Maple Burl (fixed) - lessons I learned today
Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 3:58 am
Got a neat looking piece of maple burl from woodcraft the other day, as well as a nice piece of orange osage. The maple burl block had a neat looking grey plateau across an entire edge, really a beautiful piece of wood for $10. Sketched out the pipe I wanted to make, a huge sitting freehand using TONS of plateau. Drilled my holes, everything lined up on the first shot! Off to a great start! took the coping saw to it to remove a couple of large chunks that were in the way... this stuff cuts FAST! Hit it with the belt sander and it's taking shape in record time, I'm loving walnut! start stepping up on the grits, and the scratches from the previous grades disappear with minimal effort/time!
Then I make my first mistake. I had read that the best thing for maple is to just oil it, and try and keep it as natural as possible, but *I* in my infinite wisdom, busted out the fiebing's dye... in YELLOW! Oh dear lord, this is why you don't drink beer in between sanding grades >.< The wood SOAKED it up like it was dieing of thirst, and it stayed ELECTRIC YELLOW and looked like complete booty! So, stepped down to 150 grit to get rid of the stain, and this is where I made my second mistake. I totally didn't think about things like... situational awareness. Like how close to my drilled holes the deep, penetrating, pain in the.. stain reached. Next thing I know, my finger goes THROUGH the side of the pipe! So, I said screw it, and continued to remove the dye and get it to as close to bare wood as I could, it was either that or try and devise an unique and horrible fate for the block of orange osage I have sitting on the workbench.
I'll post some pics tomorrow, and maybe I'll pick up another block of maple burl too. I mean, really; it's a great materiel, carves and sands like a dream, and as long as you're not half drunk, and full durr, you can make a great pipe out of it
Then I make my first mistake. I had read that the best thing for maple is to just oil it, and try and keep it as natural as possible, but *I* in my infinite wisdom, busted out the fiebing's dye... in YELLOW! Oh dear lord, this is why you don't drink beer in between sanding grades >.< The wood SOAKED it up like it was dieing of thirst, and it stayed ELECTRIC YELLOW and looked like complete booty! So, stepped down to 150 grit to get rid of the stain, and this is where I made my second mistake. I totally didn't think about things like... situational awareness. Like how close to my drilled holes the deep, penetrating, pain in the.. stain reached. Next thing I know, my finger goes THROUGH the side of the pipe! So, I said screw it, and continued to remove the dye and get it to as close to bare wood as I could, it was either that or try and devise an unique and horrible fate for the block of orange osage I have sitting on the workbench.
I'll post some pics tomorrow, and maybe I'll pick up another block of maple burl too. I mean, really; it's a great materiel, carves and sands like a dream, and as long as you're not half drunk, and full durr, you can make a great pipe out of it