Stabilized Wood Knife Handle blocks at Woodstabilizer.com

Wood Stabilizer has just added another 70 plus knife handle blanks to their Stabilized Wood store.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll find there.

 

Stabilized Wood

After months of extensive research, Mike and Christina from Vedder Mountain Hardwoods will now be offering Acrylic Stabilized Wood

Their stabilizing system setup is being overseen by a worldwide leader in acrylics and is being tested by one of their senior technical engineers to ensure they are providing the best acrylic stabilized wood product possible.

Stabilized wood is resistant to uv light, moisture, temperature and humidity changes, it won’t shrink, swell or crack, the grain won’t lift and the finish won’t wear off.  Finishing stabilized wood is easy… all you have to do is polish and buff it to bring out a lustrous shine.

This wood is  suitable for knife handles, knife scales, pistol grips, pen turning, pool cues, reel seats and butts and a number of other applications.

Check out their new site at www.woodstabilizer.com

 

Show Your Wood Woodworking Forum

A while back we blogged about A new woodworking community call Show your Wood.  The site now has a woodworkers forum where you can have your say about anything wood related.  There’s even an area for trading wood and selling your tools.  If you’re into woodworking of any sort, it’s worth checking out.

 

SHOW YOUR WOOD! Free Woodworking Community

If you’re looking for a place to showcase your woodworking talents, check out Show Your Wood! It’s a free community woodworking site where you can ask questions, share ideas and techniques and connect with other wood workers.

You no longer have to be a computer pro to have your own website or blog.  Show Your Wood! makes it easy with their video tutorials and they also have over 100 design themes to choose from.  So, what are you waiting for? Get Your Free Blog Now! and join this growing woodworking community.

 

Alder Guitar Body Blanks – Great sound

Alder is a standard body wood for solid body guitars and and basses, and is one of the most popular because of its light weight, balanced tonal response and good resonance. It is the most common body wood used by Fender and is found in most stratocasters. While Alder is known for great Blues and Rock tones, it is very flexible, making for a very adaptable guitar that can fit most musical styles.

The guitar in this video has an alder body that exudes warm, midrange tones while the quilted maple top not only looks great but adds some bright articulation. The perfect balance!

If you’re in the market for a great quality alder guitar body blank, check out Vedder Mountain Hardwoods. They have a good supply in stock of both one piece blanks for $65.00 and two piece blanks for $45.00 to $55.00.

This video gives you a really good example of the sound you can expect from an alder body. Enjoy!

 

Mini Wood Lathe for $99

If you’re looking for an affordable mini lathe for turning pens or bottle stoppers, I came across this awesome sale. Rockler has a great little lathe in their clearance center for $99. while supplies last.  I checked out the shipping and it’s pretty reasonable at $11.95 to the USA.    

Wilton 99177 Mini Wood Lathe, Internet Only, While Supplies Last!

Woodworkers of all skill levels will love this compact, capable lathe. It’s perfect for turning a wide variety of smaller projects, including pens, pencils, small bowls, and spindles up to 12” long. Plus, it packs plenty of power (2/5 HP, 2.3 amps) and stows easily anywhere in your shop. Additional #1 Morse Taper available (27050)   Wilton 99177 Mini Wood Lathe, Internet Only, While Supplies Last!

 

Western Red Cedar Guitar Tops

If you’re looking for a quality cedar acoustic guitar top, check out Vedder Mountain Hardwoods . They’ve just listed several really nice sets on their website with good pictures and affordable prices.

Here’s a bit of a preview from their site. Be sure to check it out. It’s full of interesting information on woodworking.

Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) from Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Western Red Cedar has long been used as a soundboard material by classical guitar makers for its vibrance and clarity of sound. It’s extremely light weight compared to spruce, and the tonal result is a slightly louder, more open response. An interesting characteristic of Red Cedar is that it sounds broken in, even when it’s new.

When looking to purchase a soundboard for your acoustic guitar, here are a few terms you should be familiar with.

The first is RUNOUT. Runout refers to the fact that the orientation of the wood fiber over the length of the guitar top is not running parallel to the edge of the guitar top. It is often caused by a twist to the growth pattern of the tree. When severe, runout causes the wood fibers to be shorter over the length of the guitar top, and over time can weaken the structural integrity of the top. It’s best to avoid purchasing guitar tops with runout.

The second term to be familiar with is Grain Orientation. Your acoustic guitar tops should be quarter sawn to no more than 12 to 15 degrees off perfect quarter. The grain should be straight and run parallel to the edges of the guitar top.

There are many reasons to select a perfectly quarter sawn acoustic guitar top. Here’s a few of them…

Perfectly quarter sawn wood is generally stiffer, stronger and more resilient which helps maintain the structural integrity of the guitar. It’s the stiffness of the wood that makes the instrument less likely to deform under the pressure exerted from the strings.
It’s said that because of its stiffness, perfectly quarter sawn wood tends to have a crisper more responsive tone.
The appearance of quarter sawn wood is also very important. When a top is perfectly quartered it will reveal the medullar rays that run at right angles to the grain (which is often called silking) and have a luminous, reflective quality to their appearance.

I’ve also captured a picture of one of the sets

 

Turning a Honey Dipper – Video

This is a great 5 star video showing you how to turn a honey dipper.

