Turning spalted maple

[don716]

Is there a certian way to turn spalted maple? I've ruined 3 sets of blanks so far.When I get within 1/8" of being done it flies apart.My tools are sharp. I'm thinking it's the wood.Is there something I can do to prevent this?I really want a spalted maple pen to turn out right.
Donny

[Eric Spatt]

If it is similar to the Spalted maple I have.. I use lots of CA ..thin let it saturate and dry ...that helps me. Spalted Maple tends to be soft,punky and weak at the spalted points.... good luck:p

[penmanship]

Yes, I've vaccumed up many spalted maple pens.......................:)

I recently completed one, I drilled it out, then before turning it I stabalized it with CA. Soaked the entire blank. It worked quite well. I have also purchased blanks that were already stabalized. Those worked very well!
When you compete one, post the photo's

[Rick Gibson]

As the others have said lots of thin CA. Haven't done much spalted maple and the few I did turned out ok. I've done lots of spalted box elder and thin CA is the way to go. I turn close pour on the thin CA and take a little more off then more CA. Seems to work ok.

[Daveb]

yep CA is the way to go, i have also tried soaking the blank in wood hardner but CA is more effective

David

[oops99]

Here are a couple of the S/M pens that I have done.
Lots and Lots of thin CA, I even had to fill some voids with Fine coffee grounds. I have to admit that these are two of the most fascinating looking pens I,ve done to date.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s262/oops99_2007/TomsPens053.jpg

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s262/oops99_2007/SpaltedSilverMaple011Shaded.jpg

Any and all comments are welcomed and valued.
Thanks for looking

Tom/oops99

[jack]

very pretty..don't forget to put thin CA inside the blank too..(after drilling) this helps keep it together and not flying off the blank

[Larry in Harrow]

Very nice pens Tom! They almost look like marble. I agree with the others, CA works good on this material. Also like Jack, I run thin CA down the hole in all wood blanks then spread thick CA on the brass when glueing in tubes. This makes brass hard to recover because of the excellent adhesion but brass is cheap.

[penmanship]

Nicely done!

[CipReess]

I have a bunch of spalted maple at least that is what they were sold as that keep falling apart as I turn them. Is there something special I need to do in order to get these to work? I really love the look of the wood but just cant get them to work.

Thanks
Mike

[krenzr]

I have been soaking my blanks after drillining with wood hardener from Minwax. On very delicate wood blanks, once i am close to the final passes, I soak them again and let dry.

It's been working for me and i find it a bit more cost effective method as well.

PS
Love your pens Tom!!

[rhossack]

I'm certainly not an expert when i comes to wood working but I do love spalted wood ... I don't like the blowups, chips and tears that are associated with spalted wood.

I've tried CA (what I normally use for quick turnings) and I buy the cheap card of 8 small tubes for a $1.00 at Walmart in the Auto department right next to my favorite glue for tubes, JB-Kwik. I flood the blank and turn.

I've made a mix out of Plexiglas/Acetone and Plexiglas/MEK and pieces of White insulation foam in Acetone and all these work under vacuum to stabilize the spalted wood.

You can also gets some Minwax wood hardener. I have a friend who turns it down and when it starts to tear he smears it on the blank and goes away for a couple of hours and comes back.

What I'm doing currently and I think works the best besides being the cheapest ... is using a mixture of 'White' carpenters glue mixed 50-50 with water and using vacuum to stabilize the wood.

White glue dries clear and does not change the color of the wood and allows me to turn without much if any CA.

2946

Both these pens are spalted apple and done with the 50-50 glue/water mixture.

Pen on left has some minor pits and I made a slurry paste of Tru-Oil and sanded and filled the wood and gives this warm brown tone.

The pen on the right was just slurry paste of CA and the color stayed natural.

[Sawdust]

Right on. White glue and water is one of most over looked solutions in woodworking. It's a great sealer, conditioner, stabilizer, log end grain sealer, and a bunch of other uses. Plus, I ate a ton of it in grade school and still like being around it.:o

[rhossack]

Right on. White glue and water is one of most over looked solutions in woodworking. It's a great sealer, conditioner, stabilizer, log end grain sealer, and a bunch of other uses.
It is at that ...
Plus, I ate a ton of it in grade school and still like being around it.:o
Ed ... sure that wasn't 'paste' you ate? We used to make paste all the time and ate it but not the glue:rolleyes:

[wm460]

Stunning pens Tom.

[wm460]

Right on. White glue and water is one of most over looked solutions in woodworking. It's a great sealer, conditioner, stabilizer, log end grain sealer, and a bunch of other uses. Plus, I ate a ton of it in grade school and still like being around it.:o

White glue and water, Will solve a problem that I have been having, and keep the Robot happy as he will get his pen out of the wood that got, that keeps blowing out on me.

[rhossack]

White glue and water, Will solve a problem that I have been having, and keep the Robot happy as he will get his pen out of the wood that got, that keeps blowing out on me.
Isn't that fun????

I just finished turning a "Red Fir Bark Pen" and I can't count how many times it blew out on me.

There's more coffee grounds in that blank than in my coffee pot :D

[Sawdust Maker]

When you say white wood glue ... do you mean PVA?

[rhossack]

When you say white wood glue ... do you mean PVA?
nick ... letme wrap my foggy brain around this a minute ... PVA????

Here's what I used

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/35/35188006-9e79-4220-8f3a-94a0e6119af4_300.jpg

OHHHHH!!!! the light shines in the darker regions of my gray matter ...

PVA = Polyvinyl acetates ... Yes! Just plain old white glue

[DaveC]

Real eye catchers, Tom. Very nice.

Here are a couple of the S/M pens that I have done.
Lots and Lots of thin CA, I even had to fill some voids with Fine coffee grounds. I have to admit that these are two of the most fascinating looking pens I,ve done to date.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s262/oops99_2007/TomsPens053.jpg

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s262/oops99_2007/SpaltedSilverMaple011Shaded.jpg

Any and all comments are welcomed and valued.
Thanks for looking

Tom/oops99

[Oeistein Jensen]

Beautiful pens Tom.

[Bellsy]

Great looking pens Tom.

Use the sharp Skew.....and not a miniature one either.

Mr. Dave