# Goncalo Alves?



## ZanderPommo (Oct 25, 2009)

my dad is a luthier and bought a bunch of Goncalo for fret boards. long story short he wasn't thrilled about the quality (coloration wasn't going to match the quilted maple neck) so he gave them to me 
10 of 'em:biggrin::biggrin:

i usually use this type of thing for overlays in the grip or tips of a longbow (i'm also a novice traditional bowyer) but i decided to laminate them together to make a couple pen blanks. i put a 1/8 sheet of walnut between two sheets of the goncalo with tb3, kinda curious as to how it'll look.

so what do you guys think? is the goncalo a sucky turning wood? should i have high hopes for this blank?

its 2 1/2 in wide at the moment and the glue is drying. I'll try to post pics once its cut and perhaps when its finished, but you'll have to give me a break, as ive been sick as a dog for a week. H1N1 really ain't all the fun its cracked up to be:frown:

Zander


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## JohnU (Oct 25, 2009)

Hi Zander,  Ive turned Goncalo alves with nice success.  The board I have is kind of a cross between jatoba and chechen, just being brown with not much character but it looks good segmenting with contrasting colors.  Looking forward to seeing you pen.


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 25, 2009)

mine looks sort of like a tight grained bronzish maple color with random stripes of light to dark brown running through it with the grain, with some character knots as well


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## JohnU (Oct 25, 2009)

I didnt get that lucky, but I didnt get to pick it out either (bought it on ebay).  Im hoping that somewhere in the large board is some hidden character.  lol


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 25, 2009)

yeah i been there lol
actually my dad got this off ebay as well. im not sure this is bad for goncalo, i think he was just mad b/c it wasn't anything like it was advertised in the pics


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## Chief Hill (Oct 25, 2009)

I still have about 15 blanks. But bought mine by the board foot.  It turned just like everything else.  Not too bad


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 25, 2009)

thanks Chief


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 26, 2009)

blanks are cut to size-whata you guys think?












Zander


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## Munsterlander (Oct 26, 2009)

Looks good to me.  I'm a fan of the wood if I get a piece with interesting color variation / figure - looks like yours fits that bill.  Post the pen pics!


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 26, 2009)

i will when i can, still down w/H1N1 now with the added fun of bronchitis:beat-up:


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## workinforwood (Oct 27, 2009)

I like Goncala Alves.  I think you should have gone with a light wood like maple for the stripe..much more contrasting.


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 28, 2009)

i agree, walnut is what i happened to have on hand


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 28, 2009)

I like it .. turns nicely and takes a polish.

Hit those blanks with a little mineral oil to see how much it pops of flares..


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 28, 2009)

sure, I'll post a pic in a couple minutes


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 28, 2009)




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## ZanderPommo (Oct 28, 2009)

thats with tung oil


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## glycerine (Oct 28, 2009)

I think those will look great!


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 28, 2009)

oh yeah.. those are going to light up like there's batteries in them!


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 28, 2009)

chatoyance

ooooohh yeah, just learned that word


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 28, 2009)

ZanderPommo said:


> chatoyance
> 
> ooooohh yeah, just learned that word



Yep ..and if you use a dewaxed shellac before your topcoat, it will 
make a clear grain filling sealer coat that will enhance the chatoyance
even more. Use it right after the BLO but before your finish..
.. that's my favorite thing to do with woods like that


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 28, 2009)

now i have good old fashioned shellac, will that work? bullseye shellac
oh and i don't have any BLO, i've been using straight CA with accelerant. come to think of it I'm out of accelerant too:crying:


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 28, 2009)

ZanderPommo said:


> now i have good old fashioned shellac, will that work? bullseye shellac



Some say it will, some say dewaxed is better. Some say it won't matter,
and some say 'what are you talking about?''

My own preference is dewaxed, because it is one less thing to factor into
any adhesion failure. The Bullseye is only about 5% wax, but some finishes
don't stick to wax very well. They might not fail right away .. might not fail
at all.
And it might be my imagination, but since I can see the milky color in the
waxed shellac, I (think) I can see a slight dulling of the finish, too. The
dewaxed shellac is optically clear.

