what wood if any

[old folks]

Is there any type of wood that is not good for turning for pens ?
I am a newbe and was wondering about it. Thank you
John

 

[melogic]

I have turned just about anything you could imagine and I have not found one that didn't turn out great. If I don't particularly care for it, someone else will and they will buy it. You may want to check out other posts on the site and be aware of the toxicity of some of the woods.

 

[pen-turners]

John,
I am always willing to help out a new turner. Contact me by email and I will send a care package your way to help get you started. I have tons of extra blanks and will send some your way.

Chris

 

[tipusnr]

Soft woods, like pine, aren't real good. They turn alright but generally have wide bland grain patterns and mar easily.

 

[KKingery]

I imagine that most all woods are great - Personally, I have only had trouble with one kind - Wenge. I'm sure it has to do with my sanding techniques, but it seems like the more I sand, the more "open" grain areas I get.

 

[Gregory Huey]

I guees pens have been made from about every wood their is. I Tend to stay away from most soft woods, Bulsa,Pine and Fur. Most woods with large grain tend to be plain when turned down to pen size. Some woods we use can be harder to work with than others. Wenge & Palm can be tricky to sand. Try a few of the old favorites to get started. Cocobolo,Bocote,Kingwood,and wood that are stablized.

 

[Rifleman1776]

There are certainly likes and dislikes among all woodturners/crafters. I do not like bocote because I got some with soft spots and it caught and blew up right at the end of the job. Dyamondwood is not a favorite of mine because I don't consider it 'real' wood. Others like it. Ash is, for me, impossible to get a smooth sanding on, I won't use it again for small projects. I like: walnut, cocobolo, olive, box elder and many others. Yesterday I bought a couple pieces of (very expensive) palm. The large (4x4") chunk is for a gavel and the smaller (1 1/2x 1 1/2") will be the handle and probably get resawed into some pen blanks. It's pretty fibrous stuff but has an interesting grain. I'm hoping I didn't waste money or my time. We'll see.

 

[dougle40]

I just recently tried turning some Aspen and it was HORRIBLE !![:0]
I think that if it had been stabilized it MAY have been OK but in it's raw stage , I'll never try it again !![]

 

[old folks]

Would someone tell me what stablized wood is ?
Thank you

 

[Daniel]

John,
in a nut shell it is wood that has been saturated with plastic.
now to crack the shell. the wood is treated under a vacume and and then pressure to force an acrylic into the wood. this eleminates the woods ability to expand and contract as all wood will do with humidity changes. thus the reason to call it stabalized. no moving no cracking no gapping. all pluses. expensive. not so mucha plus