spot wood

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Status
Not open for further replies.

guts

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
1,318
Location
Fairchance Pa. USA.
I picked up some of this wood at rockler the other day only thing it said was spot wood,well i'm 0 for 4 trying to turn it,all four times it exploded on me,any ideas?thanks.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
I couldn't tell you what kind of wood it is either. Judging from your history I belive you need to stabalize the blank somehow before trying another one. Unless your a pretty aggressive turner, in which case you can try to take lighter cuts, I can't think of anything else that will make a difference.

If the spots are not surface blemishes it should make a really interesting pen!
 
Ambrosia maple. Not doubt about it. The problem is that you are turning it cross grain. Very sharp tools and a light touch taking plaining cuts will get you there. The other option is thin ca as said above.
 
If you have enough of it I would try this before rushing out and having it stabilized.
(Because I use CA on my glue ups I cannot have my blanks commercially stabilized but I do successfully turn "difficult pieces")
If you have been able to drill it, you should be able to turn it.
IF you have drilled it for the tube successfully try thin CA in the hole to stabilize it from the inside out.Let it set.
Id say at least 10 minutes to be safe.Give the Hole a shot of accelerant.
Run the same drill bit inside the hole to clean out the excess CA.
Glue the tube in as usual.
To be safe I would carefully seal the ends of the blank with thin CA before milling.( try not to let the CA get in the tube)
Ease the corners of the blank to reduce the shock of roughing. You can do this with a sander or with a jig for the band saw or table saw.
MAke sure your tools are sharp and use plenty of CA to stabilize while you go.
Or you can mail it out, wait for it to come back, pay the postage and stabiliazing fee.
<b>Or you can turn it today.</b>[:D]
 
thanks Eagle,i have put it back on the lathe and got it turned most of the way down to size,will use the ca from here on out and go very carefully,i'm determined to finish this thing.
 
Originally posted by guts
<br />thanks Eagle,i have put it back on the lathe and got it turned most of the way down to size,will use the ca from here on out and go very carefully,i'm determined to finish this thing.

I guess some people will belive anything[:D]
 
I agree with Eagle...after drilling, apply thin CA then re-drill. That will help a lot to stabilize the wood. Done that on some x-cut spalted Alder and worked like a charm.

Use thin CA also before the final cut and if possible, use CA as finish. As usual, use sharp tools and take light cuts.
 
Okay,did everything everyone said,i put #6 on turned it down to round and it looked good for a while,went back a bit later and it has cracks all over it,green wood?
 
You didn't say anyting about it being green, just spotted.
Run through the steps you did and don't leave anything out.
How about sanding?
Too much heat?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom