Spalted Magnolia

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bitshird

bitshird

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Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Messages
10,236
Location
Adamsville, TN, USA.
I just got several pieces of spalted magnolia, I know it's soft, but living in the proper side of the Mason Dixon line, I think the pens should sell well, only problem is my pathetic little bandsaw won't cut them, they are about 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and a 9 inch saw won't get it, maybe I can go to school and use the powermatic 14 in metal band saw, unfortunatly it has no fence, ow well there's always my 20 in Stiel, amy body in their right mind ever make a pen out of magnolia?
I know cottonwood works, Guts gave me some and it made some nice pens, can Magnolia be much softer? should I try and stabilize it in minwax hardner? Some body help me
 
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I have not seen any pens from magnolia.

However, one of local turners showed me some bowls turned from spalted magnolia. The colors were stunning.
 
Originally posted by bitshird

. . . any body in their right mind ever make a pen out of magnolia?
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I've made quite a few pens from magnolia. It cuts well with a sharp skew, but can tend to tear out a little. I usually leave it a little proud of the bushings and CAREFULLY sand to final shape. I say carefully because I have had troubles with keeping black sanding dust from getting trapped in the grain of the wood. My best success has been to seal with thin CA right after you finish tooling, then between each grit of sand paper afterward until you get over 400 grit.

Here's a Baron I made from angle-cut southern magnolia:

magnolia%20baron-open.jpg
 
Originally posted by jthompson1995

I have had troubles with keeping black sanding dust from getting trapped in the grain of the wood.
Click to expand...


Here's an easy solution to your problem: Cut pieces of plexiglass (or lexan or whatever) into 1" squares---- 1/8" thick plexi works great. Drill a hole in the square so that it will fit over the bushing step (ie, it will go between the bushing and the end of your blank).

When turning, turn down the plexi as well. Use calipers to make sure your blank ends are actually the right size since they aren't touching the bushing anymore.

Keep the sandpaper on the edge of the plexi--- this provides a nice, colorless buffer between the metal and wood.

Also do not use black sandpaper, stick to the lighter color stuff.
 
Matt, that plexi idea sounds great, I use the yellow 3M sand paper any way, but the problems usually come from dragging sanded bushings onto holly or real light colored or colorless wood.
Now all I have to do is figure a way to cut it into blanks, or pieces I can get into my pathetic excuse for a band saw.
 
Hey Ken, I'm also on the proper side of the line. I've turned Magnolia quite a few times for bowls and open vessels. But, I never gotten around to using it for a pen. I love finding a piece that has the purple spalt lines running through it. From my experience, Magnolia pieces can be turned really thin.
 
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