tough cherry and oak burl blanks

[richstick1]

I bought a flat rate box of pen blank cutoffs off of Ebay - a combo of bradford pear, holly, cherry burl, and white oak burl. The pear is very useable, the holly is ok, and the burls are a mix of "I think I can use this" and "holy cow is this thing full of voids/cracks/splits". I got the whole box for a song, so it's worth it even if I can't use some of the so-so pieces. But, I want to ask the experts here - can you use a blank with a huge split in it, or is it not worth the time? Can I fill these voids even before drillin the blanks out, etc? If so, what do you recommend? I'm very much a noob here - I've blown up 3-4 of them already, so I'm hoping there is something I can do with them.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[ctwxlvr]

you can use them, but the words here are, SHARP TOOLS, LIGHT CUTS, Stabilize the blanks while turning, SHARP TOOLS, LIGHT CUTS, Stabilize the blanks while turning. I would carefully drill the blank very slowly, and a higher speed, avoiding heat and shaving build up, glue up the tube and SAND the end square with the tube, slowly turn the blank to round then fill the voids and cracks with the material of choice, using thin CA every few cuts to stabilize the wood. stop short of where you normally turn to and sand the rest of the way.

 

[JimGo]

You can send the burls out for stabilization - that should help with the voids. Try CA in the splits, and especially CA with some of the same wood's saw dust in it. You can also try filling the voids and splits yourself using this same CA method, and some have even incorporated coffee grinds into the void-filling mix.

 

[richstick1]

Thanks guys - this gives me some idea of how to go about it. I know alot of bowl turners, etc. use coffee grounds/CA as a nice contrast/filler. I think it would look cool on these blanks, so I'll be trying that, along with sharp tools and light cuts Good practice, anyways!

 

[toolcrazy]

You can also use brass shavings and CA to fill the voids. You can usually get all you want from your local locksmith.