# Amboyna Burl...



## WoodLM (Oct 2, 2012)

i have a customer who is looking for me to make a Statesman in an Amboyna burl. i am exited to do this as it will be my first higher end pen, but i am having some trouble sourcing the wood. i was not sure if there were some venders on here that carry it?

thanks in advance!

-Logan


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## reiddog1 (Oct 2, 2012)

Logan,
  I've been most successful getting my amboyna burl on ebay.  Every once in a while some will pop up here in the classifieds.  Good luck.  Hope this helps.

Dave


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## Jim Burr (Oct 2, 2012)

+1 on ebay...but the stuff is just plain expensive. I bought a 12x12x2 slab 8 years ago for about $50...worth more than gold now! Charge what it's worth!!


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## keithbyrd (Oct 2, 2012)

I got some from Bear tooth woods a few weeks ago


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## D.Oliver (Oct 2, 2012)

I got some nice amboyna from isaacrapelje a while back. You could see if he still has some. If you only need a blank or two you could also put an wanted add up and I'm sure sombody would have an extra and help you out.


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## Randy Simmons (Oct 2, 2012)

forget flea bay. I order ALL my burls from burl source. Robert is a great guy with GORGEOUS stuff.


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## Charlie_W (Oct 2, 2012)

Check out Barry Gross for very nice Amboyna Burl.

BG Artforms, pen books, turning supplies, acrylic pen blanks, turning kits, pen making supplies, pen turning kits, robert sorby tools, pen turning supplies, barry gross, corian refinishing


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## Boss302 (Oct 2, 2012)

There are two main Amboyna sellers on EBay.  Both have high quality material with quick shipping.  Where ever you buy the stuff, it's going to be expensive.


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## alamocdc (Oct 2, 2012)

Woodturningz usually has it at decent prices. That is where I've gotten all of mine.


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## edstreet (Oct 2, 2012)

The thing to remember when looking at amboyna burl, esp on ebay.  Ask who stabilized it. if it's home brew then dont buy it, period.  I have seen/bought/know ppl who bought many on ebay that was home back yard stabilized and was pure crap.  The backyard process destroys the wood.   So buy it either professionally stabilized or get it raw.  

Some alternative to look at Afzelia burl.


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## Nick (Oct 2, 2012)

One thing to look into is the Cactus Juice system. I have a friend with this system and loves the results.


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## edstreet (Oct 2, 2012)

Nick said:


> One thing to look into is the Cactus Juice system. I have a friend with this system and loves the results.



This results with grossly uneven density across the burl structures.  This is a clear cut case why there are 4+ chemicals used in professional stabilizing and only 1 in cactus juice.


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## dennisg (Oct 2, 2012)

Arizona Silhouette had amboyna in two sizes that was stabilized. I was happy with my purchase from them. Maybe Barry has it now.

Ed, you seem to know just about everything. Lighten up. There are many satisfied users of cactus juice on the forum.


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## edstreet (Oct 2, 2012)

dennisg said:


> Arizona Silhouette had amboyna in two sizes that was stabilized. I was happy with my purchase from them. Maybe Barry has it now.
> 
> Ed, you seem to know just about everything. Lighten up. There are many satisfied users of cactus juice on the forum.



Enough with the personal attacks, that was grossly unwarranted and no I don't know just about everything.

My points still stands.  This burl is super expensive why one would put non-top of the line processing with it is beyond me.  That's like buying a Lamborghini and putting Kumho or General tires on it.  If your going cheap then why buy it in the first place?

Top of the line quality is not dictated by weight of processing but chemical composition and ratio which is best suited and matched for the wood in question.  I am sure there are many satisfied users of General and Kumho tires out there as well.  Problem is they should not be put on every vehicle on the planet, nor are they best suited for them.


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## Boss302 (Oct 2, 2012)

Good, dry Amboyna Burl is as hard as a rock and does not need any type of stabilization.


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## Jim Burr (Oct 2, 2012)

Boss302 said:


> Good, dry Amboyna Burl is as hard as a rock and does not need any type of stabilization.


 
+1!! To avoid the traffic jam...everything I purchased from eBay was great...dry and ready to turn. I wouldn't try to stabilize this stuff nor would I buy any that had been. Dry is fine and Afzelia(spell check) is a great substituite. If I have a spare or two...don't get your hopes up!, I'll send you a couple.


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## WoodLM (Oct 2, 2012)

thanks for all of the info! this is why i love this forum! (plus i even get a little show


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## ghostrider (Oct 2, 2012)

edstreet said:


> dennisg said:
> 
> 
> > Arizona Silhouette had amboyna in two sizes that was stabilized. I was happy with my purchase from them. Maybe Barry has it now.
> ...


On this note, even Curtis has mentioned that his system does not do what a professiol system will do, which is why it doesn't cost thousands of dollars. 

I'm fortunate enough to have a person locally who has stabalized blanks for Queen Cutlery, Spyderco, and Bark River Knives. All the wood I've gotten from him looks great.  I've also gotten good results with my home made, pickle-jar system and either Helmsman's Gloss or Deft Gloss, but it still isn't the same. 

