Christopher Collins
08-08-2013, 2:53 PM
Howdy folks, first post as a new member.
I recently picked up a few boxes of small turning blanks at an estate sale for about 10% of what they would cost new. A box of about 90 pen blanks and another box of 45 bottle stopper blanks, all of exotic woods. Really fantastic stuff, about 15 different woods, everything from ebony to tulip-wood to lignum vitae, $10 per box.
You can imagine my excitement! Enough to last for years
The bottle stopper blanks, and a few of the pen blanks, are completely encased in wax or paraffin, so I assume they were green when bought, or wet enough to require sealing. I know from the shipping label on the boxes that they were bought around 2008, so it's been 5 years. So my question is is this: will a small turning blank (1.5 x 1.5 x 3 inches) dry at all after 5 years in wax? Or should I assume these are as wet as the day they were bought.
I'm not actually planning on turning these, but I figured the turning section would be the place to ask. I was going to use them for knife handles (pen blanks work fine as scales on paring knives and small folders), so I don't want to put them on a knife and have them shrink or crack, or leave gaps.
Thanks
I recently picked up a few boxes of small turning blanks at an estate sale for about 10% of what they would cost new. A box of about 90 pen blanks and another box of 45 bottle stopper blanks, all of exotic woods. Really fantastic stuff, about 15 different woods, everything from ebony to tulip-wood to lignum vitae, $10 per box.
You can imagine my excitement! Enough to last for years
The bottle stopper blanks, and a few of the pen blanks, are completely encased in wax or paraffin, so I assume they were green when bought, or wet enough to require sealing. I know from the shipping label on the boxes that they were bought around 2008, so it's been 5 years. So my question is is this: will a small turning blank (1.5 x 1.5 x 3 inches) dry at all after 5 years in wax? Or should I assume these are as wet as the day they were bought.
I'm not actually planning on turning these, but I figured the turning section would be the place to ask. I was going to use them for knife handles (pen blanks work fine as scales on paring knives and small folders), so I don't want to put them on a knife and have them shrink or crack, or leave gaps.
Thanks