iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

medium bowl blanks

Started by woeboy, June 14, 2010, 09:12:52 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

woeboy

hi all,

Over the weekend I had a customer contact me and tell me he wanted a few 12"x 12" x 4" medium bowl blanks, so today i sawed it up and sent him some pics of 2 to make see how many he wanted and to show him what they were looking like and sure enough................ Now he doesnt want them, no reason or anything, so I got to thinkin maybe something's not right with them. I am completely new to this so its off to you pros :P,
I sealed the ends with anchorseal and was asking $10 per. ( too expensive????)

thanks for any advice or criticisms  :) smiley_sun  :)

the first one











the second one











MP_Wall

As a sometimes turner, I can tell you that it would be better if the pith not be left in a bowl blank. The wood looks awesome, it is just that the pith will have to be turned away and that leaves you very little size left for a bowl. If you leave the pith in it will split as it dries or often will cause the bowl to shift from round to wavy.   MPW

woeboy

would i want to keep the pith out of general turning stock also?

thank you :P

metalspinner

Yep.  The pith cannot be in the blank.  The wood is very pretty and $10 is a fair price for a blank that size without the pith and the first few rings around it.  Sealing the ends is a nice touch.  You can still salvage 4" from each side of the blank to market as "vase" blanks or something.





What kind of wood is that?  Anytime the wood is spalted and still solid, you should not have any problem selling it to woodturners.  Lately, I have been turning natural edge bowls.  These would be from the first slab taken from the log only thicker than normal.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

low_48

I agree with the others, no pith. Also , most do not want knots. When turning green and letting the bowl dry, it will warp and crack around these "defects". Most turners also want balance in the blank, say, have the same amount of sapwood on both sides of the blank, growth rings balance across the center, etc.... Even if the turner is not going to turn green, the pith, knots, reaction wood, etc... will cause the blank to crack while sitting around waiting to turn.

bck

I wouldnt be interested in a blank with the pith either. I also wouldnt be interested in a blank with the splits like I see in what I think was the 7th picture down.  Not even for free.  Now a spalted blank with no pith or splits could be worth twice what you wanted for those.

jim king

You just got unlucky and found a buyer that does not know the beauty of pith and spalt when turned.    Turners are a difficult group.  Some like your customer want only clear solid wood, some want only with pith or holes in the blank.

The less experience a turner has normally they will not try anything that looks unusual and only want perfect wood.  The guys who sell to galleries and collectors want the holes , stain, pith and what ever else as what would be a defect for a normal or beginner turner.

Defects and holes are worth money in turned pieces, the more defects and holes in the turned piece the higher the value.   I have produced hundreds of thousands of blanks and have seen buyers of all types and levels.  It is an unusual group but the market is growing fast.

It takes talent to turn wood with defects and much less so for perfect wood.  For the wood in the photos you are selling it to cheap.




low_48

Jim,
i would say that the market, or product will dictate the blank wanted instead of a turner's experience or skill. If I'm turning functional bowls that will hold food, I wouldn't come close to wanting the blanks shown. Putting salad dressing on spalted wood is not my idea of an appetite booster. If I'm looking for more "artistic" work, then I will consider the unusual. The turner must also consider the safety aspect of turning wood with defects. Just spinning a split blank, at any speed, could result in a really bad accident. Personally, I value my head too much to turn split blanks, and I've been turning for 25 years.

ladnerlogging

I've sold a lot of blanks- bowl and other with the pith still in them. I have turned them too. I think that with your guy, he was probably seeing the cracks started and the knots. Don't try to turn cracked wood, or wood with bark seams- learned that the hard and painful way on a chunk of ERC. >:(

Thank You Sponsors!