Sourcing wood

[cisamcgu]

Dear all,

How does one go about finding wood that isn't pen blanks or bowl blanks ? In the current(?) issue of "Woodturning" (#369) there is a Mushroom money box project that requires a block of cherry 11cm x 11cm x 20cm, and another 4cm x 4cm x 11cm - where would one go about sourcing such blanks ? I cannot find anywhere that would sell such sizes.

Thanks
Andrew

 

[Lazurus]

Local saw mill or tree surgeon if you don't have ability to mill your self.

 

[Jameshow]

Spalted ash any good?

 

[cisamcgu]

Thank you for your replies,

I have a band saw, I can cut it to size, it just getting hold of it. I have some wood from some tree felling, oak and sycamore, but that is going to take a year or more to dry - I am looking to find where to get some already dried and usable.

Ash would be fine, it is not specifically cherry that I am looking for, but rather finding pieces that are not for either bowls or pens

 

[Suffolkboy]

.

 

[Suffolkboy]

https://www.pbhardwoods.co.uk/product-category/cherry/
Have you tried ringing these guys?

 

[Suffolkboy]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234532749569?hash=item369b3dc101:g:THwAAOSwfgZibQ1g
Or could you laminate?

 

[Jameshow]

Thank you for your replies,

I have a band saw, I can cut it to size, it just getting hold of it. I have some wood from some tree felling, oak and sycamore, but that is going to take a year or more to dry - I am looking to find where to get some already dried and usable.

Ash would be fine, it is not specifically cherry that I am looking for, but rather finding pieces that are not for either bowls or pens

I may be in Preston end of the week / next week if you have a car?

 

[Ttrees]

Guessing you have tried using a few keywords like air dried, wood turning blanks, milling services into say gumtree or the likes.
Alternatively some local tree surgeons would likely have a number for you.
I stumble across these kinda ads looking in the tools sections.

 

[Stigmorgan]

At those sizes could you not use your bandsaw to resize something like a fence post?

 

[Andy]

I have loads of offcuts, including cherry, that I have no use for but cannot bear to throw away. I must have some in the sizes you are looking for - if you can pay the postage you can have them.

 

[cisamcgu]

I may be in Preston end of the week / next week if you have a car?

Thank you for the kind offer, but getting to Preston would prove difficult - but thank you !

 

[Richard_C]

Sounds like what you need is a spindle blank. Grain runs parallel to the lathe bed not at 90 degrees like a bowl blank, is that what the design requires?

Most are listed in imperial, 4 inches is a little over 10 cm, so a 4x4 spindle 8 inches long would probably do it, you would need 2, or one that is 16 inches and cut it. For the 4cm one you could Bandsaw it and still have a 2.5 inch blank to use for something else.

4 inch spindles are rare, most go up to 3 inch. I've seen 4 inch in sycamore and Ash. Try stiles and bates or Snainton Woodworking and ask. Plenty of others out there. You may even find 4. 5 or 5 in some woods. Main thing though, search for 4 inch spindle blanks not 11x11 or 10x10, suppliers don't seem to speak metric in their Web adverts.

I don't get the magazine any more, but I think of their designs as sources of ideas rather than definitive plans.

 

[cisamcgu]

Thanks everyone, superb advice as always