Burl Blanks

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

dcastle

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Messages
5
Location
Iowa
Hi all. New member and new pen turner here. Was wondering about purchasing burl blanks. Is it possible to turn burl blanks that have not been stabilized? I see many places to buy burl blanks on ebay, but most are non-stabilized blanks. If I need to buy stabilized blanks, can anyone tell me the best place to buy? Thanks.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

Manny

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Messages
849
Location
Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.
It really depends on the blank density. Porous and soft woods are difficult to turn without stabilization. Although thin CA can be used while turning to help keep things together. To answer your question I turn unstabilized burl blanks all the time. Burl caps can be purchased and sliced up and turned no problem.

Manny
 

ctubbs

Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
3,588
Location
Murray, Kentucky
Welcome Dennis, from far west Kentucky, to the addiction, sometimes referred to as the vortex. Be sure to give the library a good bit of time. The link is at the top of the page. You will find an article called Library Index. This covers tutorials on about anything pen making you can think of. You will also notice that there are articles listed by year. Much good info there as well. When these fail to answer your questions, by all means post it here. I have never seen one go unanswered very long. You might also want to give this thread a good look. It has some very good info for the beginning pen turner; http://content.penturners.org/library/general_reference/Getting_started_in_pen_turning.pdf. Grab some wood, make some shavings and have fun all the while being safe.
Charles
 

Joe Burns

Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2011
Messages
383
Location
Temple Texas
Hi Dennis,

Welcome to the addiction. You can turn stabilized and non-stabilized burl blanks. I prefer them to standard wood as they make great pens.

Go slow and easy with the non-stabilized ones. Take your time as they could have small voids in them. Just have some sawdust from the shavings handy along with some thin CA to fill the voids.

Stabilized blanks are impregnated with resin and will turn easier.

Joe
 

dcastle

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Messages
5
Location
Iowa
Thanks everyone. I will take advantage of the library plus just watching and learning.
 

Younka

Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Messages
383
Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I turn alot of burls that are not stabilized and if there are some cracks in the burl I will fill in the crack with some CA glue. A few of my favorite places to get blanks are from the IAP market place, alot of members on hear sell some really nice stuff! Some other great places to get blanks are big dog burl source, Indy pen dance, griffin exotic wood. (I know the big dog burl is expensive but they are great quality!!)
 

mdburn_em

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
679
Location
Chesapeake, VA, USA
You can absolutely turn un-stabilized burl blanks. There are risks, just as there are if you turn very spalted blanks.
If you're going to try it, you need to have very sharp tools. if you can't get sharp tools, don't try it. They'll blow up on you.
I have a piece of Ebony that I use just for sanding dust. When I need some black to fill some voids, I turn and sand the ebony blank. I'll catch the dust and then use it to fill the voids. Others like to use different colors to fill the voids. I've done the same by getting some truestone, sanding that and saving the dust. That can really look pretty sharp. of course, it can also look pretty hideous. Or at least that's what I've heard.
 
Top Bottom