Amboyna

[Rich Stewart]

I like the looks of that wood and am thinking of getting some. Expensive. How is it to turn? I would hate to buy some and it fly to pieces or some such. Any tips on turning, sanding, finishing?

Thanks,

Rich

[Richard Chan]

I just made couple of Amboyna pen last week and it turns extreamly well. Best wood so far but do becarefull drilling it will blow out if done to quickly.

[David E Keller]

I've never turned anything but pens and bottle stoppers from amboyna, but i think it turns very well... lovely smell. Cost is prohibitive for me for larger turnings... some of the Aussie burls like jarrah and red mallee as well as redwood burl would be somewhat less expensive alternatives.

[Scott Hackler]

It does turn very well and there isnt a cooler looking burl for a pen. I wanted to make some pens with it but the blanks are expensive and so I bought a bowl blank for $30 and sliced it up into pen blanks. It left me with a 2.5" x 5" piece that didnt really have burl patterns but might make something later, but I managed to get 12 pen blanks 3" long for my latest kit. I saved a ton.

It might pay to get larger blank than you really need and cut it in half or more to make it more reasonable in price.

[Dick Mahany]

I have turned a few pieces from Amboyna burl. It turns very well and smells nice. The wood will polish to an extremely high gloss and is very stable. I made a suction fit lidded box that has maintained a perfect fit for over 5 years. It IS expensive and in San Jose, CA is sold by the pound !

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with Dick Rich. I have turned some. It is a pretty hard wood, requires sharp tools, finishes nice and is pretty stable. I made a lidded vase about 1 1/2 yrs ago. Still looks great and lid is fine. Polishes up pretty nice. Now with that said the other piece I had it ended up in pen blanks because as it turned it I could hear different noises and I could see the voids coming apart. It does tend to have voids.

[Rich Stewart]

Thanks a lot fellas. I think I will try to pick up a hunk. Very good idea to butcher it into several pieces for different items.