First Home Stabilized Cob Pen

[William Young]

It seems that the ebay sellers of stabilized corn cobs caught on to the fact that a lot more people were turning pens and wanted their product so they kept raising their prices.
I had enough of that but seeing as there is a good market for the cob pens I started stabilizing my own .
This cigar pen is the first from a batch I recently stabilized . It is from peaches and cream corn and therefore is quite light in color.
I am presently drying some yellow corn cobs and they should be somewhat darker in color.

W.Y.

[Ben]

Thats incredible. Very nice finish and unique too

[f250]

Very nice, is it a long process to stablize a corn cob? I'm guessing you found out how somewhere on the net?

Tom

[greatdane2]

Pretty cool, I am still having a hard time with what the inner pine cone and corn cobs look like.

Alan.

[William Young]

Originally Posted by f250

Very nice, is it a long process to stablize a corn cob? I'm guessing you found out how somewhere on the net?

Tom

It just takes a day for that method and then about another week of drying that I learned from various topics about it on my Woodworking Friends website over the last few years. . It is just 50/50 mix of polyurethane and MS drawn into the pre-drilled blanks to get it saturated both inside and outside under a vacuum for about 4 hours straight and then soaked in it overnight after removing the vacuum. After fully cured they are ready to turn.
I am working on a experimental system now that should produce a much harder and easier to turn cob and will report on it if it works.

W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

Bill, when you get a chance, can you explain the 'under a vacuum part? Like, what is used for that? Im picturing some sort of device like a 'foodsaver' machine people package food with? Thanks

[William Young]

Dale.
I put them in a jar with the solution and attach a hose into the top of the lid and use my vacuum generator hooked to my air compressor that I use for vacuum chucking bowls on the lathe to draw the vacuum and suck the liquid in ..
When bubbles stop rising they are fully saturated and then taken out to dry.

Here is picture of my crude setup but it works as good as if it was fancy .
It is drawing 21 inches of vacuum in that picture.

W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

Thanks for the explanation..nobody said it had to be fancy ! Whatever works is the right thing to use I always say!

[Forester21]

Great looking pens! You'll show them won't you - Next thing you can do is sell your on ebay too - unturned!
T

[lowbike1]

wow, thats pretty cool, who'd of thunk it?