OK now what do I do with them... LOL

[Old Griz]

Managed to score some absolutely gorgeous spalted beech pen blanks... the only problem is that the moisture content is close to 25%... they are wax coated... how do you recommend drying them so that I can stop the spalting action and turn them...
On some black locust that I cut locally I dried them in the oven at 250 degrees with the door slightly open and that worked.. but they were not coated... do you think that this will work with these blanks..

 

[Bev Polmanteer]

Tom, scrape all the wax off them that you can and then lay them on a piece of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and heat them. Should work!

 

[wdcav1952]

While we are talking Spalted blanks, I have a big supply of spalted sweet gum blanks from a piece of wood I rescued from the burning pile at my parents' home. See an example of it on page 2 of my photo albumn. Does anyone know a reasonable source to send wood off to be stabilized? I love the abstract pattern of the spalting, and feel that having stabilized blanks would improve my results with the sweet gum.

Thanks in advance,

William

 

[Scott]

Tom - You'll need to remove some of the wax. If you're in a hurry you can try microwaving the blanks, or heating them in the oven. If they dry too quickly they may split and ruin them. If you're not in a hurry, then just set them in a cool dry place for a couple of months. In our articles section there is an article by Danile where he discusses drying techniques: http://www.penturners.org/content/Wood-Drying.pdf

William - There have been a couple of times that I have sent wood to Bill Baumbeck, and he has sent them off to be stabilized for me and the same place he gets his done. It costs a bit, but it is worth it. On top of that, Bill will generally let you know if the wood you sent is not a good candidate for stabilizing. I sent him some Gmelina burl once to get stabilized, and he sent it back telling me it doesn't stabilize well. Saved me some money in the process, too! Check with Bill at Arizonasilhouette.com

Scott.

 

[wayneis]

William, The following is someone who both sells stabilized blanks and processes blanks for others. I've bought Dymondwood blanks and his AcryliWood blanks and have been very happy with them. I'm going to send some blanks to be stabilized as he has a pretty good deal. He charges $1.00 per blank plus shipping, Steve says that it averages out to about $8.00 per pound.

You can e-mail Steve at wood2@rrpwhite.com or you can call at 715-532-3015

Wayne Swindlehurst

 

[wdcav1952]

Thanks Scott and Wayne. I will contact both sources and try some with each one. The only problem is I drool when I go on Bill's site!

William

 

[wayneis]

I know what you mean, BB's blanks are really very nice. Get out a big pan though as Steve and his Wife have some pretty nice stuff also. I've tried some of his blanks as I said earlier and it turns pretty nice. Their site is at www.rrpwhite.com and the name of his Company is River Ridge Products.

Wayne