# Never use that wood again!



## larryc

Is there available a list of woods that are unsuitable for pens?

I recently tried to use Acacia Blackwood (it was in an assortment I bought) and it just seemed to fall apart when turned. I don't know if was just a bad piece or if this is indicative of this species.

All help greatly appreciated.


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## rjwolfe3

Probably needed stabilized either before or while you were turning it. I am not familiar with that wood so I don't know for certain. There are certain softer woods that I have problems with but I think it's just me.


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## DurocShark

Any wood can be defeated. It's your personal pain threshold that will determine whether you use it again or not.


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## its_virgil

Acacia blackwood: Also known as  Australian Blackwood , Tasmanian Blackwood or Black Wattle. Maybe some of our members from down under can shed some light on this wood. I would suppose you just had an unsuitable piece to use. 
Do a good turn daily!
Don




larryc said:


> I recently tried to use Acacia Blackwood (it was in an assortment I bought) and it just seemed to fall apart when turned. I don't know if was just a bad piece or if this is indicative of this species.


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## maxwell_smart007

I've had many blanks that seemed lighter than pumice, but turned fine once I soaked them in CA...


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## artme

Acacia Melanoxilyn (Spelling ), Blackwood. Tasmanian Blackwood, Queensland Blackwood. One and the same tree. IT IS NOT Black Wattle, that is another acacia.

Can be very figured, although it doesn't always show up in small pieces like pen blanks. Hard, and can be difficult to turn. Full of silica so it murders tools. Needs a very sharp tool and a lighter touch.


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## KenV

I have turned that Acacia -- and seen others do neat things with it.  The wood was hard and a challenge to work from the perspective of hardness.  Held detail extreamly well.   Saw Finsterwald do a spyder box with it last year.  

Either the tools were dull, the force was too great, the glue was bad, or the wood was bad (cracked, broken, punk, etc).

This is a wood that you cannot force, but the polish it takes is a joy to see.


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## Bree

I think you can turn just about any wood given the right preparation and the right tools.  Anything punky or weak can be stabilized.  Anything brittle and chippy can be taken down slowly or even just sanded.  Anything soft can be hardened.  And so on.

Heck we sent men to the moon!!  We ought to be able to make a pen out of almost anything!!


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## GouletPens

Between stabilizing and Alumilite, there's no waste wood anymore. The one wood that defeated me in the past that I need to conquer is Wenge. It's been years since I've touched it (basically the first couple of weeks I was turning), and it got the best of me (when it came to finishing). I know now if I just made something out of it I wouldn't have any problems b/c of my better sanding and finishing regimen, I just don't have the time to mess with it. When things slow after Christmas I think I'll give it a go and show it who's boss


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## GouletPens

Between stabilizing and Alumilite, there's no waste wood anymore. The one wood that defeated me in the past that I need to conquer is Wenge. It's been years since I've touched it (basically the first couple of weeks I was turning), and it got the best of me (when it came to finishing). I know now if I just made something out of it I wouldn't have any problems b/c of my better sanding and finishing regimen, I just don't have the time to mess with it. When things slow after Christmas I think I'll give it a go and show it who's boss


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## Fred

Bree said:


> Heck we sent men to the moon!! We ought to be able to make a pen out of almost anything!


 
Bree, judging from some of the pens displayed here I do believe that your statement is well proven.

I refer everyone's memory in particular to the pen made from - of all things - "Cat Crap" which is one of Curtis' creations. Actually I think he got the idea after he turned a rather large piece of hemp stump that he got a bit to hot and the 'smoke' over powered his senses.

And he didn't even offer to share his creative source either. Oh well, his end result was indeed unusual, strangely creative, and well remembered.


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## PenPal

*Blackwood*

One of the beautiful timbers especially the Tasmanian grown timber. I have never seen a punky piece. It can stain your fingers but lots of things do that.

You guys may be too young to remember from the survey in part what is your age however think of the most beautiful sheen a Silk Tie flashes as it turns into the light well now you have some idea just how exciting Blackwood can be. 

It is a highly sought after timber for furniture making fetching really high prices. In a couple of days I will photograph some pieces I have been saving for a rainy day ( we are in ten year drought) It is one of the worlds beautiful Violin making and other musical instrument timbers. Book matched veneer and other veneers prove it is not punky but strong, easy to work, a pleasure to finish and in short exciting. Be aware when someone does not know a timber very well mislabeling is rife. Figured Blackwood as I will show is unbelievable in beauty. The pieces I have are off the saw.

Kind regards Peter.


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## robutacion

Yes, artme is quite correct, Blackwood and Black Wattle are different species, both from the Acacia family, 2 of well over 1,000.

I don't have much experience with the Blackwood, but ain't much I haven't done with the Black Wattle in particular, one of the 5 species that this area is extremely rich of, Black Wattle, Silver Wattle, Golden Wattle, White Acacia and Orange Acacia, very much in this order of availability.  Acacias are generally tree/shrubs with a short life expectancy (10 to 20 years), mostly are killed by some little wood borers that live out of these timbers, then the second biggest killer in the fungi that develops on these species.  

