Question for those that cut their own blanks.

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airrat

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I have access to a bunch of zebrawood, jatoba, walnut and a number of other pieces of wood. What is the best way to cut the pieces of wood down to blanks? or what is your preferred method.

I also have some branches from local fruit/olive trees that were given to me. They are sitting at parents house to dry. What is the reccommended method to cut those down.

I have done some with a bandsaw and can see the roughness. So any help would be appreciated.
 
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MDWine

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Since I haven't cut any of my own, but having a bunch of logs that need it, here is my perspective...

it doesn't matter much, does it? If the blank is a little rough on the outside, it will all disappear when it it turned, right? I would say use what works for you!

My plan is to cut the log into manageable lengths with a hand saw, then cut one "flat" side. (Flat being relative!) At this point, I imagine that I will start that flat side with a slide through the band saw. A table saw would work, use a sled to get a nice straight cut.

Once I have that flat side, I can slice the "slab" off in blank thickness. Again, maybe a sled will help to give you a straight cut. Then, with that slab, cut it into blank size pieces.

HTH!
 

wdcav1952

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Tom, my bandsaw is a 9 inch Delta. I have trouble cutting a long cut without the blade wandering. Even though I lose a bit more wood, I do my ripping on my table saw.

For branches, I try to make very minimal cuts on one edge until I get enough of a flat surface to cut a 7/8 inch "board" off the branch. Depending on the size of the branch, keep ripping until you run out of branch. Then, cut the "board" into 7/8 x7/8 blanks. I tend to cut a little large in case I need to true up on the belt sander. 3/4 inch is likely better, but did you ever know a dentist who didn't enjoy cutting a little more than necessary?!? [}:)]
 

tipusnr

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I don't remember the exact topic but this discussion has happened before and you could search for it. The one thing I remember well is DON'T use round stock on a table saw. It will twist, bind, fly off the table, and something (or someone) WILL GET DAMAGED. You can use the table saw safely once you have the flat side (with our without a sled).

Please don't get hurt!!!
 

Dario

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I don't have a choice so I use my bandsaw. Problem is as decribed above...the blade may wonder and I personally lost a lot of good blanks because of that. Lesson learned...do not force using a dull bandsaw blade. It cuts very slow, stalls a lot, and wonder more even with the proper tension.

I just sharpened 2 old bandsaw blades using Dremel and diamond lapidary bit. I will report here later if they are any good.

I use Timberwolf blades and swear by them.
 

Dario

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Jim,

I am only using a shopsmith so the blades are not that long. It took me about 20 mins for both (a lot less now since there is a small learning curve [:D]). As I said...they are not tested yet but they feel and look a lot sharper than they were.
 

alamocdc

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For logs and branches, I use my BS. I know the drift of my blade and account and correct for it. Just take it slow and let the saw do the work. For Kiln dried lumber, I usually use my TS unless the pieces are small and I don't want to waste precious grain.
 

ctEaglesc

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I use a sled on the BS and TS.
Ialso use a Besy cabinet clamp to hold the stock from rolling and cut ooneither saw depending on the size.
I also use either saw to cut antler this way.
Sled and clamp.
 

Darley

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I cut my blank with the BS if it's in a log form but I cut 2 side only then pass those 2 sides through the jointer to have a nice flat and square side then cut my planks, them my blanks on my TS, is much easy, the cut are nice, clean and strait.
 

vick

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I turn boards in to blanks on the bandsaw, but you want to make sure you have the right blade on it. If your bandsaw will not tension at least a 1/2 inch blade I would be leary of using it (to much drift). I personally use a 1/2 4 TPI blade. If I could tension a 3/4 I would use that.
 

woodwish

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I have used both BS and TS to cut down lumber to pen sizes or other sizes. Depends on the mood I am in. If it is already cut to length or close to it I prefer the band saw, longer pieces usually go to the table saw. The TS is much faster and accurate but does make a wider kerf if that matters in the long run. One thing I do to get a flat side is run the log over the jointer a few times with a faily deep cut, gets a flat side to start and seems much safer than any other way I have tried.
 

