#237

NOW SOLD

Violet Spirit Stained American Ash and Chrome 

Ballpoint Pen  - PART OF THE RAINBOW COLLECTION

EUROPEAN ASH - Fraxinus excelsior

Creamy white to a light tan in colour, European Ash is a tough, straight-grained and flexible timber with a coarse but even texture. It works well with both hand and machine tools, and stains, saws and finishes well. It can have olive coloured streaks running through the boards. With an oil finish, it can turn golden brown but it also takes spirit stains extremely well too.

I started this range of pens as my display needed a splash of colour and it is not always practical to turn acrylic pens on the canal side. The debris from wooden turned pens causes no harm at all and blows around with all the leaves and stove wood chippings. The acrylic waste is obviously more chemical based and as such I am only happy making them on wind free days when I can collect and bin as much as possible.

This pen was turned on April 3rd 2015 just about one hundred yards from the excellent Fountain Inn at Tipton. It was made on the canal side just a couple of days before the thoroughly enjoyable Tipton Boat Gathering.