Silver wattle may be the worse of the lot, with white fungi/bacteria growing in between the outer and the inner skin, these fungi is also responsible for the "transformation" in the wood cells and structure, normally known as spalting.  There are unlimited colours and figure formation within Acacia timbers after the spalting process as began, this indeed starts well before the tree/shrub dies, accelerating dramatically when wood become in contact with the soil, very much like a sponge, absorbing all the moisture the soil can produce, one of the fundamental requirements for the spalting formation and development!

Now, I always ask people not to judge a whole timber species, from a single piece as small as a pen blank, I don't believe those supplying timber to others, like myself,  will ever deliberately select a unusable/bad piece, for the _"purpose that piece was ordered for"_, an unusable/bad piece to same can be the ideal piece to others, mainly when casting and stabilizing have become and option for so many...!

With this said, and taking in consideration that I was not obviously, the person to supplied that wood to you, does not change the truth and reality of what I just said (above).  I always also recommend and suggest that people just starting turning or with little experience, to avoid buying or using timbers that require a special treatment (hardening, knots, voids, flaws, filling, etc), these type blanks should be kept for latter, when a little experience is behind you.  There are literally thousands of timbers capable of producing "clean" and "easy" blanks, a lot more suitable for practice and learning.

On the other hand, I have had new turners that want to start with the difficult stuff, and be challenged with their improvisation capabilities, there is no such thing as a rule to what one should or not, start with or use, that is very much a personal choice so, don't despair mate, there are a lot of others out there with lots of experience, that blow apart blanks that should have not been blown, some of them of some rarity and expense, after all, is only a pen blank...!:wink:

Send me your address (PM), and I will send you a few of my Acacia blanks, free of charge!:biggrin:

Merry Christmas!

Cheers
George


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## Nolan

Not totally from down under but I sell and have lots of it and it turns fine just not the highesr figured wood as far as pens go. Pretty though for bowls and such. BTW pretty hard but easy enough to turn as its not like a DI burl or anything.



its_virgil said:


> Acacia blackwood: Also known as Australian Blackwood , Tasmanian Blackwood or Black Wattle. Maybe some of our members from down under can shed some light on this wood. I would suppose you just had an unsuitable piece to use.
> Do a good turn daily!
> Don


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## Nickfff

Larry,
You bring up a good question...woods unsuitable for penmaking. While most wood can probably be used here are some that I have found more challenging/painful...

-Snakewood-tends to crack either during turning or even months after
-Ebony-tends to crack either during turning or even months after
-Wenge-seems difficult to apply CA to...
-Some spalted wood if not stabilized seems to be too soft and flakes off when turning/sanding

-Mammoth Ivory-not a wood but I find cracks as well...(probably best for segmenting)

Who else wants to add to the list? : )


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## PenPal

*Original Post Subject*

Tasmanian Blackwood Pen.

Kind regards Peter.


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## KD5NRH

Okay, so who's going to post pics of their stabilized particle board pen just to show it can be done?


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## dontheturner

Wenge?  Send it to me!  I love it.  Just bought more from Ebay!  Made a few clock cases out of it in the UK, before I came here to Thailand.  Takes a superb polish. dontheturner


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## Rmartin

Interesting. I bought some Blackwood awhile back in an order of Aussie burls. The burls were outstanding, but the Blackwood looked like something that would be thrown in as freebies so I set it aside. Now I'm going to have a go and see what it's all about.


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## robutacion

KD5NRH said:


> Okay, so who's going to post pics of their stabilized particle board pen just to show it can be done?



Have you seen lately what some guys are making pens from? particle board compared with some stuff I've seen here, wouldn't even score for the first 20 "mad" made blanks that end-up making absolutely stunning pens...!:wink:

I never though that people would would even consider to put some of the stuff they put into a resin cast or a stabilizing pot but, I've seen it here like so many others and that makes me wonder, what else people will come up with...?? well, he wait and see, huh?:biggrin:

Cheers
George


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## Rifleman1776

I have turned Acacia Blackwood (it was labeled 'Black Acacia' when I got it, it is not black) without difficulty. As stated, you can get a bad piece of any kind of wood now and then. Do test and examine. Some woods really want stabilizing before working.


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## jasontg99

KD5NRH said:


> Okay, so who's going to post pics of their stabilized particle board pen just to show it can be done?


 
    Guess you haven't seen Mesquiteman's laminated strand lumber pens?  http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54738


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## KD5NRH

jasontg99 said:


> Guess you haven't seen Mesquiteman's laminated strand lumber pens?  http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54738



Comparing LSL to typical cheap particle board is like comparing carbon fiber to charcoal briquettes.  

C'mon, let's see some WalMart bookshelves turned into works of art :tongue:


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