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Anyone have any tips for turning Marblewood?

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I picked up a couple marblewood bowl blanks from woodcraft this past weekend.

Man! This stuff is some hard, tool-blunting wood! Lots of sharpening happening just to true the blank up!

Anything to watch out for? Is it prone to breaking, such as how I found purpleheart to be brittle? That is, aside from the use sharp tools tips :)

I had some walnut that was cracking due to the heat from the application of friction polish. That kind of tips. For instance, I read somewhere something about resin extrusion? Don't know what that means :confused:

Thanks, all! :D
 

Bill Boehme

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Here is a link to marble wood on a good wood database.

I have only turned a few pieces of purpleheart, but I didn't think that it was particularly problematic. I have no idea about marble wood, but you can do a comparison of the properties of each using the above linked the web site. It appears that their hardness and workability are similar.

You probably answered your own question. Sharp tools and run the lathe slow. In all likelihood the wood was not completely cured when you applied the friction finish. Applying too much friction, generates too much heat and causes the wood to distort and crack. It is a common mistake to overheat the wood when applying a friction finish. Either that or give it plenty of time to dry before getting the wood hot from a friction finish. Localized heating can be a real problem and I have made that mistake when trying to get a darkened edge on a hollowform. It is a hard way to learn, but the lessons stick with you.

"Resin extrusion" sounds like a made up term, but it is easy enough to imagine what it means -- you get the wood really hot from over exuberant friction polishing and it will cook the resins out of it and make a mess when combined with the finish that is also being cooked to death.
 

hockenbery

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I have turned a few balls from "marble wood"
When these descriptive names are used there is some possibility your "marble wood" is a different species.

It seemed like any other tropical hardwood a density similar to Osage orange.

When sanding I used an air gun to keep the light colored wood dust free.
Whether this is necessary I don't know since I didn't try any whee I left the dust on the light colored wood.

I haven't noticed and resin.

Have fun
Al
 

odie

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I picked up a couple marblewood bowl blanks from woodcraft this past weekend.

Man! This stuff is some hard, tool-blunting wood! Lots of sharpening happening just to true the blank up!

Anything to watch out for? Is it prone to breaking, such as how I found purpleheart to be brittle? That is, aside from the use sharp tools tips :)

I had some walnut that was cracking due to the heat from the application of friction polish. That kind of tips. For instance, I read somewhere something about resin extrusion? Don't know what that means :confused:

Thanks, all! :D

Bret........

Does your Marblewood look like this one?

I've done a couple of bowls out of Marblewood. This is the last one I did, and it was done a good five years ago. This one came from Woodcraft, as well.

I recall it as hard and dense, like yours. If you are not honing your gouges, this might speed things up for you.......you can hone at least a half a dozen times before returning to the grinder.

I don't recall anything really significant about Marblewood, except what you already know.

ooc
 

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yes, odie. it looks exactly like that.

it actually turned very nicely, just slow going.

i have it sitting on the lathe, at the moment. have to get time to flip it around and put it in my cole jaws to turn the bottom off, then she'll be finished :)

if i remember, i'll take a pic (my memory isn't that long anymore, though.....


what? :confused:


;)
 
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