I certainly wouldn't buy any home brew stabilized unless I knew the person and had confidence in his abilities if it was a high dollar piece like Ambonya Burl. My guy can stabalize even Cocobolo or Lignum Vitae, and his Purpleheart looks like I want it too. I haven't tried Cactus Juice yet, but it is on my list.


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## mdm0829 (Oct 2, 2012)

Try Woodturningz.com.  Good product, good prices, and great service.  I just got some.  Very pleased.


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## MesquiteMan (Oct 2, 2012)

Just to be clear here...there are a couple of professional stabilizers using Cactus Juice.  There are also a number of very high end knife makers and large knife companies using Cactus Juice and stabilizing things such as Ebony. A certain detractor on this site has never purchased from me so I am not sure how he can definitively say that Cactus Juice is crap and that home stabilizing is crap.

I have a lot of customers who disagree that Cactus Juice and home stabilizing is crap.  You can read their comments here:  Customer Comments

Now, that said, I see no need to stabilize a lot of woods including Ambonya Burl but that is just me.


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## edstreet (Oct 2, 2012)

Curtis, I have never said "it is crap" what I have said is it is missing many thing like 3+ chemicals that outfits like WSSI uses which are custom blends based on the wood being treated.  I have also replied to your private msg to me but even still there are about 4 msg to you that has gone unanswered.  If you read the prior posts you will clearly see that someone else brought up the juice and this is not even remotely what I was referring to in my initial post.  I have seen first hand some pretty fail home brew results.  Many ruined blocks of amboya burl that was unusable because the process they used was grossly inadequate, ranges from color stains, accelerated rot, decrease in tensile strength, all total some pretty heavy abuse. 

The clear cut case WHY someone *SHOULD* stabilize a very expensive block of wood, i.e. Amboyna, is for dye/stain protection and to strengthen the structure, protection from enviro ill's and provide for a much longer life span.  Even tho the wood is indeed hard and may not need stabilizing like some woods, i.e. buckeye burl/box elder, you will still gain great benefits from doing it.  To not do the process based purely on how hard the wood is is just pure fallacy. Quite simply put you stabilize to protect the investment.


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## MesquiteMan (Oct 2, 2012)

edstreet said:


> I have also replied to your private msg to me but even still there are about 4 msg to you that has gone unanswered.



Not sure what you are talking about.  I just looked back through all of my PMs and see 5 total from you.  Four of the 5 had to do with IAP issues.  One had a question which I answered.  The rest I did not see any question or need for follow up reply.  Sorry if you were expecting a reply and I did not provide one.


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## brownsfn2 (Oct 2, 2012)

I have gotten some great amboyna from Mr. Burls off of this site.  I am not sure if he has a website though.  He has good stuff.  Also someone mentioned burl source.  The have some nice pieces as well.  I do like ebay too because you can see the piece before buying.

On another note...  Every time I hear the words Cactus Juice it makes me think of a cold green refreshing drink.  Sounds like a great drink right?  I am sure drinking a stabilizer would not be refreshing though.


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## ren-lathe (Oct 3, 2012)

I have turned both stabilized some bought that way & some I have done in cactus juice and un-stabilized, Both turn fine  you can be more aggressive with the stabilized is the only advantage.


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## Brooks803 (Oct 3, 2012)

Logan, If you need a piece of amboyna for this 1 pen send me a PM. No need to try and bid up Ebay and get into all this stabilization stuff. It turns beatifully and I've got some leftover from a project I recently did and it'll do a full statesman no prob. Just shoot me a PM if you're interested.


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## ghostrider (Oct 3, 2012)

ren-lathe said:


> I have turned both stabilized some bought that way & some I have done in cactus juice and un-stabilized, Both turn fine  you can be more aggressive with the stabilized is the only advantage.


I agree, and would add to that that my experience is that it also seems to make finishing easier. I don't know if it's actually true, or just my imagination, but of the stabalized blanks I've turned (Either my own home brew, or professional), it seems to be the case.


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## Bigj51 (Oct 3, 2012)

Logan, 

Amboyna is great to work with. If you just need a few pen blanks then I recommend arizonasilhouette.com. He has beautiful pieces. I get mine from islewoods on eBay. Here is the last piece I acquired. 1.375 x 1.375 x 8.5 I can't decide what to make with it.


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## Bigj51 (Oct 3, 2012)

MesquiteMan said:


> Just to be clear here...there are a couple of professional stabilizers using Cactus Juice. There are also a number of very high end knife makers and large knife companies using Cactus Juice and stabilizing things such as Ebony. A certain detractor on this site has never purchased from me so I am not sure how he can definitively say that Cactus Juice is crap and that home stabilizing is crap.
> 
> I have a lot of customers who disagree that Cactus Juice and home stabilizing is crap. You can read their comments here: Customer Comments
> 
> Now, that said, I see no need to stabilize a lot of woods including Ambonya Burl but that is just me.


 
Not to change the subject of what this thread is really for.....

Curtis I can honestly say that I have not had a single piece of wood ruined using your cactus juice. Every piece has come out great, no rotting, no color distortion, no spontaneous combustion, etc. etc.. I have several woodturnes in my area who pay me to stabilize their wood with your product, so the results (if done properly) are obviously desirable. I would like to personally thank you for making this product available to us woodturners. It makes thinks alot easier! I am currently utilizing the 4 gallons you just sent me. :bashful:


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