Is this normal?

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RPM

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As being new to penmaking, I'm not yet familiar with what is normal and what is a defective blank. I received a much delayed order on Friday that allowed me to finally start seriously turning some pens. Maybe this wasn't a good choice to start with, but one of the blanks I chose to use was a stabilized redwood burl. I understand that burls are normally quit brittle and fragile, but I though stabilization lessened the problem. I was probably less than a 16th of an inch from finished diameter when the blank disintegrated on one end. I did not have catch or a dig and in fact felt that I was being quit cautious. Should I just write this off to experience or should I be talking to the vendor about an inadequately stabilized blank?
Richard
 
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Fred in NC

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Richard, the only times I had this problem it was because the glue was not holding the blank to the tube. If there was no wood residue on the tube after it exploded, that is probably the cause.

I have turned a lot of burls that were very soft, and not even stabilized, and had no disintegration problems. Maybe you want to explain how you glued the tubes, and we can help.
 

goldentouch

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I have found in turning there are several factors that can cause this. Tools need to be sharpened. This usually leads to excessive heat buildup. Sometimes adding too much pressure while turning. This could be from an improper angle on the tool. You could have also torn or disturbed the blank while drilling. This might not have shown up until you hit it while turning. Then there are the times wood will be wood and it just happens. That is one of the factors that make it addicting you never know what you have until your through. If I have a piece of wood I am unsure of I will add some thin CA while I am turning until I get to where I want to be. It is cheaper than loosing a blank.
 

RPM

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Fred,
Based on your comment, it was probably the glue job. Portions had wood still there and others did not.

Process:
-roughed up tubes with 150 grit paper and wiped off dust
-placed tube on insertion tool
-applied what I thought was a generous amount of medium CA around tube and entire length
-inserted tube rotating as I went, upon complete insertion, I withdrew twisting and reinserted
-wiped off CA that was sqeezed out (indication of exces in my mind)
-allowed to cure for about a half hour, label said 15 to 30 seconds
-trimmed & turned

By the way, the other half of the blank turned fine and finished up beautifully. Any suggestions on a new mate for it?

Richard
 

DCBluesman

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Burls are beasts. Due to their nature, they have grain gowing in wild directions. In the same pass across a blank you may find yourself cutting with the grain, at an angle to the grain and against what would normally be an end grain. Cutting is a bit more tedious for this very reason. As you get close to the tube, the support structure of the blank is lessened and the probability for blowout increases. I've blown several burl blanks and generally find that it was due to my continuing to cut at the same rate near the tubes as I cut in the beginning. Big No-No. As for the stabilization, it will not make a burl cut like a straight grain. If does help fill small voids and it strengthens soft wood, but the swirling grain pattern will still need to be dealt with. My best advice, beyond having scarey-sharp tools, is to take shallower cuts as you approach the center...even more so than with straight-grained woods.

Would you like to see my collection of blowouts? Just kidding! [:D]
 

Paul in OKC

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If the blown off piece will fit back on against the tube, glue it on and fill n the rest with the shavings or dust from what you have turned so far. I have saved a few pens this way and usually end up with something unique[:)]
 

Gary Max

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Richard I am also new at this--when I started turning pens a couple months ago--- blowing up pens was very common. Someone told me what your are hearing in this post. Because I was new I done what they said. I went out and bought some Gorilla Glue. I drilled and glued my tubes in the blanks the night before. It takes a couple times to figure out how much glue is enough or you have a mess.
This is not the only way to glue in tubes but for me it is the best. The Gorilla glue fills in all the little pockets and sticks to everything.
 

vick

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I am almost ashamed to admit it but if I get particuliary nerous on a crazy burl I will go to sand paper to get it down to size. On most pens I start sanding at 220 but in that kind of situation I would start at 80. Be carefull you do not go to far down on the low grits getting the sanding lines out can take a while. It wont improve your turning technique but your customers will never know.
 

J. Fred Muggs

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Richard:
I can sympathize with you man. I just blew out two stabilized redwood burl blanks bac to back in the same evening just before Christmas. I'm pretty sure with both of them that I had good holes and good glue. I may well have been trying to turn them too fast. I was using a skew, but it did not catch.

In my experience with burls, redwood is the the easiest to blow up of the batch. Like others have said, careful drilling, and good gluing are a must. Lou's point is the most important, I think, when he says you can be cutting with, against, into, and out of the grain in the same piece. Biggest help is to turn slowly and carefully when working burls, especially the softer ones like redwood or buckeye.

I've turned pens in somewhere between 80 and 100 different woods to date. I'm finding that some woods do not like to be turned with a gouge and some do not like to be turned with a skew. problem is; I haven't been taking notes of which woods liked which tool. We might consider trying to compile such info here. But it could create a major controversy since everbody does things a little differently.

Mike may have a good point. sometime turning with sandpaper may be justified.
 

Scott

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Hi Richard,

As you've heard there are a number of reasons why a burl, even a stabilized one, can fly apart! I even had one blow out once because I was riding the bevel of the gouge and pushing too hard! It makes you wonder why we turn burls, until you see the results!

Good Luck!

Scott.
 
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