rtparso

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There are several good tutorials on cutting wood on-line. What I do when cutting logs (limbs) is to slab it into one inch slabs then saw the slabs into 1x1 sticks. I cross stack the sticks and weight the stack. Be careful cutting logs because there are a lot of ways you can hurt yourself or your equipment. All the wood that I have cut so far I have cut wet. I takes about 2-3 months to dry around here. For dried boards I just slice them length wise as wide as the board is thick. Some folks have made some neat pens by angle cutting the boards.
 

ctEaglesc

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Ron. you might want to try microwave drying.I dried the green cherry burl over a span of two days.
An earlier one shrunk enough that the glue in hte fills was evident and the tubes could been seen after assembley.
I think there's a post on it somewhere.
 

BigRob777

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I had a 9" band saw and tried to adjust for wandering, but it wasn't consistent. I never used it, except for small cuts and then seldom at that. I finally bought a Grizzly 17" saw and was totally amazed at how nicely it cut. I don't get any wander at all. It cost about $900.00 including a 1" 2tpi blade and it was worth every penny. It saves my back from all of that table saw work. I even have my table (cabinet) saw up on a 6" platform and it still gets to my back, leaning out over it for the last 6" of the cut. I have a pretty strong grip and cut firewood into pen blanks with it, but it is sooooo much easier on my band saw. I wouldn't want to cut branches on imy TS, though I have and have not gotten slammed yet. I agree with Eagle about using a sled. I made one and it is a big help. I like the idea of using a clamp, but haven't figured out how to mount it. I have a ton of clamps, but not the kind you attach.
Now, I gotsta get to da beeche.
 

elody21

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It would be nice for someone to write up instructions with photos! I am sure there are many different ideas on how to do this, but a general instruction guide would be great! Anyone interested?
 

Fangar

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I have a 12" band Saw and also a Table Saw. If I am cutting up boards, I use my table saw. Most of the time, if I buy a piece of zebra, bolivian rosewood, cocobolo, etc in board form they are about 5-6 inches in width. I like to cross or angle cut the grain so that they show off more flair when the pen is finished. To do this, I simply place the board into a jig that I made that moves the board into a 45 degree angle to the blade. So essentially, the blade cuts on an angle through the grain making the grain lines run diagnally across the length of the blank. This can also be done on a Mitre of Chop saw.

As for logs, I usually use my band saw to get things started. There are sleds on the the market that allow you to place a rounded log onto a sled that has pins to hold it securly in plave for the first cut. Once the first cut is done, you can place the flat side down on the table of the band saw. This is where a 1/2" or thicker band saw blad comes in to play. You will get much less wandering with a thicker blade.

It's all about getting the most out of the grain of the piece you are cutting. If you have a large log, there are several ways that it can be cut. Some of which will not produce the best results. I am by no means versed in this area, but have come up with some very nice blanks out of found woods.

I was just given two large limbs of manzanita last night. About 6" in diameter in the ends. This manzanita has a great red color to the heartwood with lighter new wood. I will liekly try to get a blend between the two. The guy is going to get me this huge manzanita root ball that he has too.

Cheers,

James
 

Fangar

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I had a chance to cut up some of the manzanita that I got from a co-worker today. It looks like it will be nice. I will choose some good spots for some blanks, but will likely make some nice candlesticks and small bowls out of it. Here are some photos:

I got two branches about this size:
manzanita.jpg



A split of one of the pieces showing nice reddish heartwood:
manzanita2.jpg


Closeup of endgrain:
manzanita3.jpg


All painted up ready for storage:
manzanita4.jpg


A few blanks that I cut up from a piece. I will find better, but they have some nice swirl:
manzanita5.jpg


======

Edit:

=====

Got a couple of more boards out so far. These look real nice. Sealed with wax for storage.

manzanita6.jpg


Cheers,

James
 

scalawagtoo

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I just cut some rough wood down to blanks for the first time. One chain saw cut was fairly close to being in one plane so I ran it over the jointer and got one good surface. I put that on the saw table and got a square side but the saw has a 3 & 7/8
capacity so I finished the cut on a band saw. Then I resawed one inch pieces on the table saw, finishing the cuts on the BS, cut them into one inch squares. Picked out the pieces I wanted, cut them down to a good square 3/4" x 3/4" and cut them to length on a radial arm.

