Is this acceptable?

[Lou Jacobs]

I just received a gift from my sister of a piece of Texas ebony. It measures 6”x 2 1/4” x 2 3/4”. As you can see in the pictures, it has some significant defects and checks that make it unusable for a one piece turning. I could probably get a bunch of small finials and other accent pieces from it. I’ve thanked my sister for the gift, and am thrilled at her thoughtfulness. I’d never tell her it is anything less than perfect, but I wonder if the vendor (woodpeckerscrafts.com) should have sold it to her. I can’t find something similar on their site. The price (blacked out by my sister) looks to me like it was $37. I’m inclined to contact the vendor and ask if she was told this piece had these defects. Never having bought wood online, I’m not sure if this is standard operating procedure. What would you do? Thanks!

 

[Russ Braun]

Dodgy for sure! Of course the seller (hired salesperson) might have no idea of wood quality, etc. The world is full of people that have no idea about what they are doing and what their end users are looking at.

 

[Tom De Winter]

Wouldn't be acceptable to me. With it being a gift you are in an awkward place. I'd start with the vendor and see how they want to handle it.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

At our club wood raffle I have gotten many pieces similar to that one and eventually found a use for them as contrasting wood finial lids for keepsake urns similar to the attached photo

 

[Ralph Nevin]

Lou,

You can always fill the voids with epoxy (color of your choice) and then turn as a very interesting single piece. It could be beautiful.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

Update: I thanked my sister and she told me she got it at the local Woodcraft store. (She lives in Austin, TX). Was told that a guy bring in wood samples which they resell. So I imagine they had a Woodpeckers.com box which they gave her. I don’t want to defame an innocent party. I’m sure I can work around these defects. Yes Don, thinking exactly if this gs like your lids and finials.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

Good idea Ralph. One small further issue is that the grain runs across the piece, not along it, so perhaps short finials will be best.

 

[robo hippy]

I am fairly sure the the Texas ebony is also desert iron wood, though there are a number of 'iron' woods around the world. High silica content, and very hard. It is rare to find a piece that doesn't have voids in it. I recently got some pieces of it, and plan to make mostly small threaded boxes out of it. The other alternative is to fill the voids with CA glue and filler, or the colored epoxies.

robo hipp

 

[Mark Jundanian]

My opinion, may not be worth a whole 2 cents.

You can probe the defects with straightened paper clip, that will give you a better idea of what you're dealing with.

Even if you intend to cut the block into smaller blanks I would still consider filling as many of the largest voids as you can with epoxy. I'd go for an epoxy that is both slow setting and low viscosity to get the most complete fill, and it might take more than one pour. The more narrow cracks I'd hit with CA (not as good as epoxy, bet way better than "air"). Then when you cut it up for smaller work there will be a good chance that the blanks will be stable for turning. If they are filled you may even be able to leave part of a void in the final piece.

I think most of us would apply the John Jordan rule to this particular specimen, but it's a gift, so that's another factor. One thing, though, you don't have to make use of the entire piece of wood, just some of it, so don't turn more of it than you feel can be done safely.

 

[Dave Landers]

You can probe the defects with straightened paper clip, that will give you a better idea of what you're dealing with.

What I use for probes is stainless steel zip ties. Long and thin.
I'm going to have to find some paper clips (probably in the wife's desk drawer...) to add to my arsenal.

 

[Bob Brown]

Depending upon how much your sister knows about wood, I'd turn something out to another small piece of wood, dye it and give to my sister. Then ask her "what's for lunch" ?

 

[Odie]

Update: I thanked my sister and she told me she got it at the local Woodcraft store. (She lives in Austin, TX). Was told that a guy bring in wood samples which they resell. So I imagine they had a Woodpeckers.com box which they gave her. I don’t want to defame an innocent party. I’m sure I can work around these defects. Yes Don, thinking exactly if this gs like your lids and finials.

I doubt your sister paid $37 for it, but the guy who brought it into Woodcraft might have.

Is it a common practice? .....sadly, yes it is. I buy nearly all my wood from internet vendors, and many times I've had to deal with very bad voids and cracks, that should have been pointed out.....but, have not! (This is not to be confused with getting a piece that has problems in the interior, and the vendor has no way of knowing this prior to selling it to you..... In this case, you just have to eat the loss!)

I can say there are some vendors who are more honest than others.