But since I have the flakes, I make my own fresh shellac when I need it.
Fresh shellac is a joy to use. it is nothing like what you get out of a can.

Same people who make the Bullseye also make a dewaxed blond shellac
and they call it Zinnser Sealcoat.



ZanderPommo said:


> oh and i don't have any BLO, i've been using straight CA with accelerant. come to think of it I'm out of accelerant too:crying:



BLO you can get at any hardware store .. it's cheap. You could use the
tung (if it's pure tung, not tung finish) but it will take months to dry before
you can put anything else on it.

Straight CA will work fine, too. But what a shame to waste good flare!


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 29, 2009)

alrighty well I'll try to find some BLO and shelac then, thanks


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 29, 2009)

ZanderPommo said:


> alrighty well I'll try to find some BLO and shelac then, thanks



Send me a PM with your address, I'll pop some flakes in the mail. Just
put them in a jar with denatured alcohol and let them melt..


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## alamocdc (Oct 29, 2009)

Goncalo is nice and dense. It turns and polishes quite well. It will likely prive a bit m ore dense than the walnut, so be careful when sanding or you might end up with the walnut lower than the goncalo.


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## ZanderPommo (Oct 29, 2009)

thanks
although that could look kinda cool


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 8, 2009)

Newlondon88:

got that shellac in the mail. looks great!
now i got some questions.
i obviously apply shellac first, maybe after 600 grit? then do i sand it down again?? then BLO (which i have aquired) and then CA??
im hoping to turn this tomorrow. maybe tuesday.  first imma try it on a slim

thank you for all of your help (that goes for everybody, this site is great and full of great talent and great people)


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## NewLondon88 (Nov 8, 2009)

I would sand it smooth, hit it with some BLO and watch it glow. Then apply a few
coats of shellac (it dries fast) and then level it out with 400 or so. Once you have
no low spots ( glossy areas ) you know it's level. Then proceed to your CA/BLO
routine.

If you mess up the shellac, you can take it off with alcohol or acetone. Or you can
even smooth it out with alcohol. 

If you've got some old tee shirts that have been washed a zillion times, those are
great for applying a finish.


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 8, 2009)

great! I'll post pics once it's done


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 11, 2009)

finished and stunning, will try to post pics tomorrow.
thanks newlondon the shellac worked great!


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## NewLondon88 (Nov 12, 2009)

Good deal!  :biggrin:

It's not for everything, but sometimes it just fits the bill..


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 12, 2009)

*pics*

shellac + 8 coats CA/BLO


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 12, 2009)

sorry 'bout the crap pics


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## NewLondon88 (Nov 12, 2009)

LOL .. close-up photos take some practice.  Looks good from what I can see.
There some nice color in those blanks. Good smooth lines..
Let's see more!


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 12, 2009)

lol okay, here's a cocobolo w/CA/blo 10 coats on a satin gold slim






and a blue dyed curly maple w/10 coats of CA/BLO on a 24k gold cigar
its a brighter blue in real life, and the maple was bought from byron, great stuff. i applied the blue just before the CA/BLO (after drying of course)
this pen is for the person who introduced me to this wonderful site, thanks to a fellow trad archer!


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## CSue (Nov 12, 2009)

ZanderPommo said:


> mine looks sort of like a tight grained bronzish maple color with random stripes of light to dark brown running through it with the grain, with some character knots as well


 
Some places consider the Goncalo Alves with the coloring you speak of as "Tigerwood."  (There are a few woods referred to as Tigerwood.)  But the place I get this at does call it "Tigerwood."  I can be a beautifully turned piece.  Its easy to turn and finishes well.  This is an Oblique holder I made with Goncalo Alves.


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 12, 2009)

thats beautiful


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## CSue (Nov 12, 2009)

You've got a beautiful finish on those pens!


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 12, 2009)

thanks!:biggrin:
i try

just a bit aggrivating now that it gets dark at 4:30! i'd like to get in more than one pen a day after school.


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