I have a delima

[EdwardMH]

I won the August Introductions post drawing here for a $25 gift certificate to https://www.georges-bits-of-timber.com/ and being a brand new turner I am confused by the selections and am now asking the folks here with more knowledge than I what they feel would be the best blanks for a beginner Turner and beauty (I will not turn these special blanks until I get more experience on cheaper common woods) I love the looks of Burls, Spalted and even the diagonal cut blanks but no clue what each will look like turned. and not familiar with working with most of the woods they offer so PLEASE HELP!

 

[magpens]

George is a very helpful guy.

If you send him an email or private message and ask what he would advise under your circumstances, I am sure he would be willing and able to make a suggestion which you would find appropriate.

I would avoid his resin cast pen blanks (including Resifills) and I would also avoid the softer pen blanks that he sells.

I am sure he can provide you with some guidance if he knows that you are a beginner.

Bear in mind that many Australian woods, which George naturally specializes in, are some of the hardest woods on the planet and, as such, can be a little challenging to turn.

I would avoid diagonal cuts, and you should avoid spalteds unless they are stabilized.

You said that you like burls. . So one approach would be to just pick blanks that you really like the look of and then, when you get them, admire them and put them aside until you acquire some experience at turning.

Another approach would be to see if you can sell your certificate to another member here (making sure with George that the certificate would still be honored by him if presented by someone other than yourself).

I recommend you doing some turning with Bocote blanks which are extremely nice and, I think, quite suitable for beginners. Ask George for woods that are similar to Bocote.

Another hint ... avoid slimline pen kits when starting your pen turning experience. . Some people recommend them when you are starting out because they are cheap and not much is lost if you wreck them when starting. But my view is that they are some of the hardest kits to make when you are inexperienced and they tend to be discouraging for that reason. . As well, they do not offer the visual appeal and satisfaction of other kits and I think beginners need to make pens that give a high degree of satisfaction. . Even though the other kits are more expensive I would go for them because of that. . I would recommend that you consider starting with a 30 Caliber Bolt Action kit, because the barrel can be turned perfectly straight quite easily and the result is very pleasing. . Another good kit is the Professor (Exemplar) ... another good looking straight-turned blank with high appeal and satisfaction.

Another good wood for pen blanks that is easy to turn and attractive is cherry.

Good luck !

 

[Brian G]

I say, trust George and have him set you up. He'll likely see your post and offer to help you out. He's good that way.

 

[Lucky2]

I agree, George is the one to ask, he will give you the best advice.
Len

 

[Dehn0045]

The nice thing about George's is that you can see a pic and detailed description of what he wood you are buying. If you are only buying a few packs, here's my 2 cents:

I'd go with at least one olive for sure (gem or Burl). Olive is easy to turn and George has an excellent selection.

After olive, I'd go with the more unique stuff. Some Australian woods or easier to find in the US than others. For example, George has nice red and brown mallee, but these are pretty readily available. Peppercorn is an intersting wood, spalted and Burl. Platypus gum burl is also nice - note that gum burls (eucalyptus) can have checks and voids, but are solid and relatively easy to turn. Apricot and golden wattle would round out my list.

Honestly, you can't go wrong.

 

[magpens]

I forgot Olive wood .... a most excellent and pleasant wood to turn when starting out or anytime.

 

[stonepecker]

I have given George an order and then realized the postage (box) still had room for more. Told George what I was looking for at to kinds of wood and then let him surprise me with what he thought would be nice. It worked out perfectly.

You can't go wrong with anything from George. But explain your skill level and he will help you pick out woods that are easier for a beginner. I am sure you will be pleased with what you receive.

(Two thumbs up)

 

[ajollydds]

I'm new to turning as well and I wholeheartedly agree with all that has been mentioned about George.

 

[robutacion]

Thanks guys and thanks Edward for asking for assistance, I will certainly guide you through it, no problem.

There have been many other beginners that had the same "dilemma" and this one is a good thing to have in my opinion, with a selection as big as mine, I'm sure you will not be dissapointed.

Like other members explained, there are woods and types of blanks that you should avoid as a beginner, I'm sure Mal intentions were to say exactly that when he said "I would avoid his resin cast pen blanks (including Resifills) and I would also avoid the softer pen blanks that he sells." I need to clarify a little further as you may have misunderstood it.

I make and have some of the most "challenging" blanks to work with, that said, they will also produce results that are unmatched with anything else around however, they require a higher level of experience and skill to handle them correctly something that any beginner cannot possibly have, YET...!

So, if you are going to keep them for when you feel more confident, the possible range widens considerably. I have a lot of woods that are great for beginners and yes, keep away from cross and diagonal cut blanks for now, they will be better for later, if the straight cut or with the grain blanks, there is plenty, you have also the burls that I already know you like, some are easier to work than others but generally OK.

One of the determinant factors in your situation is to decide if you want to invest any extra money apart from the AU$25.00 voucher, the minimum charge for chipping is AU$12.00 that is the cost of 250gr parcels (normally 4 blanks) but, you can buy a lot more than raw blanks with the AU$25 you can buy 16 blanks (4 packs of 4 blanks) however that will incur a 1kg parcel weight for AU$24.00 charge.

If you want to limit yourself to paying only the minimum charge (AU$12) you will need to use the voucher value in more expensive and single blanks but that will take you to the stabilised and Resifill stuff, which is OK if you are going to keep them for some time later in your skill progress.

Send me a PM with your thoughts and the woods you have seen already that you like, that will be a good start...!

Cheers
George

 

[EdwardMH]

I am willing to hold on to them until I get more skills but you have SO MANY wonderful blanks that I am confusing myself trying to decide and I am afraid I won't have another chance like this to get such types of wood anytime soon as I will take a few years to payoff the woodshop tools I bought.

 

[robutacion]

I am willing to hold on to them until I get more skills but you have SO MANY wonderful blanks that I am confusing myself trying to decide and I am afraid I won't have another chance like this to get such types of wood anytime soon as I will take a few years to payoff the woodshop tools I bought.

Well, you have 3 months (from issue date) to claim the voucher, I would suggest you sign in for an account with the store (it's free) use the store "cart" as a "wish list", simply put the blanks you like in the cart as you go through, the next time you have another look, if you find something that you haven't yet in the cart, put that in, do that for a little while/few days/weeks then, open your cart, studie what you've got and start to remove the least desirable ones, 1 or 2 at the time, don't rush think about it, you can always bring them back and remove others, play with that for awhile, when you are confident with youir choices, proceed to the checkout and complete the transaction.:biggrin:

Cheers
George