#383

A Commissioned Pen

Ollie O'Leary - 50th Birthday Pen

Lignum Vitae and Gun Metal Rollerball Pen

LIGNUM VITAE - Guaiacum officinale

Heartwood colour can range from a olive to a dark greenish brown to almost black, sometimes with a reddish hue. The colour tends to darken with age, especially upon exposure to light.

Lignum Vitae is regarded by most to be both the heaviest and hardest wood in the world. Its durability in submerged or ground-contact applications is also exceptional. Lignum Vitae has been used for propeller shaft bearings on ships, and its natural oils provide self-lubrication that gives the wood excellent wear resistance.

Unfortunately, Lignum Vitae has been exploited to the brink of extinction, and is now an endangered species. The name Lignum Vitae is Latin, and means tree of life, or wood of life, which is derived from the tree’s many medicinal uses.

This wood has a profoundly positive energy. The overall energy of the wood can be summed up as "the power and strength of goodness." The energy of the wood is considered very healing, in both physical and spiritual matters. The energies within the wood would also be excellent for divining information from far away as well as close to home.

This wood represents the end of strife and the beginning of a new, positive, cycle.

I started work on pen #383 back when we arrived in Birmingham to visit friends trading at the floating market. We had a great time in Birmingham as ever and were treated to some spectacular entertainment at the arts fest which was a relaxing way to spend some time after a long hard day helping fellow traders Dan and Keri up two long lock flights with their boat and new (to them) 1930's butty boat Lyra (see Keri in the tunnel below). 

Next mooring was a few hours away in Tipton, the canal was clearer than I've seen for a long time with some quite large shoals of fish swimming through the ribbon like weeds but we were only here for a short while and we were expecting visits from friends, customers and the lovely couple we had Dudley Dawg from. Our next planned mooring was after a few hard days taking the boat through industrial Wolverhampton and down through the 21 locks and up onto the Shropshire Union Canal but, just as you approach Wolverhampton there is a junction off to the right and a canal we've not been on yet the Wyrley and Essington - known as the curly Wurly.

We turned right and headed through industrial Walsall and out into open countryside towards the edge of Cannock Chase. In Pelsall the sun came out and the wind finally dropped so I could carry on making pens.

PS. You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on this blog here - oh and please like us on Facebook too - here.

#382

A Commissioned Pen

Padouk and Chrome Ballpoint Twist Pen

PADOUK - Pterocarpus soyauxii

Padouk has a very unique reddish orange coloration, and the wood is sometimes referred to by the name Vermillion. Unfortunately, this dramatic color is inevitably darkened to a deep reddish brown color. Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish/purplish brown

Padouk is moderately heavy, strong, and stiff, with exceptional stability. It also has a beautiful aroma when turned and sanded. It is closely related to Amboyna. 

I started work on pen #382 back when we arrived in Birmingham to visit friends trading at the floating market. We had a great time in Birmingham as ever and were treated to some spectacular entertainment at the arts fest which was a relaxing way to spend some time after a long hard day helping fellow traders Dan and Keri up two long lock flights with their boat and new (to them) 1930's butty boat Lyra (see Keri in the tunnel below). 

Next mooring was a few hours away in Tipton, the canal was clearer than I've seen for a long time with some quite large shoals of fish swimming through the ribbon like weeds but we were only here for a short while and we were expecting visits from friends, customers and the lovely couple we had Dudley Dawg from. Our next planned mooring was after a few hard days taking the boat through industrial Wolverhampton and down through the 21 locks and up onto the Shropshire Union Canal but, just as you approach Wolverhampton there is a junction off to the right and a canal we've not been on yet the Wyrley and Essington - known as the curly Wurly.

We turned right and headed through industrial Walsall and out into open countryside towards the edge of Cannock Chase. In Pelsall the sun came out and the wind finally dropped so I could carry on making pens.

PS. You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on this blog here - oh and please like us on Facebook here

#381

A Commissioned Pen

Jess's Pen

Pink/Teal Acrylic and Chrome Ballpoint Pen

Whenever I start to make a pen from an acrylic blank I always remember the negative points. Acrylic turning is messy, I really try to clear every last scrap of it up; it can also be smelly; the sharp little chips get everywhere and it can blunt the turning chisels really quickly. By the time the pen shape is turned and I start the messier job of wet sanding through about fifteen different grades I'm usually trying to convince myself that maybe its better to just concentrate on turning wooden pens.

Then the final grades of sanding and polishing start to reveal something special and I really like acrylic again... until the next time.

I started work on pen #381 way back when we arrived in Birmingham to visit friends trading at the floating market. We had a great time in Birmingham as ever and were treated to some spectacular entertainment at the arts fest which was a relaxing way to spend some time after a long hard day helping fellow traders Dan and Keri up two long lock flights with their boat and new (to them) 1930's butty boat Lyra (see Keri in the tunnel below). Time for some turning but as you can see from the picture above it can be quite messy and not very environmentally friendly with bits of acrylic flying everywhere if the weather is too windy to catch them so turning had to wait until we were further out in the sticks. 

