Prep for African Blackwood for turning?

[johnpipe108]

I've just purchased a 1x1x12-inch African Blackwood blank from Woodcraft, for my Northumbrian bagpipe project. I will be using a 7 inch long piece, and am wondering about preparation. Since there's no way to know what the condition is in regard to seasoning, one thing I wonder is whether I should be patient and lay the blank aside for a while before doing any finish turning?

I do know that the older commercial bagpipe makers used to rough turn their wood to cylinder, bore the length and lay it aside for a time to stabilize before finish-turning (in my case, the finished bore will be 5/32-inch, and the OD of the finished piece over the majority of its length will be 7/16-inch). Of couse, these makers used to buy their wood in the log, when it was still possible to do so, and do their own cutting and seasoning (it's my understanding (from reading on a bagpipe forum) that the country that provides it now forbids exporting logs and insists on exporting only cut pieces) .

I am also wondering if it would be a good policy to cut off one end by an inch or so before cutting to length?

Thanks for any ideas, John

[jimwill48]

If its covered in wax, you can bet its wet/green. Scrape/melt off the wax on the long grain and forget about it for 6 months. If you do anything while its wet/green Blackwood will check. I quess you could try microwave drying.

James

[CarvedTones]

I would cut 2" off one end, an inch at time and then reseal the rest of the blank in case it is still wet while testing. Weigh the 1" cube that is fresh cut on both sides (the "inner" one) on a postage scale. Put it in the oven on around 200 for a few hours and weigh it again.

EDIT - James posted while I was typing and his comment got me thinking; if it is wax sealed all around, you don't need to to take off an extra piece. Just test the very end.

[reprosser]

From what I have read on pipe forums, the wood needs to be really dry for stability. Seems the wood seasons for a year or more for the better quality pipes. Looking forward to hearing about your adventure. I play GHB, and have only toyed with the idea of turning a PC. Turning a full set of pipes would be daunting...but satisfying.

Good luck!

[truckjohn]

X2: If it's covered with Wax... You can pretty well bet it is Green/Wet!

I got a nice chunk of Burmese Blackwood for Guitar bits and pieces from Woodcraft... Much the same story -- covered with Wax, etc...

Cut off a slice.. Planed off the sawmarks... Wow, this stuff is quite ill-behaved... wants to tear out, etc... also feels cool to the touch... Yep, Nice and wet.

I cooked a slice in the oven on "Warm" for about 3-days... no cracks, but it did bow pretty good... It was only ~1/2" thick though.

I will also vote for Scrape most of the wax off the long sides to about 1/2" from the ends and let it sit somewhere it can get good air circulation for a while... 6 months would be good... 1 year would be better.

I think this may be the only benefit of buying directly from "Musical Instrument Wood Suppliers" -- Though hideously expensive... it is usually high quality and mostly ready to work.

Thanks

John