PDA

View Full Version : Wenge? turnings


Deane Allinson
06-17-2012, 8:02 PM
I posted a photo some unknown african skid wood a couple of months ago. Maybe wenge. Splintery, hard & heavy. I was thinking of a tall candlestick but couldn't come to drill a hole in the top. My artsy side took over and I made a pair, "Two Sisters" 17" & 16" tall.
Deane
Jim Burr
06-17-2012, 9:42 PM
Good looking spindle work Deane! The wenge I've seen has really open grain, but it's also been all pen blanks. The one on the left looks like blackwood with sapwood maybe?
Greg Ketell
06-17-2012, 9:55 PM
I've never seen Wenge sap-wood but the dark side definitely looks like Wenge to me. And it certainly fits with "splintery".

Great form and nice turning!!
Thomas Bennett
06-18-2012, 8:52 AM
I really like these, Deane. It's fun to turn non-functional items. I could just gaze at these for hours. Very pleasing. Thanks for posting.
Rick Markham
06-18-2012, 6:11 PM
Looks like magic mystery wood to me! I love the shapes! I'm not convinced it's wenge, though the splintery aspect fits the bill of wenge. Most of the wenge I have seen is really twisted and interlocked grain, that looks really straight grained. (It might just be my limited exposure to wenge) Functional or not, really well done turnings, I'd proudly display them!
Kathy Marshall
06-18-2012, 9:44 PM
Looks like wenge to me. Beautiful pieces! The forms and proportions just flow very nicely! and they make a beautiful pairing.
John Coloccia
06-18-2012, 10:40 PM
That's almost certainly wenge. It's on my short list of miserable woods to work with.
Deane Allinson
06-18-2012, 10:47 PM
That's almost certainly wenge. It's on my short list of miserable woods to work with.
I'm with you. I was always afraid of nasty splinters. It took forever sanding before I felt comfortable to run my hand up and down the grain.
Deane
John Beaver
06-18-2012, 10:50 PM
FYI. Wenge is also extremely toxic to some people. It's part of the rose wood family.
Rick Markham
06-19-2012, 12:37 AM
FYI. Wenge is also extremely toxic to some people. It's part of the rose wood family.

yep dermatitis and allergic reactions aren't uncommon. Some people have an especially bad reaction to getting a splinter from it. :eek: It's pretty stuff though!
Ralph Lindberg
06-19-2012, 1:02 PM
FYI. Wenge is also extremely toxic to some people. It's part of the rose wood family.

Yup, or why that 3 ft of 6 by 12/4 Wenge is still sitting there there in the shop, where you saw it.