Do they post here or does anyone know them or someone who works there?
Joe
Joe
Anyone deal with Griffin Exotic Wood?
- Thread starter snipershot
- Start date
harris cue comp
Banned
griffin
i have been purchasing wood from for 7 plus years and have had no problems.
robert harris
i have been purchasing wood from for 7 plus years and have had no problems.
robert harris
I have purchased from them and everything was just fine. Just watch out because everything is not kiln dried. That's what attics in Georgia are for....
LOL
Kim
Well, i got 4 pieces of curly pyinma from them on January 26th, and they were supposed to be gallery grade, but i didnt think they were. Two days ago, i looked over on the wood rack and saw a dark mark on one piece of it. I grabbed it and couldnt believe the crack that had formed. It goes way down in the wood too, so its pretty much a useless piece of wood. I checked the other three pieces and one of them is cracked also. Ive got a couple thousand dollars worth of wood in my wood rack, and havent seen any of it do this. What happened?
Joe
Joe
Attachments
I bet it was not kiln dried.... maybe it dried too fast in your shop. That is usually what makes wood split like that.
It's winter and the humidity inside a house really goes low. If the humidity gets much below 45% wet wood can dry out too fast.
Did you check the moisture level when you got it?
Kim
No i didnt. Its in my garage, not my house, but its pretty dry out there. Ive bought wet wood before and it hasnt done this though. I wanted to let it acclimate before i turned it round, but i guess i should have turned it round right away and sealed it. The guy at Griffin said it had sat in their warehouse for over a year and didnt crack.
Joe
I have never had a piece of wood split like that. Some does crack or check but not that bad..... I wouldn't blame the company, I just would not buy that wood again unless it was kiln dried.
I try to always buy kiln dried wood but some times I take a bargain on damp wood and dry it in my attic for a few months in the summer.
Kim
Torture!!
Hey Joe-
It looks to me like the wood sat in too dry a place at too high a temperature. That's why it split.
I think keeping damp or wet wood in the garage or other un-temperarure controlled place that gets hot in the summer is a bad idea. You have an example of what happens if you do that: it dries waaaay to fast....and cracks.
Wood that's already "dry" may withstand this; some people feel it's beneficial in fact but, that's simply not how wood drying is done.
Wood likes to dry really slowly. If you get damp wood and hurry it along in your garage or attic you are inviting disaster. Even if it survives this torture without splitting, the outside of the wood will dry too fast and the wood will be case-hardened. This traps stress in the wood which will be released when you turn it...and it will warp.
That's what all the fuss is about with shaft wood: Just being quarter-sawn is not enough. It has to be dried correctly to prevent internal stress from the drying process, otherwise your shafts will curl up like a potato chip.
Just my opinion, but if you do a search on here, you'll find lots to read.
I've bought quite a bit of nice wood from this same dealer with good results, but some was damp and needed to be dried correctly.
Robin
Hey Joe-
It looks to me like the wood sat in too dry a place at too high a temperature. That's why it split.
I think keeping damp or wet wood in the garage or other un-temperarure controlled place that gets hot in the summer is a bad idea. You have an example of what happens if you do that: it dries waaaay to fast....and cracks.
Wood that's already "dry" may withstand this; some people feel it's beneficial in fact but, that's simply not how wood drying is done.
Wood likes to dry really slowly. If you get damp wood and hurry it along in your garage or attic you are inviting disaster. Even if it survives this torture without splitting, the outside of the wood will dry too fast and the wood will be case-hardened. This traps stress in the wood which will be released when you turn it...and it will warp.
That's what all the fuss is about with shaft wood: Just being quarter-sawn is not enough. It has to be dried correctly to prevent internal stress from the drying process, otherwise your shafts will curl up like a potato chip.
Just my opinion, but if you do a search on here, you'll find lots to read.
I've bought quite a bit of nice wood from this same dealer with good results, but some was damp and needed to be dried correctly.
Robin
My garage is, for the most part, temperature controlled. I have two heaters with adjustable thermostats in there that keep it at 68-70 degrees. Considering this wood has only been in my hands for a couple weeks, im guessing that it was just wet. Its hard to believe it sat in a wharehouse in colorado in the thin air for a year and two weeks of indiana weather caused this, but i suppose its possible. Maybe its not their fault, but im still not gonna buy from them again.
Joe
Joe
I dont know what the humidity is, but i know its pretty dry. I have a bowl of water for wet sanding, and it evaporates pretty quick.
Joe
jamesgriffin
New member
Improper wood drying
I can't understand that this person says he'll never buy from Griffin Exotic Wood again. He clearly improperly handled the wood and we have extensive drying instructions (there is a link on every page for "common questions") and the wood was not marked dried? I admit this is one of my frustrations when customers blame the business when they didn't do the right thing. We still haven't lost a single piece like the one he received, not even a check out of 50+, after well over a year on the shelf. I guess a responsible and reasonable customer is what we want, but it is natural to be frustrated when you ruin a nice piece of wood. We go to great lengths to mark all dried pieces and we stand behind that, but all you guys with experience know, even a dry piece could crack when put in a garage with no protection. This just makes me appreciate the good customers more and wish that people like this would give us another try rather then drop us over something of this kind. Anything we can do to make this drying issue more clear on our site, please let us know . . .
