"Spalted" Hackberry

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Kdoc87

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I ordered this blank the other day - a Premium Stabilized Spalted Hackberry 15 Degree Cut 5 in. x 7/8 in. x 7/8 in. Pen Blank from Barry Gross for 8.45.
The blank looked a little bit better before I turned it but there was only any very noticable black line spalting through one side. Needless to say, it now looks pretty "naked". The other side looks about the same, maybe a tiny bit better. Is this normal?? Now I'm thinking either dying the blank or maybe getting creative with a parting tool and some crushed turquoise...

From now on, I'm considering only buying blanks that I can see before I buy, or can somehow trust that they will be as described. Any suggestions of where I may find this would be appreciated!

Just want to add, I have bought a LOT from PSI and have been happy with most of my purchases in the past.
 

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The Penguin

The Penguin

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your post says "stabilized" hackberry.

the turned pen shown does not look stabilized to me - and the shavings on the tool rest do not look like they were stabilized either.
 
CREID

CREID

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Kdoc87 said:
I ordered this blank the other day - a Premium Stabilized Spalted Hackberry 15 Degree Cut 5 in. x 7/8 in. x 7/8 in. Pen Blank from Barry Gross for 8.45.
The blank looked a little bit better before I turned it but there was only any very noticable black line spalting through one side. Needless to say, it now looks pretty "naked". The other side looks about the same, maybe a tiny bit better. Is this normal?? Now I'm thinking either dying the blank or maybe getting creative with a parting tool and some crushed turquoise...

From now on, I'm considering only buying blanks that I can see before I buy, or can somehow trust that they will be as described. Any suggestions of where I may find this would be appreciated!

Just want to add, I have bought a LOT from PSI and have been happy with most of my purchases in the past.
Click to expand...
I love spalted hackberry, You never really know until you turn it what it is actually going to look like, it's always a crap shoot. Obviously the more spalting you see before have the better chance of a turned piece but it doesn't always work that way.

Curt
 
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Skie_M

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For $8.45 for a SINGLE BLANK I'ld expect a lot more out of it than what you got.

That's not spalted very well, it's certainly not stabilized AT ALL, and as for Premium? Hell no.

Take pics, send to PSI, let them know that they sent you a mis-labeled blank.

Barry Gross' work is supposed to be premium top of the line grade stuff... or he wouldn't have his name on it.
 
magpens

magpens

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THANK YOU very much for posting this. Try buying on Ebay ... there is a seller in Hawaii who photographs all 4 sides of his blanks.
I have never been unhappy with my purchases from them. PM me if you wish.

Kdoc87 said:
I ordered this blank the other day - a Premium Stabilized Spalted Hackberry 15 Degree Cut 5 in. x 7/8 in. x 7/8 in. Pen Blank from Barry Gross for 8.45.
The blank looked a little bit better before I turned it but there was only any very noticable black line spalting through one side. Needless to say, it now looks pretty "naked". The other side looks about the same, maybe a tiny bit better. Is this normal?? Now I'm thinking either dying the blank or maybe getting creative with a parting tool and some crushed turquoise...

From now on, I'm considering only buying blanks that I can see before I buy, or can somehow trust that they will be as described. Any suggestions of where I may find this would be appreciated!

Just want to add, I have bought a LOT from PSI and have been happy with most of my purchases in the past.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Heartwoodturning

Heartwoodturning

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I sell spalted wood on the uk ebay sometimes and I use it to make pens a few times a week. My ebay name is carving chris. I usually take a photo of all 4 sides and the ends. The key thing to look at is the ends of the blank. does the spalting run through the middle of the blank. If it is just on the edges you will end up with a "naked blank". There are people on ebay who like to sell what will turn out to be naked blanks as they have assessed it and realized this will happen and just want to offload wood that looks great but is actually pretty rubbish once turned. Once you have a good supplier on ebay that gives you what you need you are in business. A lot of the spalted stuff on ebay is not stabilized. I want to get a pressure stabilizing machine but I need to save up the money. I have to stabilize by ca gluing the ends before drilling and sometimes part way through barrel trimming. I ca glue any punky (soft bits) on the outside of the blank I then have to look for punky when i get close to finished size and ca glue them again. If a hole does appear (which luckily almost never happens to me) I have a bag of ebony dust. I pack the hole with the dust and ca glue. I then turn it to shape. The ebony dust looks great as a filler on spalted wood as it blends in nicely. I can't wait to get my stabizing machine.
 
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Skie_M

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Nice ... I like the tip about using Ebony dust (or some other really dark color wood dust). It's the opposite of what I advocated in the past, where any faults in the wood I found get filled with crushed stone like turquoise, malachite, or some other nice semi-precious stones... anything that wasn't crystalline worked great.
 
Darley

Darley

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The best way to see if your blank is spalted throw is when you drill it if the spalting go in the drilling then no problem if it doesn't don't bother to turn.

this is valid for all blanks including casting ribbon
 
Sabaharr

Sabaharr

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I get most of my blanks from ebay. I only buy from sellers that show all sides and have not been disappointed yet. I have occasionally bought a multiple pack of blanks just to get a few out of them that were obviously seeded to sell the lot and the rest end up in the "someday" pile for segmenting or some other project. I only do that when I am getting a great price on them though.
 
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Mike Daugherty

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Charlotte, NC
I am like some of the other post in that I would call Barry. I have done a lot of business with Barry and know that he will stand behind anything he sells. You are certainly entitled to your opinion but it is one of those woods that is very hard to be certain about.
 
KenV

KenV

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Juneau, Alaska.
Kdoc87 said:
I ordered this blank the other day - a Premium Stabilized Spalted Hackberry 15 Degree Cut 5 in. x 7/8 in. x 7/8 in. Pen Blank from Barry Gross for 8.45.
The blank looked a little bit better before I turned it but there was only any very noticable black line spalting through one side. Needless to say, it now looks pretty "naked". The other side looks about the same, maybe a tiny bit better. Is this normal?? Now I'm thinking either dying the blank or maybe getting creative with a parting tool and some crushed turquoise...

From now on, I'm considering only buying blanks that I can see before I buy, or can somehow trust that they will be as described. Any suggestions of where I may find this would be appreciated!

Just want to add, I have bought a LOT from PSI and have been happy with most of my purchases in the past.
Click to expand...



Just clarifying. From your wording I think you are saying that blank appears to have been purchased from PSI as one of the blanks that PSI advertises as selected by Barry Gross.

Since Barry Gross sells blanks directly as Arizona Silhouette, their is room for confusion.

Have you contacted PSI customer service?
 
K

Kdoc87

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Pa
I too am glad this hasn't turned into a bashing thread. I posted this topic in order to see if this was normal, and to get more information on different sources of nicely spalted woods. I have contacted PSI a week ago and will update when a resolution has been reached. Thanks to everyone for all of the helpful info!
 
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