Where to find and purchase materials, particularly wood, for woodturning projects? A variety of businesses were mentioned as sources so the website link and comments about each place are listed in the notes. Some places in Phoenix will give a discount with a PAW membership card. Check websites for specials to save on costs.
West Penn Hardwoods (https://wphardwoods.com/shipping-info) has exotic hardwoods. Sign up for emails or check the website for specials. An example was a box of random exotics that could be used for bases or finials. Free shipping with $150 purchase.
Woodworkers Source (https://www.woodworkerssource.com/) has veneers, some turning blanks, exotic woods, but costs more than some other places.
Timber Woodworking (https://timberww.com/) has better prices than Woodworkers Source. Both places will cut lumber to a shorter size for your projects as long as the leftover portion meets their guidelines for selling the rest of it.
Free wood: If you live in an HOA, ask about local trimming of the trees. The sound of a chain saw advertises possible free wood. Let people know you’d like wood and many will let you know when some might be available.
Green Valley Wood Products (https://www.gvwp.net/) has kiln dried wood for favorite projects.
Trading wood: Some people would like to trade the wood in their area for some of our local woods (ex. mesquite). Networking at a symposium helps in getting acquainted with others throughout the country. The wood cost would be the cost of shipping the wood for exchange.
Cook Woods ( https://www.cookwoods.com/) has quality wood but at a higher price. Once on their mailing list, specials can help save money. There are a sales category and Tuesday turning specials on their website. Free shipping with $75 purchase.
Pay attention to the weather. During monsoon season in Phoenix, some members harvested logs after a microburst.
Rules for gathering wood from the forest: Any living or standing tree or any dead oak can’t be cut. A firewood permit is required for cutting with conditions described by the permit. Logs on the ground can be taken. If questions, Dan Hall knew those rules.
Wine Glass Bar Sawmill (https://www.wineglassbarsawmill.com/) at 401 S 40th St. near the Phoenix airport rescues wood that would otherwise be sent to a landfill. They have a small sign so look carefully and trust gps…
The Tool Exchange, recently mentioned in an email from Marge, at 6290 AZ-69 in Prescott Valley does have some nice woods including some blanks (koa, for example) for sale. Russ, the owner, has many pen blanks, both wood and resin, pen kits, some tools, and a mini-lathe for sale that he recently purchased from someone who was no longer turning.
Artizan (http://artizanwoodworkerssupply.com/) in Prescott is our only local source of woods. They are more expensive, but shopping there saves on travel to Phoenix and/or shipping costs and they give a 10% discount for PAW members with card. They are willing to order specific sizes and may meet or beat the price at Woodworker’s Source. It was suggested to check Woodworker’s Source’s price first to have an idea of expected value since some people have paid too much for their wood at Artizan. They will cut off a piece if there is enough left to sell the rest of a board.
Got Wood? (https://www.turningblanks.net/) has some bargain woods available. They have bowl blanks listed by sizes and wood types.
Weaver Wood Products (https://www.weaverindustries.com/index.cfm) in Idaho has previously sent down wood on a pallet purchased by members who divided the wood.
One source for veneers was Veneer Supplies (https://www.veneersupplies.com/) but I found other companies also sold veneers while I was putting this list together.
Local arborists were also suggested as wood sources. Morgan will sometimes let you know when he’s cutting. Johnny’s will sell it to you. Kings Tree Care (Micah King) puts sealer on the wood he saves.
The suggestion was made for club members to get together to order palettes or several pieces of wood from a company to minimize shipping charges or to qualify for free shipping.
Other topics:
Ways to preserve wood:
- Gary Frank has wood sealer that the club has purchased and sells it to members for about $14/gallon. Bring your own container. He currently has 5-7 gallons available. Precut the wood in the shape you want to use it, coat the ends and along the open side if cut through the pith. The sealer is water soluble and easy to use.
- Coat the ends of a log, then recoat and apply newpaper, gluing the paper and the log together.
- Pre-turn to 3/4 to 1” (a bowl) and put into a bag with sawdust.
- Soak in denatured alcohol overnight and wrap it in paper to slow dry.
- Elmers glue can be used to seal the ends.
- Avoid using Pentacryl or polyethylene glycol, which replace the water in the wood. However, a member’s experience was that it became moldy and the wood still cracked when it was turned. It was suggested that it could work better if applied to something that had been rough turned first rather than the whole log.
When wax or paraffin is on a blank, scrape off with a cabinet scraper to a thin coat of wax. The wax can turn the shop floor into a slippery ice rink and is difficult to clean. Someone mentioned using a heat gun to melt the wax before scraping.
When there is concern about the wall of a bowl possibly breaking because of imperfections, put a layer of blue painter’s tape on the outside to protect the finish, and then a place a layer of fiberglass strapping tape (available at Walmart or TruValue) on top of the blue tape to hold the piece together while turning.
Based on our last discussion about filling cracks and voids, Ken and Kathy Allen had experimented with various epoxies and CA glue with fillers (sawdust, baking soda mixed with alcohol ink, coffee, bronze filings, and even glitter) to test the penetration of the epoxy and CA when filling cracks. They found in many cases the CA penetrated only a short distance into the crack and the epoxies even shrunk. A member suggested that it might help to layer the filler and CA, but the concern might be seeing those layers in the final product. Another member suggested that, if possible, it would be better to get most of the project finished before filling so there would be less to fill, perhaps only sanding off the final extra amount to finish. Dental picks were used to push the fillers into the wood before applying the CA or epoxy in the test. Bruce Peek suggested using a #11 scalpel blade to push in a filler, but leave a track in the center for the CA to help with penetration, then add to fill in the center. He has used this technique in layers without seeing the layers in the final product.
Starbond CA, particularly the brown or black, wasn’t drying well on some projects and seemed only to dry on the outside layer. Ken will call Starbond to see what might cause the problem (defective batch?). Accelerators can discolor the wood causing problems during finishing.
A shower curtain can be hung near a lathe to keep chips from flying throughout the workshop.
Wet sanding: automotive sand paper was suggested, but Abranet may be better since it’s flexible.
Common resin was used to fill cracks in apricot. Tape was placed along the crack before the resin, which had been mixed with red mica and a small amount of acetone, was poured into the area. (See notes from last discussion group, March 2nd). Warning, again, add the acetone at the beginning of the mixing process and don’t add acetone if the resin feels warm.
For PAW mentors, use the chart on the website to seek out members who can help with segmenting, carving, etc.
Added by Don Milburn after the meeting:
Timber, in Mesa was mentioned as a supplier of lumber.
I will add that they have the best selection of precut, sealed, round and square bowl blanks in the valley.
Two large tables full to select from and two huge bins to dig through.
Just about every type of wood you can imagine and great prices too.
Plus, show your PAW card and get a 10% discount\uD83D\uDE0A
Cheers
Don