Wood for handles

J

jefptw

Joined
Jun 2, 2006
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I was stateside for nearly a month beginning in the end of July and the first three weeks of August. On a trip with my dad to a piece of property he had recently had logged I noticed a maple stump that had been cut off quite high AND looked like it was well quilted. When I mentioned it to my dad and told him I'd like to cut it off and make blocks to send to HI for handles, he said he knew where there was a short log that the loggers had for some reason not taken, and that I could have that one.

Two days before I left, we went and cut a chunk off the end. I then took it home and attacked it with the chainsaw to cut it into slabs of about 2' thick (thats "real" 2', not 2x4 2". I then used a circular saw, and a WWII khuk to reduce it into blocks of a more mailable size. The cuts with the chainsaw are rough of course, but on some of the places cut with the circular saw and the khuk showed how nice the wood was/is. Not only quilted, but also bird's eye in some places. I had to leave before I could get them mailed, but my brother should get them mailed within the next week.-- If you're reading, Yangdu, do let me know when they arrive.-- I'm really excited to see how the handles look on the khuks. It would probably also make beautiful scales for other knives. Any thoughts?

Pics below. The second is my dad whacking a chunk off the end of the log with his friend Stihl. The first is yours truly trimming ridges off the rough slabs cut with the chainsaw to get it ready for the circular saw.
 

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If you have some sizable chunks, luthiers may be interested in some of that wood too.
 
What about drying the wood? Or has it been sitting around long enough to dry out completely? I won't work with a piece that hasn't been sitting inside my heated shop for at least a year. Bad experiences taught me that. :(
Wasn't Hollowdweller experimenting with stabilizing wood? I vaguely remember something about that. Or was it Dan K?:confused:
Anyway, if it sits around Reno for a while, then gets shipped via freight to Nepal, it will probably be OK. I really like quilted maple. Never seen it with bird's eyes though - but I surely would like to.:D
 
How does one go about stabilizing wood? Or having it stabilized? How much difference does it make?
 
It involves saturating the fibers and the empty spaces between them with a stabile resin using a combination of vacuum and pressure. Not a kitchen table project.:confused: It is supposed to turn wood into a solid, non-porous, inert, stable mass which doesn't absorb moisture, expand or contract with temperature or humidity changes, change dimensions over time, or anything like that which drives people crazy when they try to fit stuff together tight. Like Micarta, or granite. Not like horn and other natural materials...
 
Stabilizing wood is dangerous (vacuum). How long has the wood aged? If it is properly dry then it may not be too bad. None of the HI handles are stabalized anyway.
 
True Andy, but we often have to re-work them to get the wood level with the butt plate metal. Also, stabilizing prevents cracking with humidity changes.

My low-cost, low-tech solution to the problem has been to soak horn handles in olive oil for a few days. It seems to work, I have had no cracking, shrinking or splitting yet - and I've been treating buffalo horn knife handles this way for about 40 years. But, I'm just a beginner. :D
 
We do have to rework them frequently. I soak in Mineral Oil. Making a vacuum is dangerous though. It often goes ary even in big plants where the process is monotored, the vessel is engineered, and the whole process is quality controlled.

When in doubt, jefptw, listen to Brian. If he is a beginner, then I am a zygote.
 
I've been advised to use mineral oil by a martial arts instructor of mine who's tested a ton of different oils. And if he and Bri agree I'm sticking with the mineral oil.
 
Looks like the wood arrived in Nevada. Unless I am mistaken, Yangdu used it in the pictures for Deals for 9/25. Her pictures look better than mine.

James
 
The wood arrived in Reno, thank you James
 
I have added some mineral oil recently to top-off my olive oil jar. I imagine they both do a good job, and mineral oil is certainly less expensive. I don't use the extra-virgin stuff, either:D But this is for horn and antler - not wood. For wood I use TruOil, then Johnson's paste wax.
 
and it was mentioned that guitar makers are always looking for nice quilted maple.

I always wanted a quilted maple bass with a candy apple red clear coating. I could never justify spending 3k on one and doing my day job supporting the kids and jamming to records at night.

I look forward to seeing the handle photos when they are posted :)
 
I would think that a jar that would seal tightly, and withstand the vacuum would be a quart canning jar. I've never seen that particular Minwax product on the shelf anywhere. Is it generally available? :confused:
 
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