graman 2 Posted June 6, 2011 Burl can be a complete bastard to turn.....it's very dense, brittle and hard....it is unforgiving and one small mistake can mean another blank relegated to the kindling bag. I tend to sand the corners off a burl, before I start turning, just so that it's not getting a shock through it as you begin to turn. After a few minutes on the lathe, it looks balanced... However, sometimes, a tiny catch can appear... where the chisel may grab on a burl knot.... You don't know when this will happen, and it can happen at any time. You can see, the chisel bit on the edge... This is dangerous.........and ends up looking like this when it begins to tear off the tube. In 2 seconds, it looks like this...... Then...write off both blanks, as they have to grain match, and start again. More success comes from Sanding burls, more than turning. Repairable you ask? you can, but you can see the lines in the blank, and it looks crappy. So, I start again. Hope this has been a welcome diversion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 57 Posted June 6, 2011 Oh man, that really sucks mate........ makes the price of these look even better Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nisv 0 Posted June 6, 2011 Thanks, a little inside workshop report, interesting Keep it coming Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
graman 2 Posted June 6, 2011 oops Exactly....you need to allow for the odd one of these....predominantly Coolabah, Mallee root and Black Palm... This happens as a matter of course....I'm learning how to avoid it... :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seclark007 11 Posted June 6, 2011 Wha, wah.....epic fail brother! Good news is that you're so fucking good at what you do that this is a minor setback! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David543 0 Posted June 6, 2011 Bad luck mate. If there was a 'sad trombone' smiley I would use it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
graman 2 Posted June 6, 2011 Cheers mate..yep...all minor...no biggie...good reason to wear safety glasses though..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted June 6, 2011 I've been there - my former company used to produce an audio amplifier that had a hand-engraved front panel (choice of woods) + fairly elaborately-shaped hand-turned control knobs. We had rather a lot of those sorts of incidents - which were generally referred to as "embuggerances." As in: "how's that amp casing coming together for Mr. xxx?" "Oh, the panel's fine, but the first two knobs are completely embuggeranced. Gotta do 'em again." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
graman 2 Posted June 6, 2011 Cheers guys, for the comments....the idea of this thread is to demonstrate really, how hard burl woods are...especially coolabah........and how unforgiving they can be.....no biggie.....I have a few per week!... It just teaches me a better chisel technique! I've been there - my former company used to produce an audio amplifier that had a hand-engraved front panel (choice of woods) + fairly elaborately-shaped hand-turned control knobs. We had rather a lot of those sorts of incidents - which were generally referred to as "embuggerances." As in: "how's that amp casing coming together for Mr. xxx?" "Oh, the panel's fine, but the first two knobs are completely embuggeranced. Gotta do 'em again." I like that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aren 27 Posted June 25, 2011 That looks awful. Perhaps one day you will take some photos of your lovely pen projects so we can see the magic. These beautiful pens don't just happen. Catweazle has nothing on Graman. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