The lathe, of course, will take anything down to round but to get some idea of what you are going to end up with I like to have a nice square blank. and when, hopefully, I start selling blanks I would like to have them as nice as Jim at woodpens Bethlehem olivewood. From what little I have seen, relatively, he sets the standard for perfectly cut blanks.

My first blanks I drilled on a portable electric drill clamped to a table. I pushed them on by hand because I did not have vice, they wobbled all over on the lathe, but I cut em' down to perfect barrels.
 

Dario

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James,

I love manzanita burls and I bet regular manzanita itself will be equally nice. From your stock pile it looks like you have a few crotch sections, those will probably generate impressive pen blanks.

They are very hard though and the root burls are notorious for cracking...not to mention the imbedded sand and stone particles. Just be prepared for those [;)].
 

ctEaglesc

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Originally posted by elody21
<br />It would be nice for someone to write up instructions with photos! I am sure there are many different ideas on how to do this, but a general instruction guide would be great! Anyone interested?
Russ Fairfield already has a blank cutting article on his site.
I ran across it long after I decided to get the best looking blanks as opposed to the most pieces from a piece of stock.
As far as the mechanics go, I got into pen turning after many years of HA woodworking.
A written tutorial is not the best way to learn how to use sharp spinning things that can cause bodily injury.
I realize many pen turners are not "woodworkers" per se.
If experience with sharp cutting edges is limited I strongly recommend hands on (excuse the pun) advice from a person who is familiar with power tools whether it be a relative, neighbor or a course from a local woodworking store.
Because pre cut, drilled and even glued up blanks are available I can see where someone who has absolutely no experience with woodworking tools can get interested in pen turning, not to mention and interest in turning materials that don't even require the use of a saw blade.(fabric,string and clay pens comes to mind)
Certainly any information regarding the different methods of cutting blanks would be helpful but not as a "how to" for someone who is not familiar with tools.
 

Fangar

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Originally posted by cteaglesc
<br />
Originally posted by elody21
<br />It would be nice for someone to write up instructions with photos! I am sure there are many different ideas on how to do this, but a general instruction guide would be great! Anyone interested?
Russ Fairfield already has a blank cutting article on his site.
I ran across it long after I decided to get the best looking blanks as opposed to the most pieces from a piece of stock.
As far as the mechanics go, I got into pen turning after many years of HA woodworking.
A written tutorial is not the best way to learn how to use sharp spinning things that can cause bodily injury.
I realize many pen turners are not "woodworkers" per se.
If experience with sharp cutting edges is limited I strongly recommend hands on (excuse the pun) advice from a person who is familiar with power tools whether it be a relative, neighbor or a course from a local woodworking store.
Because pre cut, drilled and even glued up blanks are available I can see where someone who has absolutely no experience with woodworking tools can get interested in pen turning, not to mention and interest in turning materials that don't even require the use of a saw blade.(fabric,string and clay pens comes to mind)
Certainly any information regarding the different methods of cutting blanks would be helpful but not as a "how to" for someone who is not familiar with tools.

I am the type of person that has learned much of what I do by trial and error as well as from watching my father years ago. I agree that sometimes people follow half written examples so cloesly only to be injured as they missed something or worse yet, what was thought to be obvious by the writer of the instructions and therefore omitted or left out.

Always remember to be careful and that you can't get cut if you don't put your hands, fingers, toes, hair, gloves, clothing, arms, neck, etc. where they shouldn't be. I have never been cut on a saw, but have seen others who have.