 

Pen Turning Kits

WOODCRAFT PEN TURNING SUPPLIES

click the pictures for more information

 

Wall Street II Pen Kit

The sleek, smooth and refined lines of this pen, and the distinct feel in your hand, are sure to make it winner. Utilizing the same single tube construction as the original Wall Street Pen, this new generation features the easiest assembly of any pen kit we offer.

 

 

• Nib/nib holder, center ring and the top finial/clip are both pre-assembled
• Simply turn the body, press in the top finial/clip assembly, screw the ink refill mechanism on the nib assembly, push the two halves together and the pen is finished
• Available in either standard 24K gold or long wearing Woodcraft 24K gold/titanium finish
• Requires a pen mandrel, 5/8″ x 5/8″ x 3-1/8″ blank, 27/64″ drill bit and bushing set

 

Artist’s Pencil Kit

 

This unique pencil kit is equally at home in the shop or an artist’s sketch kit. The single tube kit is extremely easy to turn and produces an attractive, different, and very functional pencil. The extra thick (5.66mm, about 7/32″ D x 3-1/8″L) HB round lead resists breaking and is held firmly in place by a four jaw collet at the bottom of the pencil mechanism. Just push on the spring loaded top of the pencil and the collet opens so you can advance or retract the lead to the desired length.

 

• The top, when unscrewed from the pencil, features an internal sharpener to renew the point.
• When combined with the 4B soft lead, any artist would love to add this pencil to their sketch kit.
• Requires a 5/8″ x 5/8″ x 3-1/2″ blank, pen mandrel, 15/32″ bit and artist’s pencil bushings that are listed below and on left under You Might Also Like.
• Standard gold finish.

 

European Style Pen Kit

 

Overcome the difficulties of making a traditional European style pen by using the same single twist mechanism and 7mm boring process as our regular pen kits.        

 

 

• Standard or Woodcraft Gold finish has a gold plated or black button cap
• Each satin finish has a matching cap that eliminates the difficulties involved in turning a wooden “button” cap
• Uses 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 5″ blank and requires a 7mm brad point drill bit, mandrel and European style pen bushing

 

Click Ballpoint Pen and Pencil Kit

The time tested push-button ballpoint pen is probably in more pockets than any other style pen. Now you can turn your own beautiful wooden ballpoint pens and matching pencils to replace those ugly plastic ones. Easily turned with straight sides, or can be profiled to create custom looks. Standard Gold finish. Both kits require a 5/8″ x 5/8″ x 4″ blank, Letter “O” pen maker’s bit, mandrel, and Click Pen Bushings.

 

 

Classic American Style Screw Cap Fountain and Rollerball Pens

At last, classic American style pens with a cap that screws on and off! No more fussing with the delicate adjustments necessary for the perfect fit on “snap” style fountain and rollerball pen kits. These kits use threaded, press fit components, so your cap “screws on” to protect the pen mechanism when not in use. With the exception of the screw cap, these pens are identical to our regular classic American style pens. Now these classically styled pens can be made even more eye-catching with the addition of spider web filigrees.

 

• Naturally beautiful spider web pattern compliments the lines of the classic American style screw cap pens and makes them even more distinctive
• Requires a 5/8″ x 5/8″ x 5″ blank, pen mandrel, 3/8″ pen maker’s or brad point bit and American Fountain/Rollerball bushings

 

Assortment of Western Big Leaf Maple Burl, Spalted and Curly Maple

 

Pen Blanks are available at Vedder Mountain Hardwoods for as little as $19.99 for a set of 20 assorted Maple Burl, Curly Maple and Spalted Maple.
 

 

 

Click here for more Pen Turning Supplies

 

Robert Sorby Sandmaster Tool – Great Gift Idea

This is a great gift idea for those hard to buy for woodturners  All joking aside, this tool allows you to sand those hard to reach spots without leaving any unsightly sanding tracks. The Sandmaster can also be used to apply oil or wax to your turning and will produce a quality professional finish.

The following video is from Robert Sorby and gives a complete demonstration of the sanding and finishing process using the Sandmaster.

Sorby Sandmaster
An extremely handy addition to any turner’s armory, the Sandmaster is used in conjunction with a lathe to put a fine finish on turned pieces. It eliminates the unsightly lines often associated with traditional hand sanding.   Sorby Sandmaster

 

The Sandmaster comes complete with a Velcro covered 2″ sponge pad which allows for the easy changing of abrasive discs. The aluminum oxide discs come in a variety of grits – from 60 – 400.

The adjustable head lets you reach even the most difficult areas. As an option for your larger turnings, a 3″ head and sanding discs are also available for greater efficiency.

The Sandmaster becomes an even more versatile tool when the head is removed and replaced by a pigtail mandrel and bowl mop. Made of fine grade cotton these mops are ideal for applying oils or buffing waxes to produce a professional finish.

Sandmaster Customer Reviews

1) Submitted by Jon, from Endicott, NY on 1/16/2008
Customer Rating:
I had my doubts when I ordered this but it’s cut my sanding time by at least 75% with better results … Works great …
IMHO the biggest drawback is the limited quantity of sandpaper you get with your order.

2) Submitted by Jack, from Travis AFB, CA on 2/24/2007
Works geat, gets in to small areas, and with the variety of sandpaper takes the wood down to a ultra smooth finish. Handle could be a bit longer.