#61 French Oak wood  Barrel staves made into PEN blanks

Sold in packs of 4 blanks

 Blanks size approx. 21mm square x130mm long 

Packs weigh approx. 250gr. each

 NOTE: This listing doesn't offer pack(s) choices, blanks/packs are too identical to require such method so, simply select "Add to cart" and then select the number of packs you want, on the "quantity" window.

Even tough, I specialise mostly with/on local timber species, these 2 Oak barrels that I've got from a friend, in exchange for a fair size trees trimming job that the wife and I (as always), done in this friend's huge back/front yards, in September 2011.

Out of some other timbers species that we didn't have, he's got contacts with one of the major wine producers in the region, that imports these Oak barrels (new) from France and the USA for the curing off their Port wine.

After these barrels are used once, and for whatever the time that takes for each barrels to cure its contents, the barrels are never used again and put a side.  He got a few and while most are from the American Oak, I spotted this one that had the burnt brand from France so that meant that I had some very good stuff in there.

While both French and American Oaks do an identical job at curing the normal wine into Port, the wood is slightly different, and you will be able to see that, in the French -Oak samples and the American-Oak samples...!

The French barrels have narrow "ribs" and the wood is slightly thinner than the American ones, this was particularly of "interest" when I tried to cut some cross blanks out of this French wood.  The barrels are made of various  width ribs and the widest ones, were just not wide enough to give me 130mm necessary as a full length pen blank so, the cross cut series, has a combination of lengths, from 3" to 4"1/2.

The other interesting aspect of making pen blanks at 21mm square out of a piece of wood about 1" on less, is that the curvature of the ribs as to be accounted for but the aspect that got me mostly by surprise was when I ripped the wood on the Port wine soaked side.  I believe, the fumes from the bandsaw blade ripping on the semi-wet wood, made me feel all of a certain, a little drunk, from which I stopped for a little while, returning some time later armed with a strong Industrial fan, to blow the fumes away from my nose...!

The whole rib thickness issue as cause most blanks to have still a part/area within the blank with the wine stain and smell.  While this is not all a bad thing, after all, these are blanks coming out of a wood barrel, some blanks have a little more of this stains/crystals, then others with some amazing results when finished...!

The wood is a pleasure to work with and finishes very well, with not much effort.

All blanks are dry and waxed on one face, for protection and colour enhancement.