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Guys, Looking for an accurate method of drill pen blanks. Considering a bench mounted pillar drill but notice that those within budget - about £100 - only have a spindle depth of 50 mm. I take it that's how far the drill will movedown when the lever is pulled? As cut pen blanks are slightly...

I cut my blanks to around 25 x 25 x 150 mm, so should have enough dimensional volume after drying for making pens. I was quite amazed at how much Holly deforms and shrinks when drying. Gary

Hi All, I’ve cut a few pen blanks using Gorse, Sea Buckthorn, Rhododendron, Ivy and Laurel and have them in the drying store for seasoning. Has anyone got any experience using this type of wood for pen turning? Gary

Thanks for the replies Gary

My wife has a small glasshouse and the temperature inside is usually higher than the outside air temp, even during the winter months - at least when the sun is shining. Makes me wonder how this could be used to dry out green pen blanks. Anyone have any thoughts or tried this method? Gary

Thanks for the replies. One thought I had was to split a log, say, into four section and then rough out each on the lathe then allow to dry. Not sure what result would be. Gary

Greetings, As a newcomer to woodturning, I’m still very much at the learning and making mistakes stage and would welcome advice regarding the seasoning of timber. I’ve acquired about 30 logs of various wood – oak, willow, beech, holly, hazel and ash – ranging in size from about 75mm diameter...