I can't understand that this person says he'll never buy from Griffin Exotic Wood again. He clearly improperly handled the wood and we have extensive drying instructions (there is a link on every page for "common questions") and the wood was not marked dried? I admit this is one of my frustrations when customers blame the business when they didn't do the right thing. We still haven't lost a single piece like the one he received, not even a check out of 50+, after well over a year on the shelf. I guess a responsible and reasonable customer is what we want, but it is natural to be frustrated when you ruin a nice piece of wood. We go to great lengths to mark all dried pieces and we stand behind that, but all you guys with experience know, even a dry piece could crack when put in a garage with no protection. This just makes me appreciate the good customers more and wish that people like this would give us another try rather then drop us over something of this kind. Anything we can do to make this drying issue more clear on our site, please let us know . . .
Hi James, nice to see you post here.
Joe-
I've been buying from Griffin Exotic Woods for years and I can honestly say i have NEVER received a bad piece of wood from this guy. The quality has been consistently high. Some has been dry, some not, but it was always accurately labeled.
I would love to buy nothing but kiln-dried wood; I'll bet James would too, but for me at least, life here on earth just isn't like that.
This whole cue building thing...boy, talk about interdisciplinary! Ya have to be knowledgeable in a whole bunch of different fields. An amazing variety, in fact.
News flash!! We ALL have to become expert in all phases of handling wood and one of those is drying the stuff when necessary, and sometimes it IS necessary. That's just part of the game.
I have bought some pretty soggy wood (not from Griffin, though) and I've had two crack that I can recall: one Tulipwood (notoriously unstable) which I tried to hurry, and one Snakewood, which I also tried to hurry (hahahahahahah!!!)
I admit I'm a real OC nit about my wood...but you kind of have to be.
Just putting wood in a non-climate controlled environment, well, I just don't see how you're going to do it.
I think the wood is not the problem, I think it's it's your technique.
That's what it looks like. Damp wood in a dry environment is just not going to be happy.
Robin Snyder
Joe-
I've been buying from Griffin Exotic Woods for years and I can honestly say i have NEVER received a bad piece of wood from this guy. The quality has been consistently high. Some has been dry, some not, but it was always accurately labeled.
I would love to buy nothing but kiln-dried wood; I'll bet James would too, but for me at least, life here on earth just isn't like that.
This whole cue building thing...boy, talk about interdisciplinary! Ya have to be knowledgeable in a whole bunch of different fields. An amazing variety, in fact.
News flash!! We ALL have to become expert in all phases of handling wood and one of those is drying the stuff when necessary, and sometimes it IS necessary. That's just part of the game.
I have bought some pretty soggy wood (not from Griffin, though) and I've had two crack that I can recall: one Tulipwood (notoriously unstable) which I tried to hurry, and one Snakewood, which I also tried to hurry (hahahahahahah!!!)
I admit I'm a real OC nit about my wood...but you kind of have to be.
Just putting wood in a non-climate controlled environment, well, I just don't see how you're going to do it.
I think the wood is not the problem, I think it's it's your technique.
That's what it looks like. Damp wood in a dry environment is just not going to be happy.
Robin Snyder
If you are heating winter time Indiana air up to 68-70 degrees, the humidity in your garage would be almost zero.
its not always the vendor when this happens snipershot (although it can be at times). griffin has been around long enough to know what they are doing. when its winter the humidity is naturally lower, cold air can't hold as much water vapor as in the summer. with 2 heaters in the garage, you are essentially heating dry cold air. warmer air can hold more moisture and its sucking the moisture out of the wood like sponge. i live up in michigan and keep my shop around 55 degr. in the winter, that way the moisture in the wood isn't drawn out of it to quickly. it sucks when a nice piece splits but its responding to the environment its in (just a physics thing). you can still salvage some of it for inlays so its not a total loss. carry on marine (it all part of the learning) and thanks for serving
ha, i see paul got his answer before mine, ya got 2 opinions now snipershot
ha, i see paul got his answer before mine, ya got 2 opinions now snipershot
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My shop is heated to constant 65 degrees. I'm in Mass. and the winters are very dry. The humidity level goes so low, the digital temp/humidity meter in the shop goes blank. It stops displying around 15% or lower. I only keep the already dried wood in there and all other wood is in my basement which is about the same temp, but moisture level is much higher. The high moisture pieces I store lower to the floor and move the drier stuff up higher. Works for me.
Dave
Dave
The reason im not going to buy from you again is because out of the 4 or 5 businesses I buy wood from, you are the only one Ive ever had a problem with. Its simple. Maybe you arent a bad guy, but coming on here and insulting me and then saying I should buy from you again is comical. I will stick with the suppliers I trust and I have good business relationships with. I let all this go and chalked it up to bad luck, but now your first post on AZ is beating a dead horse? Im not sure what you hope to accomplish, but good luck to you in your business, and I truly wish you the best.
Joe
I know what all you guys are saying about the humidity and winter, and I appreciate all the input, but my problem was that Ive got at least $3000 worth of wood in my shop, and the only time, since I started making cues, that Ive had any problem with wood splitting and cracking like this, was what I got from Griffin. Not one other piece has ever reacted that way. The worst thats ever happened was some shaft dowels warped pretty bad. I suppose I could just be super lucky with my other suppliers, but it doesnt matter anyways, Ive been over this deal for a while now, and Im not dwelling on it. And for whoever said they keep their wood in their basement, man, Im glad i didnt do that, my basement flooded friday about 4 feet deep and ruined a bunch of my stuff, possibly including my furnace, washer, dryer, and a ton of other stuff, so my basement isnt an option. lol.
Joe
Joe