Hawaiian Milo Cigar Pen in Gold

Milo- (Thespesia populnea) is a very nice shade tree that grows by the ocean. Milo trees can grow up to 35 feet tall and 27 inches in diameter. Most milo is small nowadays all under 12 inches in diameter. The wood is a nice pink color when it is freshly cut but with age it will turn medium to dark brown. The wood is strong and very durable, it sands very well but resists a finish because of oils in the wood. This was one of the woods the early Hawaiians used for making calabash bowls.

This gorgeous two tone pen, with gold trim, made with genuine milo milled in Hawaii, courtesy of one of my fellow Lumberjocks (thanks Harold!). This is a great wood to turn. Easy to shape, and cuts very cleanly, a real pleasure to work. I only have a few pieces of this, and wood love to get my hands on some more.

Available for sale at my Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6978886
(no "auction" format this time.) If you'd like to get your hands on it, don't hesitate!!! A great father's day gift or sock it away and cross one more person off your Christmas list.

In any regard, support your local artisans, and mom and pop stores. Skip the chains and keep your money local. Better for you and the community. something like 7 cents of every Mal-Wart dollar stays local, whereas 67 cents of every dollar spent at a local place stays in town. (think about that when the town can't afford to maintain snowplows, trash pickup and all the cool stores downtown close up.
(Yes I took the handmade pledge! http://www.buyhandmade.org/ ) I love the local candy shop, and the local-ish non-chain coffee place. They really know how to make a donut. Mmmmm.

Ok, I'm off the soapbox now AND for the rest of the month. Oh, and I've got two fellow lumberjocks joining me for this 30/30 ride. Awesome. While your checking out the projects here, you can follow their progress as well:
Darryl (also) in NH http://lumberjocks.com/darryl
and Russel in MI http://lumberjocks.com/Russel