Woods...

han

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello,

I'm looking for small (decent carving) woods for a hair pin project.
There are small pen blanks on Ebay that look good but too short.
And online suppliers seem to sell only in large quantities.

Here's a sketch of what i had in mind:

hairstick.jpg


There are so many beautiful woods to choose from. I really like amboyna
and from what i've gathered it does make for good carving.

I'm looking for pieces approximately 1"x1"x7" long and/or 1"x1.5"x7" long.

If anyone has small pieces that i can buy or have suggestions
as to where can get them, i'd appreciate it.

Regards,

Han
 
Han, Looking at your design and the sizes that you gave I really don't think that Amboyna will work. How thin will the wood be? How flexible will it have to be? Do you have any pics of hair clips that you've made to give us an idea of what you need?
 
denkelcustomcue,

The overall width would be no more than 1/8 inch. And it doesn't
have to be very stiff but still strong. I've made one about 2 years ago for my sister.
It's a seven inch samurai sword that i whittled.

I've tried making one out of purple heart but it chipped too easily.
Probably should have used a different approach.

For the designs above, i was thinking of using a bandsaw to rough cut
the shape then work it down with various grades of sandpaper.
The piece will be relatively flat with some thicker areas (kinda like the sword).

There are other designs i have in mind that should be "easier" to deal with.
But all fall within a 1"x1.5"x7" frame.

Some pics:
pin1alr.jpg

pin1lr.jpg

pin1blr.jpg
 
Last edited:
Amboyna is like Snake Wood, Not Cheap. Google All Righteous Woods
They have a wide varity of woods and decent prices. They are friendly and good to work with. I have bought from them before.
 
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,250&p=43217

Lee Valley Tools sell project wood that may fit your needs, look at the pen blanks which may be the best dimensional fit. Lee Valley is one of the best companies going, I can pretty much guarantee a satisfactory experience with them. And I'm not just saying this because Mr. Lee is originally from Saskatoon ! Read the About Us page on their website for more details.

Dave, in Saskatoon, where we just got a Lee Valley store, YAHOO !

PS the URL leads you into $US pricing.
 
go to eBay and type in whatever named wood you want,,,,somebody will have any size and quantity that you may desire,,,,if you don't readily see what you want, click on 'see seller's other items',,,might be there. jflan
 
han said:
Hello,

I'm looking for small (decent carving) woods for a hair pin project.
There are small pen blanks on Ebay that look good but too short.
And online suppliers seem to sell only in large quantities.

Here's a sketch of what i had in mind:

hairstick.jpg


There are so many beautiful woods to choose from. I really like amboyna
and from what i've gathered it does make for good carving.

I'm looking for pieces approximately 1"x1"x7" long and/or 1"x1.5"x7" long.

If anyone has small pieces that i can buy or have suggestions
as to where can get them, i'd appreciate it.

Regards,

Han

Han.........
Take a Saturday and drive to this place.........Call first....but I believe they have no minimum purchases. You can spend a day and a half going through their warehouse looking at wood.
Good Luck........
Dave
http://www.anexotichardwood.com/
 
Wow, thanks for responses. Looks like i need to make some phone calls.
And i am bidding on some pen blanks on Ebay.

I work on Saturdays (and every other Sunday). One hair pin will
take me roughly 2 months to complete! But she's worth it... :)

Again, thank you all for the info.
 
If pen blanks are what you need, then I aggree. Ebay has many pen lots running at any given time. I see variety packs all the time, with many types of woods in them, and wish I had more use for them myself. You could probably even get 50-100 at a time if you really wanted. Good luck, Nice looking designs you have there.

Greg
 
Wood

There used to be a huge place in Torrance or very close to you. Just check around a little and they have what you want right in your back yard, and you can go and pick the piece you want.
 
Gimme The 8 said:
There used to be a huge place in Torrance or very close to you. Just check around a little and they have what you want right in your back yard, and you can go and pick the piece you want.

http://www.eisenbran.com
1- 800 258 2587

I visit them every year, AFTER I pig out on an In-N-Out Double Double that is. You guys on the left coast don't know how good you got it.
 
Gimme The 8 said:
You dun let the cat outta bag. I just forgot the name. Thanks

I forget the guys name that runs the place, but he usually has a stash of wood in the office that will knock your socks off. That's the first place I head for. His Mother runs the office, he runs the yard, and his Dad travels buying the wood. Real nice people to deal with.

Now if they only sold hamburgers I could get everything done in one stop ;)
 
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