Turning Desert Ironwood Burl

[dl351]

I just got my first blank made of Desert Ironwood Burl. Can anyone tell me if there are "tricks" to turning this? I have a Woodchuck Pen Pro that I was planning on using. Should that work ok?

As a side note, I sanded one side of the blank and put a coat of CA on it to get an idea of how it will look. All I can say is WOW! This stuff looks amazing! I've only seen pictures of DIW, but the pictures don't do it justice!

 

[hewunch]

Nope you should be fine. Just keep an eye out for cracks. And if you see one, hit it with a little thin to hold it together.

 

[greggas]

I second what Hewunch wrote...watch out for cracks...I love DI burl...probably my favorite wood...I often turn a blank and let it sit for a few days as sometimes the smallest of hair line cracks will appear. I then sand it with a bit of thin or med CA.

Enjoy ..this is a fun wood to watch shine

 

[toddlajoie]

Be super careful drilling also. The DIW I've done could clog a drill bit long before the bit came in contact with the wood. Every little bit you drill, back out and be sure to clear the chips/dust (and air compressor helps here...) If you don't do this often, you will either (worst case) blow the blank out when the flutes get clogged and expand in the hole or end up muttering as you try and chip the solidified DIW dust out from the drill flutes (DAMHIKT). The longer the blank, the bigger a pain in the butt it is, but in the end it is incredibly worth it, as like others have said, it is also my favorite wood...

 

[greggas]

Todd...those blanks looks very familiar....Hummmmmm ...Bad dog??

Nice job by the way

 

[toddlajoie]

Yep, these are 2 of 4 blanks I cut from one of the larger blocks. I've got 2 that he was selling as pen blanks that are a bit larger and I'm saving them for something a bit bigger. The Zen is probably the biggest thing I can get out of the blanks I cut from the blocks, since they ended up well under 3/4 (need a smaller kerf saw blade...) I'm REALLY resisting driving back out to Bad Dog to dig through and buy any more of those blocks... I've had several people ask me to make them one just like those...Need to order more Black Ti Zen kits too. I ordered 2 with my last order to see what they were like, mainly because after a month, my daily use gold one was already showing wear...Haven't had a chance to turn any of the cool stuff you gave me yet, but I look at it almost every day and think...

You planning on being at the WC meeting this Sunday?