Next mooring was a few hours away in Tipton, hmm the canal was clearer than I've seen for a long time with some quite large shoals of fish swimming through the ribbon like weeds. Next planned mooring was after a few hard days taking the boat through industrial Wolverhampton and down through the 21 locks  and up onto the Shropshire Union Canal but, just as you approach Wolverhampton there is a junction off to the right and a canal we've not been on yet the Wyrley and Essington - known as the curly Wurly.

We turned right and headed through industrial Walsall and out into open countryside towards the edge of Cannock Chase. In Pelsall the sun came out and the wind finally dropped so I could carry on making pens.

PS. You can follow my pen making here on this blog and our travels on this blog here - oh and please like us on Facebook too (here).

#380

NOW SOLD

NB Birchills Oak and Chrome Ballpoint Twist Pen

(25% of the profits from the sale of this pen will be gifted to the Black Country Living Museum, the custodians of NB Birchills)

EUROPEAN OAK - Quercus robur

Usually straight-grained, the heartwood of European Oak varies in colour from light tan to brown. Quarter-sawn pieces show attractive flame figuring. The wood is fairly hard, heavy and dense, clean but with the occasional knot. European Oak is a beautiful timber and with an oil finish, the grain will turn a deep golden brown.

This particular piece of oak (probably English rather than European) is just a little bit special though. It comes from the rear cabin side gunwales and roof hatch of Narrowboat Birchills. I was given a few off cuts by the superb craftsmen who were carrying out a little light refurbishment to this historic boat, in fact the guys had cut the whole back cabin off!

Birchills is an historic, ‘Joey’ boat with a small day cabin, built in 1953 by Ernest Thomas of Walsall, ‘Birchills’ it is one of the last wooden day boats made and was used to carry coal to Wolverhampton Power Station. This boat is double-ended and the mast and rudder could be changed from one end to the other. This enabled its use in narrow canals or basins where there was no room to turn the boat around.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hulls shape so half a day later this flaky gunwale would have been burned. I wasn't sure how deep the rot would have gone and how deep I would have to delve into this piece to find stable wood. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

That old flaky gunwale went on to make a few very nice pens and I was lucky enough to be given some more wood by Ade at A P Boat Building in Alvecote. This time a piece that appears to be from the old red cabin hatch surround.

Pen #380 was turned on October 11th 2015 on the 'John the Locks' visitor moorings. We'd had a pleasant enough run out from Birmingham to the Black Country Living Museum via the old main line which is the nicer of the two especially as the sun was out and the new main line is in a bit of a cutting. Mooring up at the museum we filled up the water tank and pumped out the black tank before pushing over to the 24hr museum moorings. There was a bit of a commotion the other side of the fence so we had a nosey over and wow.... they were only filming the next series of Peaky Blinders for the BBC! Unfortunately there were no vacancies for extras. 

Another boat was pulling up and was a tad disgruntled that we were moored where they had intended going and had to move a whole 60ft to the next mooring. as they went past they said "I wanted to go there as I need to run my engine tonight and first thing in the mooring". Not a problem we say surprised at the need as they had said they'd just come from Birmingham and Minworth the day before so the batteries should be topped up. "very early she continues, 7 to 7.30!" My retort was don't worry we're up by 5.30 to 6! Yeah right. Well when we went banging past at about 6.45 the next morning heading up the Dudley Hill in the mist there wasn't the hint of a stir. Wish I wasn't so suborn.

 7 mile walk and a few boat jobs later we headed out to Tipton. Ann had come over to see what pens we had left in stock from the historic boats but unfortunately we'd sold all but one in the previous few days. Luckily I had a couple more that had been cut, drilled, glued and squared off ready for turning and as the weather was forecast do be settled I set about doing some turning.

#379

NOW SOLD

NB Dane Elm and Gun Metal Ballpoint Twist Pen

(25% of the profits from the sale of this pen will be gifted to the Narrowboat Herritage Foundation, the custodians of NB Dane)

EUROPEAN ELM - Ulmus procera

European Elm has is a light to medium brown, sometimes with a hint of red. With an oil finish, it can turn a beautiful golden brown colour. Unless, of course, it's been kept at the bottom of a canal for an awfully long time.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hull's shape.Luckily these pieces of elm were too important to burn and have been properly stored. I wasn't sure how deep the rot would have gone and how deep I would have to delve into this piece to find stable wood. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

Narrowboat Dane was built by the Mersey Weaver and Ship Canal Carrying Company and used as part of their fleet. She was built in November 1946 and first registered on January the first 1947. Ade from A P Boatbuilding is currently restoring her on behalf of The Narrowboat Heritage Foundation, the work being done is re-bottomed with new chine planks, kelson, stem post and soon to receive two new bow planks, gunwales, decks, new back cabin and engine room. The pens that I will be making from Dane are all from a heavy lump of Elm bottom plate.

