Butt wood

bubsbug

bubsbug

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This past weekend, I turned 10 Cocobolo square blanks to round,1.375. I went back to the local hardwood supply place today to get more to turn round. While there I was talking to the wood person about their exotic woods. They were all coated with wax. Anyways, he made the statement that all of their woods, Exotics, were wet, meaning not kinlin dried. In the back of my head Im thinking, Oh shit, I just turned some this last weekend!! Anyhow, he went on to say that all exotics that have been coated with the wax are most likely Wet? Is this true?? Do I need to be concerned?? Are my Coco?s going to warp?? Currently they are hanging and I haven?t sealed them with Ca glue yet.
 
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Get a moisture meter.
The woods you just turned aren't gonna be cues in years .
Are they gonna warp?
They should in the SHOP.
Seal the ends with wax so moisture desipates from the sides.
 
You can always wax them again like Joey said. But the answer is yes, you should assume exotics, especially if they are waxed, are on the wet side when you get them. Some of the stock I get if I think are on the wet side, I will not touch for 3 years.

I recently turned some highly figured coco squares round (look at the avatar). I have had them in the shop for 2 years. No movement so far, seem to be very stable and ready for a 1st turn.

I had another batch of coco squares I was going to turn that I have had for almost as long. I only turned one, and I did not like the feel and weight of the chips. I won't turn the others from that batch for another year, they just didn't seem ready.

Kelly
 
Few exotics are Kiln dried. They are usually, only air dried for a couple of reasons. Most exotics are harder and denser than most other woods that are used in carpentry such as firs and oaks and such. Although they can be kiln dried it would have to be at a much slower transfer rate. I'm no expert, for sure, but I'm sure they would have to be dried much slower and with lower temperatures. This ties up the kiln for longer periods of time and time is money. Bellforrest, not long ago, advertised some kiln dried Ebony and it's price was about 30 or 40% higher than their air dried. Much of the imported hardwoods are used for general construction such as skids, decking, piers and such. The manufacturers using the higher end stuff, that is used in furniture and such, have the stock backed up so as to rest and stabilize or they have the equipment to dry to their own needs.

Dick
 
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how do you know the time is right to turn exotics? What if the wood supply store had it laying around for two or three years, how would i know if the manager didnt know?? Many varriables here? Are there places to buy sutch wood that is ready to be turned? Bellforest, any others?? I guess exotics are treaded differently than triditional hardwoods, ie..curley maple, birdseye, purpleheart, ect.....because they are allready dry???

Would it then be wise to buy a bunch of theses waxed exotics and let them sit for about 5 years. Will coring help keep them straight??

What would you recomend someone new do to get some usable exotics?
 
Wood Processing

bubsbug said:
how do you know the time is right to turn exotics? What if the wood supply store had it laying around for two or three years, how would i know if the manager didnt know?? Many varriables here? Are there places to buy sutch wood that is ready to be turned? Bellforest, any others?? I guess exotics are treaded differently than triditional hardwoods, ie..curley maple, birdseye, purpleheart, ect.....because they are allready dry???

Would it then be wise to buy a bunch of theses waxed exotics and let them sit for about 5 years. Will coring help keep them straight??

What would you recomend someone new do to get some usable exotics?
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I consider each piece of wood that comes into my shop as "Green". I let it rest for 2 years in air-conditioning before I do anything with it. When I was in the wood business years ago the old timers used to say it must air dry one year to the inch; i. e., a 2 x 6 had to air dry for two years. So I am sure that two years in the air-conditioning works as well. Of course, now I use a moisture meter to make sure it is OK.

You can purchase seasoned wood from me or some other cuemakers provided you are sure they are indeed selling you seasoned wood. The other option is to buy wood from the usual suppliers and do the same thing that I do - wait 2 years before you do anything.

There are some cuemakers who do not season their wood and will argue with you as to the merits of seasoning wood. I still think seasoned wood is best.

I personally don't believe in coring cue. I believe if it must be cored to be stabilized then don't put it in a cue. Lots of cuemakers do core their wood and believe it is fine.

I do not know who told you domestic hardwoods are dry but the truth is that some is dry and some is not. It is best to wait 2 years then you will know for sure.

