What to do with this Desert Ironwood?

Bob Ohlemann

Bob Ohlemann

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Dec 5, 2013
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A couple months ago I picked up a piece of Desert Ironwood burl on Ebay. It is a beautiful piece about 1-1/2 inches square by 24" long and it is all highly figured. Today I dropped by my local sawmill and asked them to check the moisture content. It registered 26 percent and the shop boss said it was likely 30% in the middle. It is currently coated in paraffin wax. Where does the moisture content need to be on this particular wood before using it for scales? If I put it up in my bedroom closet, sitting in a open cardboard box, how long should I expect it to take to get down to a useable level?

Bob


DESERT IRONWOOD 1 by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr


DESERT IRONWOOD 2 by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr
 
With the wax, I would give it 2 years. My self I would cut long pieces ( the length of 3-4 handles) and the thickness of a block plus 1/4 inch (about 1 1/4). strip the wax off and let it dry, you could leave wax or seal the ends. then let it dry about a year
 
I do think there are several very nice knife handles in this piece and truthfully, my knifemaking skills are not at a point where I want to try to use this yet. I was wondering though, if I could put this in my gun safe. I have a de-humidifier in there that keeps the temp at around 85 degrees. Would that be risky or does it make sense to put it in a controlled environment?

Bob
 
would not introduce damp into any gunsafe i have guns in even with a dehumififer.
i keep my wood out in the shop in a dark spot but for you maybe in the house someplace. by the time its ready for you your skills will be ready for it
 
Even though the seller is calling that Desert Ironwood, it is not.
I had seen the same wood on ebay and bought a piece so I could see it in person.
The wood is actually Black Naragusta Burl. (a good wood)
But it will be slow drying. Best to set it aside for at least a year.
As cracks develop fill them with CA glue to limit them spreading.
 
Mark already broke the news....not DI.

Let it dry slowly just like it is for a year and have the lumber yard check again. Keep setting it aside for a year at a time until it is 10% or lower. Then cut it into blocks and let those sit for 6 months before cutting into scales..
 
Burl Source said:
Even though the seller is calling that Desert Ironwood, it is not.
I had seen the same wood on ebay and bought a piece so I could see it in person.
The wood is actually Black Naragusta Burl. (a good wood)
But it will be slow drying. Best to set it aside for at least a year.
As cracks develop fill them with CA glue to limit them spreading.
Click to expand...

Great?...I searched Black Nargusta and found several references to the guy who sold me this being a fraud. Ok, so is this wood usable for scales? Will it need to be stabilized once it dries out? Will using CA on the cracks affect the ability to stabilize the wood? Although it's irritating that I bought something that was misrepresented, it is a really interesting piece. Thanks Mark.

Bob
 
Hey Mark and Stacy,

How can you tell the difference? To my very untrained eyes I couldn't tell. If you could share some points to look for that would be great =)
 
The ironwood is not the only thing he has a reputation for misrepresenting. This guy sells a lot of "Brazilian rosewood" too and if you spend any time reading luthier forums you will see the wood he ships as Brazilian rosewood is not what he says it is. And most people leave + feedback before they find out.
 
Here is some info on Desert Ironwood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olneya
Google Olneya wood and you can read up on it! They look very different.

Put this wood in a cool dry dark place and keep it there until its at 10-12% moisture and then cut it. I don't think you could stabilize B Nargusta if you wanted to? I know you for a fact you can't stabilize Desert Ironwood..
It should make a strong durable handle as is.
 
From what I saw in the photo, it just looked wrong for DI. I know that a lot of e-sales claimed to be DI is not what people say it is. I regularly see "ironwood" ( an unrelated tree species) being sold as desert ironwood, which is more of a bush.
 
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