# blanks



## tripod58 (Jul 6, 2008)

I am looking for soem blanks for turning duck calls. I am new to turning but this is the wood I have already. Walnut, PurpleHear, Osage, Burled Maple, Claro Walnut, Rosewood. Any suggestions would be great.


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## bugman1954 (Apr 1, 2008)

*Turning blanks*

A father and son business that sells on Ebay sells turning blanks. They sell under canebranch36 and hornmountainwoods. There prices are fair and varity is excellent. We share wood. I like the lumber and they like the crotch and burl.


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## dirtclod (May 7, 2008)

I'm guessing you are looking for pieces 1-1/2" to 3" in diameter. Where are you located? There's probably more local exotics around you than you can shake a stick at. Take a walk in your local woods. Study even the common species. Look for unusual forms and growths. Bring along a tree id field guide so you can tell what it is you are bringing home. It's easier to spot the unusual forms in the winter but harder to id the trees. Bring along a small chainsaw and/or a good pruning saw and gather what interest you. There's a lot out there. It can be both an adventure and good learning experience.

This reminds me that Daren teased us with photos of a smoke tree he harvested some small turning blanks from. I wanted to see how the colors came out after drying. He had a blue/gray and a orange/yellow(?) Hey Daren - get it togather! :bangin:


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## tswoodshop (Jan 7, 2009)

How about American Holly (ilex opaca), a creamy white relatively hard homogenious wood. Also consider dogwood, also hard, but more colorful and can have some drop dead beautiful figure. Both are hard to find, but can be harvested locally around here. I have a little of both.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

tripod,

I have quite a few call maker customers. 

*Here's a sample of some wood.*

*Another.*


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

dirtclod said:


> This reminds me that Daren teased us with photos of a smoke tree he harvested some small turning blanks from. I wanted to see how the colors came out after drying. He had a blue/gray and a orange/yellow(?)


Still got it, haven't done anything with it...it's laying in a pile with some other "stuff". I did trip over it the other day though and thought about cutting some out, part of it is small crotches. Some of that stuff is root stock from an unusual juniper. I need to take a picture of the tree (one still standing in the same yard) for ID help. It almost looks like eastern red cedar...but not either, too misshapen like a weird cypress. All I know is the growth rings are so close together it takes a magnifying glass to distinguish them. The cross section (other than the slow growth) looks just like cedar. But the wood is extremely hard ? Anyway these chunks are all twisted and full of figure, as well as the bright colors (red/yellow/pink/white/purple) None of the chunks are very big though, more bottle stopper turning and the like.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Daren said:


> All I know is the growth rings are so close together it takes a magnifying glass to distinguish them.


I remembered after I posted I have a small piece of that "cedar" on my desk I was using as a book mark in a book I am reading. It is only 1/16" thick and would take some real force to break it. In the poor photo what looks like annual rings are not. Like that 1/4" between the black dashes I put on the picture, there are 15-20 rings in that small space.


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## tripod58 (Jul 6, 2008)

I like the box elder and sycamore alot. I will have to get some once I get through buying all my necessities. What about mesquite? 
Also if I cut some pieces off of trees what do I do once I do? How long does it take to dry out. I have unlimited access to pecan and I have a cherry tree I can get som pieces off of and hickory. Sorry for my ignorance in wood harvesting.

Is dogwood good for turning? They are abundant here


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

tripod58 said:


> What about mesquite?
> 
> Also if I cut some pieces off of trees what do I do once I do? How long does it take to dry out.


Mesquite would be cool.

Microwave...you can dry small blanks in the nuker. 30-45 seconds on high, 3-5 minutes out to cool. Repeat several times. You will notice after a couple minutes on the counter to cool it actually gets "hotter" to the touch because you are heating the water molecules _inside_ and not just the surface. You will see water bubbling/steaming from the endgrain at first, then it will lessen. I have done it enough I just kinda know when a piece is dry. But the proper method is use a digital scale that measures in grams and weigh the piece and when it stops losing weight the water is gone.

A few things. One just don't leave it in there to cook, be patient and do the cycle thing even if it seems like it is taking forever on a thick piece, you can literally burn the material, not like fire but close enough to ruin wood fibers. And microwave drying can add stress to the wood and cause case hardening for one thing. Don't put the final dimensioned piece in either, leave it a little long and expect end check. You may not get it, but plan for it anyway.

I think that covers what I know. But it does take some practice with different species because they all dry differently.


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## tripod58 (Jul 6, 2008)

Thanks, my wife is going to love this. Wood in the microwave


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## tswoodshop (Jan 7, 2009)

Daren said:


> ...A few things. One just don't leave it in there to cook, be patient and do the cycle thing even if it seems like it is taking forever on a thick piece, you can literally burn the material, not like fire but close enough to ruin wood fibers...


 Glad to see you added that :thumbsup:

I know somebody (no, it wasn't me this time...) that actually did pop a piece into his microwave, set it on hi for 10 minutes and set back and watched. It caught on fire and he had a terrible smoky mess in his wifes kitchen from which, from her standpoint, he ever recovered.


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