Hi all,
As most of you know, I am a chess set restorer and have been having difficulty getting good yellow boxwood for chess repairs.
The problem seems to be that although buxus genus grows well in France and England (and Turkey) It does not seem to be traded as a commercial wood here in the States. As I am from England where I could buy it at will in anything up to 8" logs x 4 ft long this came as something of a shock to me.
However my problems seem to be over due to the wonderful boxwood dowels I just received from Octopus wood works in Turkey. they rage in size from 4" diameter down to about 1 1/2" up to 18" long, just perfect for chess pieces and other small works.
We had a bit of a problem as Octopus tried to export the wood as logs with the bark on which requires a fumigation certificate at the port of entry, (to stop the spread of bark boring insects and the like, this costs an extra $70 and has to accompany the wood and cannot be added later) so the initial shipment was sent back by fisheries and Wildlife. But Octopus rose to the challenge and turned off the bark and sent me another shipment. all this took some time but it was worth it in the end.
The turned logs may be a special order from them but it is worth asking for it.
I will post pictures of my hoard as time permits. my contact there is Muzaffer YELTEKİN who is reasonably good with English (Far better than my Turkish) but do make sure your exact needs are simply put if you decide to get any. The minimum order to get free shipping is 20kilos. Which costs $200 if I remember correctly. I intend to order another 20k if I can get it and may have some select pieces to spare for those who just want to try this Emperor of woods, there really is nothing quite like it.
As an aside, Mountain Laurel (Ivy) is a good local wood for those who wish to get a flavour of turning good forgiving local woods. ( It should cost no more than $1 a foot) It is very nicely figured with radiating lines. It is most commonly used here for rustic furniture but by golly it is a treat to turn, I just made another set of the wine bottle stoppers in ML and Black walnut and I enjoyed it immensely.
As most of you know, I am a chess set restorer and have been having difficulty getting good yellow boxwood for chess repairs.
The problem seems to be that although buxus genus grows well in France and England (and Turkey) It does not seem to be traded as a commercial wood here in the States. As I am from England where I could buy it at will in anything up to 8" logs x 4 ft long this came as something of a shock to me.
However my problems seem to be over due to the wonderful boxwood dowels I just received from Octopus wood works in Turkey. they rage in size from 4" diameter down to about 1 1/2" up to 18" long, just perfect for chess pieces and other small works.
We had a bit of a problem as Octopus tried to export the wood as logs with the bark on which requires a fumigation certificate at the port of entry, (to stop the spread of bark boring insects and the like, this costs an extra $70 and has to accompany the wood and cannot be added later) so the initial shipment was sent back by fisheries and Wildlife. But Octopus rose to the challenge and turned off the bark and sent me another shipment. all this took some time but it was worth it in the end.
The turned logs may be a special order from them but it is worth asking for it.
I will post pictures of my hoard as time permits. my contact there is Muzaffer YELTEKİN who is reasonably good with English (Far better than my Turkish) but do make sure your exact needs are simply put if you decide to get any. The minimum order to get free shipping is 20kilos. Which costs $200 if I remember correctly. I intend to order another 20k if I can get it and may have some select pieces to spare for those who just want to try this Emperor of woods, there really is nothing quite like it.
As an aside, Mountain Laurel (Ivy) is a good local wood for those who wish to get a flavour of turning good forgiving local woods. ( It should cost no more than $1 a foot) It is very nicely figured with radiating lines. It is most commonly used here for rustic furniture but by golly it is a treat to turn, I just made another set of the wine bottle stoppers in ML and Black walnut and I enjoyed it immensely.