Good Cuemaking,
 
bubsbug said:
how do you know the time is right to turn exotics?
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See post #2, buy a moisture meter.

bubsbug said:
What if the wood supply store had it laying around for two or three years, how would i know if the manager didnt know??
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You wouldn't, so any length of time you season them in your shop is a bonus.

bubsbug said:
Many varriables here?
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Yes, a lot.

bubsbug said:
Are there places to buy sutch wood that is ready to be turned? Bellforest, any others??
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Maybe, but mostly you take your chances and learn to trust some sources more than others.

bubsbug said:
I guess exotics are treaded differently than triditional hardwoods, ie..curley maple, birdseye, purpleheart, ect.....because they are allready dry???
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I consider purpleheart an exotic. Like Dick said, few exotics are kiln dried. Strive to know whether they are before you buy them, so you know how to deal with them after you take them home. If they are not kiln dried, find out when they were harvested/how long they have air dried. The longer they have laid around in the size you get them, generally the better. I have had wood check badly after 1 week in my shop. They were probably a very recent harvest. After that happens with the same vendor, with the same species more than once or twice, you sort of learn to buy from someone else, or completely wax the wood when you get it from the same source.

bubsbug said:
Would it then be wise to buy a bunch of theses waxed exotics and let them sit for about 5 years.
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Yes. Those pesky variables....length of time will vary depending on who, what, and where.

bubsbug said:
Will coring help keep them straight??
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Wood can move anytime, but wood with a bunch of checks in it isn't very useful, straight or not.

bubsbug said:
What would you recomend someone new do to get some usable exotics?
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Buy seasoned wood, or buy wood and wait for it to season, or both is even better.

Kelly
 
moisture meter, you can find a cheapie on ebay, at least it's better than guessing and wasting money.
 
Dave38 said:
moisture meter, you can find a cheapie on ebay, at least it's better than guessing and wasting money.
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I will get one tomorrow? Next question, What precentage do I need to be at for good wood? Each Wood have a different percentage??

One last question about wax wood. If I bring home waxed wood, how does it dry if it is all sealed up from the Wax?

another question about seasoned wood. Once the wood reaches the humiditiy percentage of the building atmosphere why wait 2 or 3 years the wood isn't going to get any dryer, is it???
 
If the wood has the desired moisture content (ie. 6% for maple and 8-10% for exotics) they are ready to be worked on, correct? I let the wood acclimate to the conditions on my workshop for several weeks before I do my first turn but I don't wait years. I don't see the point in letting the wood rest several more years when they are already dry enough. Buy a moisture meter but don't skimp on the cheap ones because those either give you erroneous readings or are unable to read some exotic hardwoods.
 
bubsbug said:
I will get one tomorrow? Next question, What precentage do I need to be at for good wood? Each Wood have a different percentage??

One last question about wax wood. If I bring home waxed wood, how does it dry if it is all sealed up from the Wax?

another question about seasoned wood. Once the wood reaches the humiditiy percentage of the building atmosphere why wait 2 or 3 years the wood isn't going to get any dryer, is it???
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If it's 8% or lower, great.

It's sealed from the ends only.

Wood shinks and warps. You want it to shrink and warp in your shop. Not as a cue. Dry it to 6-8%. Turn round to around 1 3/8. Let it sit , sit , sit , sit.
When it has sit for a year or two, make a cone.
That is if you even know where the centers of the woods really are.
That's another ballgame.
 
Ok, I went to a supply store again today to get a moisture tester. At $130 bucks I had to decline untill I researched them further. What kind do most cue makers have? While there I saw an 8/4 board, of you guest it, Cocobolo, that was approx 70 inches long by almost 6 inches wide. This place does sell dry exotics. This board had been in the shop for 5 years as with most there. We tested the moisture content and it was 6%. We then cut it in 2-halfs and riped it into squares. On one half we cut it into 1-1/2 squares. The othe half I cut into 1-5/16 squares to get a higher yeild. Do you think that this size will be ok? I have seen some mapel recently here on Az at that size. This made a total of 14 blanks. Each blank was re-tested, again 6% moisture content.

Do you think it is ok to turn round? Im thinking 1-3/8 and mabe 1-3/16!
How long before I turn them a 2nd time. Please don't say a year! Im anxious!!
 
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There are two popular types of moisture meters, pinned and pin less. The pin less doesn't mar the piece of wood which is a plus but the bad aspects are that it only scans to a depth of .500 or less, and it will only work on flat material, not on dowels. The pin type you have to drive the pins into the material and it scans between the pins at their depth. This leaves two pin holes. Now you are usually checking very hard woods that are at least an inch thick and very hard. To get to the center, where the moisture is highest the pins must go in to that depth. With the cheaper, pin type meters the pins are short and it's very difficult to get them to penetrate very deeply into the wood without destroying the meter. I use a Ligomat DX/C meter and kit myself. It has a number of different length pins to go to different depths but the pins are separate from the meter and there is a sliding hammer for driving these pins in. Moisture is determined by the resistance between the tips. Different woods have different rates of resistance. The better meters, Wagner and Ligomat have a number of different settings for different woods. Most of the imported exotic woods aren't listed in the manual but with Ligomat I called and they e-mailed me a complete list of exotics. My meter wasn't cheap (close to 300.00) when I bought it 4 or 5 years ago but it does work pretty good.

Dick
 
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