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Congratulations to Bernie Hyrtzak, People's Choice in the January 2026 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
Congratulations to David Croxton for "Geri's Basket Illusion" being selected as Turning of the Week for February 2, 2026
(click here for details)
AAW Symposium demonstrators announced - If the 2026 AAW International Woodturning Symposium is not on your calendar, now is the time to register. And there are discounts available if you sign up early, by Feb. 28. Early Bird pricing gives you the best rate for our 40th Anniversary Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 4–7, 2026. (There are discounts for AAW chapter members too) For more information vist the discussion thread here or the AAW registration page
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Does anyone know how to turn pine cones? Im not a big pen turner but i do enjoy turning bottle stoppers. How do you prep the cone? resin, epoxy, CA? I'd love to give it a try. Any info you guys or gals have would be greatly appreciated.
Jason, I've never done it but I've seen them done after being encased in resin. Trick would be to keep the bubbles out which could be done in a vacuum chamber.
i have turned several pine cone pens from long needle/southern yellow pine trees by cutting most of the petals off forming a one inch square blank. i then mount the blank between centers and turn it to either 3/4" or 5/8" diameter. that size merely depends on what type/style of pen that i wish to make. i oftenhave to fill the blank with shavings and harden the shavings with ca glue. then i mount the round blank in the proper size collet chuck for drilling. pin jaws on a scroll chuck could be used as well. after drilling the pen can be completed as you would any other pen. hope this helps, bob
Hi Jason,
I use West Systems epoxy, resin #105 with the slow hardener to fill the voids and the fast hardener for the finish. Lot's of CA along the way. There are lot's of ways to go, however, with various hardeners and fillers, but don't bother with polyesters - they don't have the adhesion. Pinecones material varies from very hard to very soft, and there are hard glossy surfaces inside that do not take very well to adhesives.
I use monterey pines and coulter pines - these have the stem growing in on an angle into the cone which produces the starburst in the side of the vase. They are turned to thumbnail thickness for light weight and translucence.
Mike
I assume you're using a form inside the vac. chamber to initially contain the cone and resin? If so, do you turn it away or release the cylinder from the mold? Paper cup perhaps?
Owen,
Any container will do. It should just be close fitting and something that won't dissolve.
Sorry - a little slow responding - rather distracted by everything over in the AAW Info forum.
Mike
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