My neighbor came over once when I was resawing some rough stock. He asked for some advice on what table saw to purchase at a decent price. I made some recommendations. About a week later he cut his right index finger off. I was mortified. I know it wasn't my fault as I hadn't given any instruction on it's use, or safety, etc, but still.

There are many things to be learned even with a slightly elevated amount of experience that I feel I have acquired over the years. You can learn even from the novice turner, or novice anything for that matter. So sharing information is pinacle.

A good disclaimer from me though is that I always assume that people I share information with have a great understanding of the tools that they are going to be using and therefore have a flat line of safety and precaution established. If this is not the case, I feel that one MUST take it upon themselves to research and learn.

Don't be the person that has the saw running, hands in place while reading a printed out email at the same time. DOH! [:0]

Cheers,

James
 

ctEaglesc

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Originally posted by Fangar
<br />
Originally posted by cteaglesc
<br />
Originally posted by elody21
<br />It would be nice for someone to write up instructions with photos! I am sure there are many different ideas on how to do this, but a general instruction guide would be great! Anyone interested?
Russ Fairfield already has a blank cutting article on his site.
I ran across it long after I decided to get the best looking blanks as opposed to the most pieces from a piece of stock.
As far as the mechanics go, I got into pen turning after many years of HA woodworking.
A written tutorial is not the best way to learn how to use sharp spinning things that can cause bodily injury.
I realize many pen turners are not "woodworkers" per se.
If experience with sharp cutting edges is limited I strongly recommend hands on (excuse the pun) advice from a person who is familiar with power tools whether it be a relative, neighbor or a course from a local woodworking store.
Because pre cut, drilled and even glued up blanks are available I can see where someone who has absolutely no experience with woodworking tools can get interested in pen turning, not to mention and interest in turning materials that don't even require the use of a saw blade.(fabric,string and clay pens comes to mind)
Certainly any information regarding the different methods of cutting blanks would be helpful but not as a "how to" for someone who is not familiar with tools.

I am the type of person that has learned much of what I do by trial and error as well as from watching my father years ago. I agree that sometimes people follow half written examples so cloesly only to be injured as they missed something or worse yet, what was thought to be obvious by the writer of the instructions and therefore omitted or left out.

Always remember to be careful and that you can't get cut if you don't put your hands, fingers, toes, hair, gloves, clothing, arms, neck, etc. where they shouldn't be. I have never been cut on a saw, but have seen others who have.

My neighbor came over once when I was resawing some rough stock. He asked for some advice on what table saw to purchase at a decent price. I made some recommendations. About a week later he cut his right index finger off. I was mortified. I know it wasn't my fault as I hadn't given any instruction on it's use, or safety, etc, but still.

There are many things to be learned even with a slightly elevated amount of experience that I feel I have acquired over the years. You can learn even from the novice turner, or novice anything for that matter. So sharing information is pinacle.

A good disclaimer from me though is that I always assume that people I share information with have a great understanding of the tools that they are going to be using and therefore have a flat line of safety and precaution established. If this is not the case, I feel that one MUST take it upon themselves to research and learn.

Don't be the person that has the saw running, hands in place while reading a printed out email at the same time. DOH! [:0]

Cheers,

James


icon_thumbs.gif
 

Fangar

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Ok. My final update on the manzanita. I got some nice pen and stopper blanks all waxed up and ready to sleep for a while. Here they are. I still have all of the wood from the stock pile photo as well. These were from the boards and block photo above. Like Eagle mentioned. I go for quality, not quantity. I got some nice sapwood insome of them...

manzanita7.jpg


Cheers,

James
 

Fangar

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Originally posted by airrat
<br />looks nice, what did you use to "wax" them.

My wife makes candles, so I have a lot of parafin wax around. I have a presto wax melting pot with spigot that I made. I just melt the wax and coat each blank. Then the excess wax gets poured into a empty coolwhip container, and reused later. For larger pieces, I paint the melted wax on with a paint brush. Works great.

You could use any old candle and melt it down. Just be sure to use a double boiler to melt the wax so as not to start any fires.

James
 
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