big leaf maple burl turning disspointment

[Rifleman1776]

Last night I tried turning a European with some big leaf maple burl I have. The wood is beautifully figured and I was looking forward to a knock-out finished pen. Didn't happen that way. The wood was so hard that turning, with my 1" very sharp skew, produced dust not shavings. And, worse, when I went to sand I noticed the (fast turning) wood was not smooth. Turning off I found the rough areas and this large inclusion. A ruined blank.

Bigger dissapointment is thinking that the balance of my block of wood (about 6"X6") might be worthless for turning. Should I get this stabilized? Might be an odd thing to do, make very hard wood harder. Ideas?

 

[jckossoy]

Maybe you could put something in the inclusion, perhaps some inlace or crushed stone. It would definitely make for an interesting pen and perhaps save it.

Kol Tov,

 

[woodscavenger]

Break out the grit gouges. Some of my ironwoods have started that way.

 

[tipusnr]

You might try shaping it with a scraper. The inclusions could be filled with the dust or maybe a clear epoxy.

 

[JimGo]

What did you decide to do Frank?

Have you looked at the Sharpie-dying techniques to bring out some of the color, and maybe hid some of the inclusions in this piece?

 

[Rifleman1776]

Jim, I will probably have the rest of the wood stabilized. Personally, I am not real fond of turning rock-hard woods like Dymondwood. But this is a nice hunk and I hate to waste it. As for the piece pictured, it is a write-off as far as I am concerned. That filling with grindings and dust and CA is just not my style. Maybe some would say that is being lazy and/or non-creative, but I like wood and prefer to the beauty of the wood to stand on it's own. Uh-oh! Have I started a new debate? [:0]

Originally posted by JimGo
<br />What did you decide to do Frank?

Have you looked at the Sharpie-dying techniques to bring out some of the color, and maybe hid some of the inclusions in this piece?

 

[ilikewood]

Frank, you don't have to "fill" with CA. As you get closer to the size you want for the pen blank, soak it with CA and let it dry. Then turn it down a little farther and soak it again. This will help the tear outs and the soft spots from giving you problems. I have turned wood as soft as a sponge like this with no problems.

Here is an example of a tough to turn Big Leaf Maple Burl done with CA and epoxy to help harden.

<br />

 

[JimGo]

Bill, that's REALLY pretty!

Frank, have you checked the depth of the inclusion? Is it deeper than the bushing? What about adding some coves to the pen (ala YoYoSpin) in the area of the inclusion?

Sorry...I hate to see good wood wasted!

 

[Rifleman1776]

I think he needs to send that pepper mill to me so I can spend the next ten or fifteen years examining it very closely. [] Beautiful, and a great use for a nice piece of wood.
Yes, that inclusion is pretty deep. As for my hang-ups about fillers and CA and etc. Notice, I never said I'm not a hypocrite. []
I'll keep that pen half for a while until adrenaline comes back down to normal levels for me. We'll see what happens. Like you, I hate waste. I just finished the European using a hunk of antler I had glued up a long time ago for the top. Not bad result. I won't post a picture, it falls a little short of brag-worthy.

Originally posted by JimGo
<br />Bill, that's REALLY pretty!

Frank, have you checked the depth of the inclusion? Is it deeper than the bushing? What about adding some coves to the pen (ala YoYoSpin) in the area of the inclusion?

Sorry...I hate to see good wood wasted!

 

[Mudder]

Ed (yoyospin)does some really nice stuff with glitter and CA. Turn that into a design feature and tell everyone that you meant to do it like that [8D]

 

[DCBluesman]

Originally posted by Rifleman
<br />I will probably have the rest of the wood stabilized

I'm with you, Frank. Especially with BLM burl. It tears out so easy I'd get it stabilized.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Thanks for that information. I wasn't sure if it was just this piece of wood, my turning technique, or what. I wrote to Steve at River Ridge about this. I'm sure I'll resaw the rest and send to him for the stablization process. Lots of different woods, and each with it's own personality.

Originally posted by DCBluesman
<br />

Originally posted by Rifleman
<br />I will probably have the rest of the wood stabilized

I'm with you, Frank. Especially with BLM burl. It tears out so easy I'd get it stabilized.

 

[Daniel]

Patch it up with something. it all becomes part of the story for that pen. the story always helps get customers interested in it. metal shaving, wood shavings. coves. bands. I once was told it's not your mistakes that count. It's how well you recover from your mistakes.

 

[ilikewood]

Sounds like a deal Frank!! In trade though you'll have to send me that stock (gun attached) that is in your photo for "what do you look like?" You know...the tiger one.[] Oh, forgot to tell you...you'll have to go to Japan to pick up that pepper grinder as I shipped it there in January!

Seriously though...if you want to continue using that block of maple burl, do it. The inclusions do add quite a bit of character. If there is a substantial hole, I use clear epoxy to fill them (no sawdust) sometimes if they are too deep. Try the CA method of soak and turn, repeat. It will help bunches.

 

[YoYoSpin]

That maple blank is definitely a design opportunity waiting for action...

 

[JimGo]

Good luck with both the pen piece and the bigger blank. Can't wait to see what you do with them!

 

[JimGo]

OK Frank, you've had almost 3 weeks now...what did you decide to do???

 

[Rifleman1776]

Well, I think that pen part is kicking around under my desk somewhere. The inclusion is pretty deep. Maybe I'll fill the holes with something and do the ca thing. Have too many good blanks to turn to spend time on this one. I'll be getting about two dozen stabilized blanks from that hunk of wood from River Ridge in a few days. I'm looking forward to turning some of those. I promised the guy who gave me the wood a pen from it, he gets #1, a European.
Frank

 

[Old Griz]

Frank, you are going to be very happy with the stabilization process from River Ridge.. he did a bunch of wood for me... some curly koa, curly eucalyptus, curly maple, and some real nasty spalted beech and spalted red oak.. all came out great... and not too hard on the tools either...