Pen #379 was turned on October 11th 2015 on the 'John the Locks' visitor moorings. We'd had a pleasant enough run out from Birmingham to the Black Country Living Museum via the old main line which is the nicer of the two especially as the sun was out and the new main line is in a bit of a cutting. Mooring up at the museum we filled up the water tank and pumped out the black tank before pushing over to the 24hr museum moorings. There was a bit of a commotion the other side of the fence so we had a nosey over and wow.... they were only filming the next series of Peaky Blinders for the BBC! Unfortunately there were no vacancies for extras.

Another boat was pulling up and was a tad disgruntled that we were moored where they had intended going and had to move a whole 60ft to the next mooring. as they went past they said "I wanted to go there as I need to run my engine tonight and first thing in the mooring". Not a problem we say surprised at the need as they had said they'd just come from Birmingham and Minworth the day before so the batteries should be topped up. "very early she continues, 7 to 7.30!" My retort was don't worry we're up by 5.30 to 6! Yeah right. Well when we went banging past at about 6.45 the next morning heading up the Dudley Hill in the mist there wasn't the hint of a stir. Wish I wasn't so suborn.

 7 mile walk and a few boat jobs later we headed out to Tipton. Ann had come over to see what pens we had left in stock from the historic boats but unfortunately we'd sold all but one in the previous few days. Luckily I had a couple more that had been cut, drilled, glued and squared off ready for turning and as the weather was forecast do be settled I set about doing some turning.

#378

NOW SOLD

NB Birchills Oak and Chrome Ballpoint Twist Pen

(25% of the profits from the sale of this pen will be gifted to the Black Country Living Museum, the custodians of NB Birchills)

EUROPEAN OAK - Quercus robur

Usually straight-grained, the heartwood of European Oak varies in colour from light tan to brown. Quarter-sawn pieces show attractive flame figuring. The wood is fairly hard, heavy and dense, clean but with the occasional knot. European Oak is a beautiful timber and with an oil finish, the grain will turn a deep golden brown.

This particular piece of oak (probably English rather than European) is just a little bit special though. It comes from the rear cabin side gunwales and roof hatch of Narrowboat Birchills. I was given a few off cuts by the superb craftsmen who were carrying out a little light refurbishment to this historic boat, in fact the guys had cut the whole back cabin off!

Birchills is an historic, ‘Joey’ boat with a small day cabin, built in 1953 by Ernest Thomas of Walsall, ‘Birchills’ it is one of the last wooden day boats made and was used to carry coal to Wolverhampton Power Station. This boat is double-ended and the mast and rudder could be changed from one end to the other. This enabled its use in narrow canals or basins where there was no room to turn the boat around.

The rotten parts of these rebuilt boats are usually used to stoke the fires that steam the new planks for bending to the hulls shape so half a day later this flaky gunwale would have been burned. I wasn't sure how deep the rot would have gone and how deep I would have to delve into this piece to find stable wood. The pens I make from historic boat materials have been thoroughly tested by me to make sure that they will give pleasurable daily use.

That old flaky gunwale went on to make a few very nice pens and I was lucky enough to be given some more wood by Ade at A P Boat Building in Alvecote. This time a piece that appears to be from the old red cabin hatch surround.

Pen #378 was made in Birmingham on the 25th September 2015. 

It had been quite a busy boating month for us having previously been woodturning at Whilton on the Grand Union canal we had stop-off's in Braunston to deliver some pens, Alvecote to meet with Ade who supplies my historic timbers and Fazley to pick up a new sofa before heading up to Huddlesford Junction to visit a boat gathering there. The plan was to head north from Fazeley towards Fradley and onwards past Tixall Wide to the Shropshire Union Canal, but as we were presented with a junction and the prospects of a floating market to visit in Birmingham we decided to head up the Curdworth, Minworth, Aston and Farmers flights of locks and pay good ol' Brum a visit.

Mooring was tight at the top and we were lucky to be offered one of the vacant trade spots that had been reserved by CRT. There were still a few traders to arrive, one of which were Dan and Keri with their new butty boat (well 1935 so old/new to them) Lyra. A quick calculation revealed that they'd have to wind 64 locks to get both boats up into Birmingham so we took Dudley Dawg and our windlasses on a walk down the hill to help. Eight miles and eight hours later we were all pooped and back on our cosy boat. 

The market was a great success for all of our friends but it was lovely to see one from a visitors perspective and meet up with some new traders and of course 'Linda the Busker' (read professional musician who also busks). We were lucky enough to coincide our visit with the fantastic Birmingham Weekender (formally arts fest) where there was just so much to see and do; and also the world cup rugby tournament where we even managed a hike down to the Fanzone to watch a match. There is always something great to do in Birmingham and often for free!