Spalted Pecan Can I Turn as is

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OldGrumpy

OldGrumpy

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Joined
Dec 18, 2009
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Oak Leaf, TX
I received a piece of spalted pecan yesterday and being new with woods and penturning was wondering do I need to treat it in any way before turning it. In comparison to regular pecan it seems rather light weight. Any help appreciated.:confused:
 
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Treat or not to treat?

Hello. Well we have turned spalted and sometimes we would be lucky enough and finish one out. But there were more that right when you had it just to the finishing touch with the lathe tool it would chip out. So we found a store and bought miniwax wood hardener. we would cut the pieces, drill them out, glue the tubes and then turn the stock on the lathe till it was rounded. Then we would take and soak it for a couple hours and let it dry over night. then we were able to turned it the finish. Spalted wood is soft and you can get in a hurry with it. Good luck.
 
You can also flood the blank with thin CA and let it soak in. Turn until all of the CA is gone and repeat. I like the finish I get with the CA far better than with the Minwax, but your mileage may vary.
 
wdcav1952 said:
You can also flood the blank with thin CA and let it soak in. Turn until all of the CA is gone and repeat. I like the finish I get with the CA far better than with the Minwax, but your mileage may vary.
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I agree with CAV,I have turned quite a few spalded wood pens with soft sections several have been pecan,I normally put thin CA on ends after milling flat to reenforce that part then turn down to fairly close to final shape and start saturating with thin CA(It helps to put a coat of wax on bushings before starting) I also receintly started using JohnnyCNC delrin finishing bushings to do my BLO/CA finish,makes the pecan look GREAT. pap


(OLD rotten wood like Old rotten men Can look good if worked on long enough!):biggrin:
 
Being from South Georgia (the pecan capital of the world), I can tell you with certainty how to turn spalted pecan. First remove all womem, ministers and small children from the vacinity of the shop. Then turn like any other spalted wood - which is make two light passes, swear profusely and then go get the broom and dustpan to pick up the pieces!

Spalted pecan is beautiful but a real mother to turn. Stabalize it and hope for the best!

Andy Little
 
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Amazing responses. I have turned many pens and larger bowls and platters from So. GA and No. FL Pecan that was heavily spalted, and never had any problems other than it was hard as a rock, and sometimes full of bug holes. I filled the bug holes with charcoal for a pen, and leave them open on bowls and platters.
 
There is Spalted and there is Punky wood. I suspect that you have both. I don't think the Spalting will effect how it turns all that much. The Punky will cause the colorful language effect. I have heard the wood hardener solution many time but reports have varied. for the most part I believe it works though. I see the flooding it with CA even more often and have even done it myself and for me it wirks very well. Having the wood stabalized is my favorite solution but not worth it unless you have a lot of wood to get stabalized. In the end you will never really kow Until you stick it on the lathe and give it a try. the best you can do is take your time, pay lots of attention and take your chances. Good Luck.
 
Amazing responses. I have turned many pens and larger bowls and platters from So. GA and No. FL Pecan that was heavily spalted, and never had any problems other than it was hard as a rock, and sometimes full of bug holes.

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I was trying to be funny, but I do always seen to catch the skew in a "divot" and send it flying off the tube. My guess is that since the stuff I gather is so hard that it would give a woodpecker a toothache, I am probally applying too much pressure and trying to turn too fast.

Russ, any pecan tilps will be greatly appreciated!
 
I just turned a couple of Monet pens out of a spalted Pecan blank, and they both turned out very nice. I used my woodchuck tool on em and had no problems. Just be sure and go slow.
 
I turned several pens from Spalted Pecan and Spalted Cottonwood, with no trouble, I did keep the Cottonwood saturated with thin CA. I filled the worm holes in the Pecan with thick CA and Pearl-Ex it was still fairly hard wood. A lot will depend on how punky and soft the wood is.
 
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