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Lignum vitae

Doug

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Hi Ray, I'd be interested in buying a bowling ball if there is one going spare as I'd like to make a mallet
 

rayf6604

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I remember the mallet now and that would be something to make from them. Maybe not pens

Doug, it was an auction on eBay but I missed the end and I don't think they sold. I've messaged the seller to enquire and they get back to me and I buy them you can go halves with me if you like.
 

Doug

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Doug, it was an auction on eBay but I missed the end and I don't think they sold. I've messaged the seller to enquire and they get back to me and I buy them you can go halves with me if you like.

Sounds like a good plan :thumbs: let me know if you manage to buy them, cheers
 

Buckeye

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Always ask the seller unless it is stated in the add if they are wood as I was about to bid on some and fortunately I emailed the seller and they were a composite.

Peter
 

rayf6604

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Always ask the seller unless it is stated in the add if they are wood as I was about to bid on some and fortunately I emailed the seller and they were a composite.

Peter
these are definitely lignum vitae as there was a pic of the care leaflet in the ad complete with a price for the care product in shillings and pence. it'd really be a shame to chop up such an old set of balls complete with their leather bag too.
(sarcy comments about old balls expected :p)
 

Buckeye

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these are definitely lignum vitae as there was a pic of the care leaflet in the ad complete with a price for the care product in shillings and pence. it'd really be a shame to chop up such an old set of balls complete with their leather bag too.
(sarcy comments about old balls expected :p)

I would have no qualms about turning them:thumbs:

Peter
 

Lons

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I've just aquire a couple but have had some in the past and have several carving mallets made from them.
As grump said, it's usually dark but if you're lucky you'll find some lighter wood or even 2 toned when it's rather nice.

It is very hard but turns beautifully with sharp tools.

Bob
 

Neil

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Old bowling balls are lv, some of the newer ones (post 60s) are normally palo santo wood which is a bit of an insipid substitution. However, whenever you turn it, take it off the lathe before you seal and polish it and put it on the window sill to allow the colours to really develop before putting it back and polishing. Lovely smell!
 

kjmc1957

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Hi Ray

I turned the mallet that Grump used in his reply, LV is a difficult wood to turn, it blunts the tools as quickly as you can sharpen them, however I would disagree with grump regarding the grain, it is actually ok. the photos don't show a good grain pattern for 2 reasons, 1st is that I take rubbish photos, 2nd is the 12000 grit finish followed by a buffing wheel and carnuba wax covered by Renaissance for the competition.
If I was going to take them to the band saw I'd definitely build a sled/jig to manage them safely.
e-bay are expensive in general because of the weight in transport, I just bought a set of 4 this week end for £30:00 which makes them £7:50 each, not counting the leather bag, I sold my mallet for a lot more than that, and you would certainly get 6 or 8 blanks plus a few discs for jewelry, I think that some of the older sets will have Ivory inserts, I think CITES forbid the resale of Ivory??

Regards
Kevin
 

Penpal

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Ray I just stumbled on your thoughts and others regarding Lignum Vitae my experiences exclude damn difficult bowling balls and I have this pic of the last one I made a pen with. To me its a dream to turn and finish its not as heavy as a great number of our Aussie Burls.

Kind regards Peter.:thumbs:
 

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Twister

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I have a large bundle of lignum pen blanks
i think there are various species as they vary in colour
but they all sink
Steve
 

Woody

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Ray Lignum V is a very nice hard wood to turn but the most important issue is the cutting of these balls on a band saw as already said you must make a sledge of some sort otherwise you could end up in A&E cutting round objects on a bandsaw can be very dangerous the blade can whip it out of your hand and propel it in any direction with some force and as you were pushing the ball towards the blade that is now exposed well you could end up with fingers flying off as well take care mate I would hate you to get hurt
 

paulm

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I'm going to have to get some of this LV to have a go, it all sounds very interesting with lots of colours and I love a challenge. :thumbs:

Very nice pen Peter.
 

rayf6604

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Ray Lignum V is a very nice hard wood to turn but the most important issue is the cutting of these balls on a band saw as already said you must make a sledge of some sort otherwise you could end up in A&E cutting round objects on a bandsaw can be very dangerous the blade can whip it out of your hand and propel it in any direction with some force and as you were pushing the ball towards the blade that is now exposed well you could end up with fingers flying off as well take care mate I would hate you to get hurt
Thanks for the sound advice woody, unfortunately I didn't manage to get the bowls this time and with a sled on the bandsaw I don't think the balls would go through the saw, I only have 4 in cutting capacity. I appreciate your concern and I will be careful if I do cut round objects.
 

kjmc1957

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Hi Ray
An alternative is, stick the ball in a vice and dig out the smaller disc, then drill a hole to fit your worm screw, the hole needs to be precise as trying to thread this with a hole that is too small will have the lathe over, I put some wax on the screw thread to ease removal as the ball will be turning against the thread there are no worries about it coming off, make sure that you drill the hole deep enough so the ball will register/stop against the jaws of your chuck, this gives you a 2 point fixing, you can then turn the tail stock side of the ball flat to fit your band saw, the balls are solid all the way through so you may lose a bit but you will still be able to get pen blanks and with the flat bottom on the band saw bed and a fence on your miter guide you get a good safe cut. For added safety you could clamp an auxiliary stop on the guide fence so that the ball is stopped form sliding back away from the blade. Nice and Safe also helps to get regular sized blanks.

Regards
Kevin
 
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