Spalted Tamarind pen blanks

These eye-catching pen blanks feature the swirling lines and contrasting patterns created by spalting, giving every piece its own distinctive character. Tamarind trees are best known for their fruit rather than their wood and are widely grown throughout tropical regions of the world. Tamarind wood is also used for furniture, carvings, turned objects and other small specialty wood projects.

What size are these pen blanks?

Each blank measures a minimum of 7/8" square × 5" long (22 × 22 × 127 mm), giving you plenty of material for most standard pen kits as well as many other small turning projects.

What does spalted mean?

Spalting is the natural colouration and patterning that develops in wood through fungal activity. It can create dark lines, streaks and areas of contrasting colour that give spalted wood its distinctive appearance.

Because spalting is a natural process, the patterns, colours and amount of spalting will vary considerably from blank to blank.

Each piece of spalted Tamarind is naturally different, and your blank will be selected at random. The blank shown in the photograph has been sanded to make the figuring easier to see and is representative only. Expect natural variation in colour, grain, spalting and figure from one blank to another. Colour variability and slight internal imperfections are natural characteristics of wood and are not considered defects. We do not offer refunds for these variations.

How should I finish these blanks?

After turning, sand the blank progressively to achieve a smooth surface. A friction polish is a good choice for a quick finish that brings out the natural colour, grain and spalted patterns. For a harder, more durable and higher-gloss finish, you can apply a CA glue finish. CA provides a protective surface while enhancing the depth and contrast of the wood's natural figuring.

Two fun facts about Tamarind:

Tamarind has an unusually long history as a food ingredient. Its sweet-and-sour fruit pulp is used around the world in everything from chutneys and curries to candies and drinks — and it's also one of the distinctive ingredients traditionally used in Worcestershire sauce.
Its name is actually a geographical mix-up. “Tamarind” comes from the Arabic tamr hindi, meaning “date of India.” Despite the name, the tree is believed to have originated in tropical Africa before spreading widely through India and other tropical regions.

Price per blank in Canadian dollars.