Large Vase wood needed

I'm looking for two large spindles for a tall vases I need 7-8"x18-20" I prefer no spalted wood as lately I have been getting wood with to punkly Walnut or any figured wood I have looked all over ebay and other sites but have been able to locate anyone selling large vase wood

If you are looking for dried blanks that big, you'll probably look a long time. Green you might stand a chance. Drying a blank that big takes a very long time. Drying a thin-walled turned object takes a lot less time...

You are right about that. I guess I worry about a vase that tall really twisting but I guess I may have to take a chance. Any suggestions on site that offer large turning blanks

Check with a local tree service. I'm in no state to wheel and deal wood effectively right now (far too much on my plate), but might be able to whack you off a chunk (too fresh to be spalted) in a couple of months when things ease up a bit. Of course, to not have pith in the blank, those are some big log sizes to start with, I don't have any walnut, and I'm darned if I can say for figure (sometime evidence of curl in maple is there on the outside of the tree, sometimes not). The lack of shipping and frequently very low cost if you develop a good working relationship with a tree service or firewood supplier near you can really pay off.

While they hardly are perfect,

can be worth looking at - try "carving stock" as well as "turning blanks" but be prepared for the possibility that places may claim to have such things but not have any to suit you (or at all sometimes, which seems a bit unethical of them, and stupid besides - I'm not prone to do business with someone that claims they have X, doesn't, and wants me to buy Y which they do have, after getting me to call them about X)

On Fri, 28 Aug 2009 8:48:29 -0500, mountaintop wrote (in message ):

dependingon the variety of wood you want, it is possible to go to timber salvage and resaw places, and get solid wood that could be as much as a century old, in those dimensions... but it will be fir or pine or other softwoods used in construction. You'd have to eyeball it though, to make sure that there are no big cracks in it.

There used to be a tie plant about 50-60 miles from here. They'd take sawn oak timbers for railroad ties and bridge timbers, and creosote them. It was possible to buy an untreated timber from them - but it would not always be quite as dry as you'd want for turning. I have seen custom lumberyards out east that sold various kinds of air-dried hardwoods - possibly check your yellow pages or online directories to see what is available. Got to eyeball this stuff though, to make sure of what you are getting. If it is dry and sound and of the cross-section you want, it will be spendy. best of luck to you tom koehler

Thanks for the help. I'll try some of these options. I have only been turning for three months now after building furniture for years. Green is good now where green was bad before. Thanks

You are not saying were you are and if you want vertical grain, diagonal grain or horizontal grain.

I have a number of trees down that are heading for fire wood and maybe the shop.

Any color or species ?

Mart> >> On Fri, 28 Aug 2009 8:48:29 -0500, mountaintop wrote