yet, but it might be something I do in the future. As for sales, I'm currently working on an online store which will hopefully be online in the next 5-6 weeks!

[@jerrycouncil8328]

@@formanwoodworking Thanks for responding... Best wishes in your new endeavors... And, I'll be watching

[@Zoeymc330]

I can’t wait for your online store. I love these pens and hope to purchase two of them.

[@youngg5099]

Where did you get the bamboo?

[@weltfrieden4122]

Gibt es in jedem Baumarkt 😊

[@youngg5099]

@@weltfrieden4122 danke

[@formanwoodworking]

The only ones I've been able to find in your typical hardware/lumbar stores are garden bamboo stakes, which are normally so thin that the inside is still solid (not hollow). The ones I've picked up were from an actual bamboo retailer: bambootoronto.ca/

[@youngg5099]

@@formanwoodworking thank you very much