I live in Central Pennsylvania. Any recommendations as to where I can buy olive wood?
I live in Central Pennsylvania. Any recommendations as to where I can buy olive wood?
I believe Hearne Hardwoods in Chester County has olive wood. I've been getting some from Cook Woods in Washington. Not cheap but very cool looking. I love turning it and it has a great hand feel.
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West Pen is where I got 2X2X12 blanks
You looking for lumber or turning blanks?
I've bought a number of excellent Olivewood turning blanks from a small dealer in KY, usually blanks 3-4" thick or 2-3" turning squares of various lengths. I normally see him at turning symposiums but when that is not possible I call. He will send out a flat rate USPS box. His stock varies. Look under Products here to see a list but he may have wood not on the list so give Pete a call. If you tell him I sent you he might charge you more.
http://www.bigmonklumber.com/
Olive is one of my favorites for woodturning.
JKJ
I hope you find some...I had the pleasure of working with some that a client provided for some charcuterie boards. Cut nicely and really beautiful when finished.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Do you use an oil finish? serious question. Does it glue well or need to be solvent cleaned before gluing?
Bill D
I always use oil. I haven't tried another finish on Olivewood. This shows what liquid does to a smoothed olive surface.
This is the bottom of the piece, before reversing and turning the top.
olive_test.jpg
The finished piece with maybe 6-8 applications of "danish" oil, each applied then wiped off after about 30 minutes, then dried overnight. Maybe 8-9" across, can't remember.
penta_olive_comp_IMG_7459.jpg
JKJ
Looking for lumber. Daughter wants a platter to serve cheese, crackers, meats, etc.
I dont think the wood is naturally oily. I know you cant tell much from a photo, but here're some flat pieces with a swipe of DNA. It doesn't feel oily to me The pieces you often see for turning are usually waxed. I also just used oil finishes (walnut oil, BLO) and sanded to a very high grit. Not sure what film finish would be good.
IMG_0575.jpg
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What I found was every piece I bought waxed was fairly wet, even though you couldn't tell when turning. The dealers usually dip turning blanks in paraffin. I leave the wax on for maybe a year in case it's green then scrape much of it off with a card scraper. I weigh each piece and track the weight. One 4x4x12" waxed piece took about 6 years to dry completely.
But I brought back some 8/4 from Italy that was totally air dry and I got a wide slab of 6/4 at least 5' long now, was probably longer since I cut the blank for that squarish dished platter I showed. None of this was sealed and none was warped.
I've never glued any except with epoxy when making a few pens. The Wood Database says it glues and finishes well. https://www.wood-database.com/olive/
JKJ