Maple Blanks?

Tomorrow I am going to be bringing some of the slabs from this thread for a guy to buy.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=124772

However he would like me to bring some of the turning blanks from the same tree. I have no idea what a fair price is though.With the exception of pen blanks I have never bought or sold for that matter any blanks before. Should I price them by size, weight or what?

Most of these pieces have Anchor Seal on them and the ones on the stone wall are still wet. So the colors will not be true. The photo of the giant cookie is bare though.

Also any suggestions on what size I should make the blanks. The two big ones on the stone wall are about 16"x16"x5". Is that a good size? I am still new to turning.

James

Wow... I must have missed the original post. That's a heck of a log you had there.

If those large blanks are fairly solid, I would think upwards of $100. Hard to tell, but if they are burly, spalted, and solid, blanks of that size command a pretty penny. Even if you quartered them, you'd have 8x8x6 inch blanks which would go for better than $25 or $30 each if they are solid and well figured. Typically, larger solid blanks command a premium because they are harder to obtain.

I hope he's got a coring system. It would be a shame to waste all that wood in the middle for a single bowl.

For pen blanks, a typical find is in the $1/blank area for domestic, maybe $2-3 or more for the real exotics. Cool burls, such as this one, command a bit more... for a domestic like this, I could see someone charging $1.50-2 for pen blanks here.

I don't know how big that blank is in the last pic, but it is soooo cool. If it's in the pen or stopper size range, I wouldn't mind getting a box of similar from you :)

Thank you both for your input and one person who PMed me. I'm finding it difficult. I don't want to over charge. Yet I don't want to get ripped off either. There is plenty more of this stuff. This is the tree that keeps on giving. I imagine I will be posting some of it in the Classified forum in the future. I just hate trying to get my horrible photography skills to show the real character of this stuff.

Dan,

That piece you like is probably 8"x14". It is the one furthest to the left in the group shot. My bench is 22" wide. Interesting thing is I sealed those pieces in the spring and stashed them in a cold dark corner of my basement. I literally had to scape the black fungus off to take that photo. I do not remember how spalted it was when I sealed it but it sure is now.

For the following sizes. 8x8, 10x10, 12x12 and 16x16. How thick should I make them? Should I make more of the bigger sizes?

James

David,

I almost forgot. The spalted stuff is surprisingly very firm. Not at all punky. Even were the ant holes are is still fairly firm. I could see turning the ant holes with the aid of some thin ca.

James

Hello James, Very nice spalted maple you have. What is size of the piece in the last photo and is it solid?

Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by David Woodruff

Hello James, Very nice spalted maple you have. What is size of the piece in the last photo and is it solid?

Thanks

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David,

See post #4. It is about 8x14x6. Yes it is solid although it may have some bark inclusions as most of this wood near the surface does.

James

I might interested in a few pieces.

As for the size, it's all a matter of what a person wants to turn. If you're talking about local sales, I would think the larger the better.

If you're considering mailing wood, the size of a large flat rate box would be awesome(12x12x5.5). You could certainly sell smaller pieces down to pen blank and stopper sizes, but I would generally cut the wood to yield the larger turnable pieces when possible.

I pay from $20 to $35 dollars for maple blanks up to 12 X 12. You might ask him how big he can turn then cut accordingly.