stabilized wood - any special treatment necessary?

Just ignore that stuff. Do as you normally do for your pens and you'll be fine. No need to scrape it off (unless you wanted to glue something to it for some reason but you'll be cutting and drilling into fresh wood first) for what you're doing.

- Andrew

I agree with the others about no need to do anything to a stabilized blank before turning...

but...

DURING pen turning... keep in mind that the resin makes the wood VERY brittle. As such it kinda forces the turner to be more of a perfectionist when it comes to turning pens. This can mean you may need to change your approach during prep and turning. You may get a slightly different result from drilling... that is the hole could be larger or smaller depending upon your drill bit. Your bit must be very sharp. You will need to drill VERY slowly and cut and withdraw every couple of seconds to keep it cool and avoid binding... which will shatter the blank. Glue completely and not just in some spots. CA glue can be problematic... you may want to switch to epoxy. Use very small cuts while trueing or you'll shatter the blank. Your pen mandrill MUST be true or the imbalance can get a slightly uncontrolled cut and cause a shatter. If your kits require cutting for a middle ring or for an end peice use a very sharp parting tool and go very slow. Watch out for the dust... it is also carrying the resin, note the smell. Even after doing all of the above, you still get shatters and cracks. Stabilized wood is a major crapshoot!

If you are using stabilized wood for spindle turning (i.e., you are not turing pens), you may want to switch to a harder oilier non-stabilized wood like Cocobolo. Relatively cheaper, works easier, nicer result. Stabilized wood is great for adding value to kits... but I wouldnt use it for other turning projects.

Also... join your local AAW chapter... and ... take a turning class or two.

Welcome to the club!

Hey Mike! I turn tons of pens , (with greater than 50% being stabilized) and I half to take exception to some of the advice above. The most important thig about stabilizing is the quality of the person doing it. There is some real crap stab. wood floating around. There is also some great stuff. The difference is night and day. I have had blowout in exactly ONE pen blank that has been stabilized. And I have to admit to being heavy handed with it. It is NOT a crapshoot as reported, you can use CA glue with great results (poly glue does work well too, if the hole is oversized). No matter what you turn, complete gluing is a must. Spot gluing is a bigger source of blowout than stab. wood. With sharp tools, after knocking off the corners, I can take quite large cuts with no fear of blowout. As far as turning speed, I have a Jet mini, and turn all of my pens as fast as it will fly, without problems (except that the curls fly farther, LOL).

Ace makes some statements that are true for all pen turning:

1. Keep your tools sharp
2. A straight true mandrel is always better (but they are easy to true)
3. Complete gluing is a must (no matter what glue you use)
4. GOOD, sharp bits are a must for drilling (aren't they always?)
5. Retract the drill bit often to clear the cuttings. (failure to do so will cause greater blowouts)
6. Wear eye protection and a DC is a good idea for keeping the resin dust out of your lungs.

If I can help you in any way with your pens, let me know.

Digger