Beware of those who show you "representative example" photo of what you'll get......those vendors nearly always give you a photo of their best piece, and you'll get something not nearly as nice as in the photo.

-----odie-----

 

[David Flicker]

I am fairly sure the the Texas ebony is also desert iron wood, though there are a number of 'iron' woods around the world. High silica content, and very hard. It is rare to find a piece that doesn't have voids in it. I recently got some pieces of it, and plan to make mostly small threaded boxes out of it. The other alternative is to fill the voids with CA glue and filler, or the colored epoxies.

robo hipp

Though both desert ironwood and Texas ebony are both members of the fabaceae family, they are not closely related.

Desert Ironwood | The Wood Database (Hardwood)

www.wood-database.com

Texas Ebony | The Wood Database (Hardwood)

www.wood-database.com

I recently turned a small bowl out of Texas ebony. Turns beautifully with 6" shavings, glass smooth surface. Haven't tried desert ironwood yet though I've had several large blocks for a couple years.

 

[Greg Carles]

Though both desert ironwood and Texas ebony are both members of the fabaceae family, they are not closely related.

Desert Ironwood | The Wood Database (Hardwood)

www.wood-database.com

Texas Ebony | The Wood Database (Hardwood)

www.wood-database.com

I recently turned a small bowl out of Texas ebony. Turns beautifully with 6" shavings, glass smooth surface. Haven't tried desert ironwood yet though I've had several large blocks for a couple years.

WOW beautiful results!!! What size is that bowl?

 

[David Flicker]

WOW beautiful results!!! What size is that bowl?

Just over 3 1/2" tall.

 

[Richard Coers]

There is a lot of mesquite sold that looks like that, why not Texas Ebony. It's not your place to complain, it was a gift. I really doubt Woodcraft forced her to buy it. Tell her next time to get you a gift card and then you will be happier. Lots of people would fill that with turquoise colored resin and then be thrilled to show it off. Time to get creative.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

I think you missed my point Richard. I’m not complaining, and as I said, nothing but thanks to my sister. My point is that she entered the business - I thought first a website, but now I know a retail Woodcraft store, as a non-woodworker or turner, asking advice. If it was online, as I first thought, I’d have thought the description should have included the defects. Now that I know it was a walk-in, while I understand the principle of caveat emptor, I’d think a decent business would help her understand what she was buying as a gift. Maybe they did. I was simply asking for others’ reactions. You’ve given me yours. Yes, as you and others have suggested, I’ll likely fill the defects with epoxy, with or without coloring, and go from there. Thanks!

 

[Richard Coers]

I guess I didn't understand. It was my impression that you were complaining about the store not taking the time to educate a customer on which piece of wood to buy. They do have a markup on each piece of wood, but if it takes 15-20 minutes for the employee to talk about every piece of wood in the turning area, hoping to sell 1 piece of wood, they won't be in business long.

 

[hughie]

I am fairly sure the the Texas ebony is also desert iron wood, though there are a number of 'iron' woods around the world. High silica content, and very hard. It is rare to find a piece that doesn't have voids in it. I recently got some pieces of it, and plan to make mostly small threaded boxes out of it. The other alternative is to fill the voids with CA glue and filler, or the colored epoxies.

robo hipp

Yes several of our hardwoods are much the same here and will 'stove pipe' that is form a hollow the full length of the trunk as they mature. Gidgee being one of the worst culprits

 

[hughie]

I think you missed my point Richard. I’m not complaining, and as I said, nothing but thanks to my sister. My point is that she entered the business - I thought first a website, but now I know a retail Woodcraft store, as a non-woodworker or turner, asking advice. If it was online, as I first thought, I’d have thought the description should have included the defects. Now that I know it was a walk-in, while I understand the principle of caveat emptor, I’d think a decent business would help her understand what she was buying as a gift. Maybe they did. I was simply asking for others’ reactions. You’ve given me yours. Yes, as you and others have suggested, I’ll likely fill the defects with epoxy, with or without coloring, and go from there. Thanks!

Its a difficult one as your sister has meant well, but may lack knowledge. The faults of many species are known to most of us and we still buy them and accept these facts. I guess the question is , was the sale done knowingly of the faults and were the faults conveyed to the customer? I suspect you may have roll with the outcome as getting to the bottom of it could provide negative outcomes that could ruin the whole gesture/gift by your sister.