Lignum Vitae

[watercrawl]

I got a chunk of lignum vitae that has some very light colored sections to it (heart wood?). Is it as stable as the rest of the piece?

[Mike Stewart]

I have found it to be just as stable and it adds a little Character.

Mike

[watercrawl]

Thanks Mike...I was hoping that would be the case because you're right, it will add some character.

[Don Halter]

I picked up a quarter section off a 8" dia log. Like Mike said, the sapwood is almost as hard as the heartwood and makes for some neat contrast in a handle.

[watercrawl]

I got a heck of a deal on evilbay:

2 - 2.25" x 2.25" x 12" pieces of lignum vitae
2 - 6" x 6" x 2.5" pieces of osage orange

$35.00 shipped. All of the pieces are very nice looking.

[Mr.LaBella]

Adam, I would love to see some pics...pics, in between pics of this, pics of that



:devil1:

[watercrawl]

Pics of the raw wood boss?

Here you go.

[mack1]

Dontcha just love the smell of that Lignum?!?:thumbsup::thumbsup:


ps: If ya can't smell it, scrape off some of that wax.:jdwink2::manganr:

[watercrawl]

Oh great....what does it smell like?

[mack1]

It has a very sweet smell to it.

I re-handled my Grind In knife from last year in Lignum, and wound up buying several blocks of it.
Every time I went into our Rockler Woodworker's Store, I'd check their stock of it, and come home with something with an interesting pattern to it.:manganr:
If I bring any more home, I think wezy will kill me!:battledevil:

Thinkin' about re-handling a BR Nebula with some, but that "mortised tang" would be quite a challenge!

[watercrawl]

Sweet smell? Mine doesn't smell....sorry.

And this is interesting. I cut a piece off this morning and it's warped all to hell. And where I cut it off, the original piece is checking real bad. This sucks.

[spartan117]

Lignum does smell nice. You'll see when you cut or sand it.

I found a large piece 5 or 6 years ago and made a bokken out of it. Or a suburito if you want to get technical. It was pretty heavy.

Cheers,
Ja

[Mr.LaBella]

I can see where the "character" would be!

Is it still *sucking*?:cry:

[DomBunn]

I looks to brown to be lignum maybe the phone camera

I am really suprized its checking like that the dences wood in the books

All mine is a tighter grain tanner with blue.

Sorry the wood its getting weird on you, but let it dry out before putting on a any knife. Cut them down smaller sizes they dry faster Db

[watercrawl]

Okay...found the sweet smell....that's odd. Smells good though.

And I think this piece of lignum is screwed up somehow. I cut one of the pieces into 1" x 1.5" x 5" pieces and it's cracking and checking really badly. One piece opened up a crack the length of the piece and wide enough to fit two sheets of paper into. The other four pieces are all opening up cracks in the ends of the pieces fairly large and numerous.

Maybe I'll let the other piece dry out for a long time and see what happens with it.

[mack1]

The reason Woodworking stores coat them in wax is to prevent that checking and cracking!

[watercrawl]

Welllllllllll.....I know that. But, it's not like I can keep them in wax FOREVER!!!

[mack1]

True, true. But do yer best to keep 'em coated 'til yer gonna use 'em.:jdwink2::thumbsup:

[Nacinator]

The reason why you got such a good deal on the wood is because the moisture content is probably 25 to 35 %. Cover the ends with candle wax. And wait about 10 months keeping the wood in a warm dry place. With the checking starting there is not much you can really do.

[Cadi Con Carne]

So much for that good deal...bummer.

[watercrawl]

The reason why you got such a good deal on the wood is because the moisture content is probably 25 to 35 %. Cover the ends with candle wax. And wait about 10 months keeping the wood in a warm dry place. With the checking starting there is not much you can really do.

10 months?? Can't I just put it in the oven and dry it out. :manganr:

[Louis-and-Lady-knives]

That wood is super,super strong!!! It was banned from being imported about 5 years ago because the Government was buying every piece it could to make ball bearings for sub marines. I thought it was a joke or something but my cousin that helps make sub parts in Virginia brought me a piece to make a pool cue out of for him, its the strongest wood their is and its expensive!

[DomBunn]

That is what they use to make bowling ballswith

Its so dence it sinks to the bottom of my blade water cooling bucket.. Db

[blackscout]

lignum was commonly used to made woodworking mallets for chiseling and carving, fitting etc. paint the end grain and let it sit. check the moisture content before using it it should be down around 7% If you paint the end grain the moisture is forced to migrate out the sides which takes longer but prevents checking. most wood will check if left open on the end grain with high moisture content. it is still good wood and you can still use what you have. Also ban because the supply is rapidly diminishing and illegally harvested. go get something already at the right MC and let that wood air dry.

[mack1]

Well, considering you peoples are saying there's a "ban" on it, my local Rockler Woodworker's Store has quite a bit of it. And it goes abouut $19 for a 2"x6"x6" block.
Every time I go in there, I check to see what they've got. Interesting grain an' all. But if I bring any more home, I think wezy'll kill me. I've got several blocks and pieces of it already!:manganr::devilroll:

[Louis-and-Lady-knives]

Banned from being imported. Not banned from selling on site supplies, just means when it runs out it runs out.

[mack1]

Yeah, I noticed that.
The last several times I've gone in there, they have very few pieces of it.
Good thing I bought a bunch. Wait 'til I tell the wife about the ban.

I get to say "Told ya so!":wes::jdsmokin:

[RNST]

Lignum Vitae is one of the woods that Chris Reeve uses on Mnandi and Sebenza's. It is a standard offering so it must be good in the CRK camp.

[Meridian Blades]

For green /wet wood a product called Pentacryl works very well for preventing cracks during the drying process. I've brushed it on and soaked pieces in it as needed. Once its done drying out you can still stain it or finish it. Lots of bowl turners and pen turners use this stuff. I've tried the boiling water, oven drying, wrapping in newspaper, and a lot of other methods, but Pentacryl is a lot easier to use and I've never had any problems with burl or any other pieces. It's meant to prevent cracks and checks it doesnt harden or or do anything like that.

LS

[mack1]

Shag, I was under the impression that Pentacryl worked like a "hardener".
Not "stabilizing" by any means, but once it soaks into the wood, doesn't it harden as it dries/cures?:jdsmokin:

[Meridian Blades]

The company that makes pentacryl has another product that they market for hardening called "polycryl", but I've never used it. So I can't say either way.

This is from their FAQ page:
Q: Will PENTACRYL stabilize rotted or spalt wood?
A: Yes. PENTACRYL will stabilize rotted or spalt wood. However, it will not harden soft areas. (See POLYCRYL in “other available products” area for hardener.


-LS

[mack1]

Ah, I've only seen the Pentacryl.
Thanx!