Is this normal?

tdotrob

New User
T.Rob
I picked up a piece of olive wood turning stock on spec a while back. Today I was looking through my wood stockpile and happened to notice a weird pattern on this piece. On closer inspection I realized it has a rather large void that has been filled with pieces of solid wood and resin or wood filler or something. The piece was not marked as stabilized or hybrid or repaired or any other indication of having been operated on. This raised so many questions such as...
  • Is this normal? For any species? For olive wood in particular?
  • If so, is it customary to not mark the wood to indicate it's repaired or hybrid or whatever?
  • If so is it customary to fetch the same price as a natural piece of the same wood?
  • Would you buy this if you spotted it in the store? Would you take it back if it got past you and you discovered it at home?
  • Would you trust this on the lathe?
You can bet I'll be inspecting wood in MUCH more detail before buying in the future. In the meantime I'm trying to decide whether to try to exchange this or just shrug and use it anyway. Assuming the repair is sound, the piece does still have all the character that attracted me to it in the first place, after all.

Here's a long shot of the blank.
olivewoodblank.png


And a close-up.
olivewooddetail.png
 

beloitdavisja

James
Corporate Member
No, not normal. I'm curious, where did you buy it? I would guess it's not cost effective for larger suppliers to inspect each piece and "repair" it like this. Think of the man power & material costs of having to mix & color the resin, pour, wait to cure, etc. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think most wouldn't bother and just sell it as is or chuck it in a discount bin. Hybrid blanks are a bit different, especially since you'll be paying more for it, and they usually want more color contrast between the resin & wood.

Safe to turn? I'd bet yes. But while turning, if you see any cracks the resin didn't get in, flood with CA and proceed with caution.
 

mkepke

Mark
Senior User
Not normal. I’d have a convo with the supplier if this was a recent purchase..they may not realize they are getting this material from their supplier.

-Mark
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
Definitely not the norm. For olive wood the most reliable and honest provider is Mike E., Saad in Jerusalem. He often offers special deals on Facebook.
 

tdotrob

New User
T.Rob
I'm curious, where did you buy it?
Woodcraft. They have monthly specials of 40% ~ 60% off and Olive wood was on sale a while back. I have been known to stock up on wood when it's that heavily discounted. ;-)

I would guess it's not cost effective for larger suppliers to inspect each piece and "repair" it like this.
Exactly my thoughts, and why I thought it was so weird to get a piece like this from Woodcraft.

Safe to turn? I'd bet yes. But while turning, if you see any cracks the resin didn't get in, flood with CA and proceed with caution.
I haven't decided what I'll do with this but yeah, if I turn it I'll stop frequently and check.

For olive wood the most reliable and honest provider...
If I have a particular need for olive wood I may do that. This was just on sale. Thanks!

Looks like a lot of bubbles in the resin. I don't think it would turn out very attractive.
Looks like most of it would turn away, depending on what I might make. Whenever I think I'll keep the piece it is because I'm curious what that will look like. The curiosity may be my downfall. ;-)
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Wrong, in fact a total S#&* job. They could at a minimum inserted a slice in it. I wouldn't do that to junk piece of I got..... wow,.....
..... some people's kids ............
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
I generally do ok with Woodcraft. When Klingspore closed the Charlotte store that left only Woodcraft. That store is across town. (I live in South End) Which means 45 minutes on Independence Blvd. For those of you who have not had enjoyment of traveling on Independence let me just say IT'S PURE HELL! :mad:

Pop
 

beloitdavisja

James
Corporate Member
I generally never get turning stock from Woodcraft unless it's steeply discounted, or they're acrylic pen blanks that were a specific request. Their turning stock is expensive for what it is. Now that you mention it was Woodcraft, I vaguely remember seeing something like this there.

West Penn has a huuuge selection of turning stock. If you haven't been, the entire Matthews Woodcraft store footprint would take up less than half of West Penn's turning stock section. I think they are currently having a 40% off special on Olivewood. When I go, I just look to see what they have on special and stick to that unless I need something specific. You can spend a lot of money very quickly :)

I've also used turningblanks.net and they have great prices, but it is mostly domestic wood if you're looking for exotics. They're based in SC and you can pick up your order if you want (About 2.5 hours from Charlotte), but I've always had it shipped and the shipping wasn't expensive. Their stock rotates a lot, so I'd advise getting on their email list or like their Facebook page for updates - the email list is only updates, maybe 1-2 emails a month, so they're not spamming you. I usually jump in and get flaming box elder whenever it's available, and it goes fast after they announce it.
 

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