what marks on wet dark walnut well for circles

[Breck Whitworth]

Hello Fellow turners,

Since walnut has been pretty scarce in south MS I have never had to worry about any marker except black ink for marking a blank for cutting circular either with the bandsaw or chainsaw, Well the Lord has blessed me with an entire large tree of walnut so I am going to need a white type marker for the wet walnut. Since I have never had this wonderful problem except here and there. I would appreciate advice as to what works best for you on very dark and wet woods. Also where to get them if you don't mind. Thanks

 

[Brian Gustin]

Have you considered using plain old dollar store chalkboard chalk?

 

[Karl Loeblein]

Black permanent markers can still be seen on walnut, and some like Milwaukee markers can write on damp wood. Also, Lowes carries inexpensive yellow lumber crayons for marking dark woods that are fade, water and smear proof.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hex-Lumber-Crayon/999912945

 

[Andrew Hale]

I second Karl’s recommendation for lumber crayon. They’ve been a staple in my carpenter’s bags and shop aprons for over over 30 years.

 

[hockenbery]

I use lumber crayons too.
chalk is great for dry wood and sometimes works on wet wood but not reliably.
big advantage of chalk is compressed air bowls it away.

 

[odie]

Hello Fellow turners,

Since walnut has been pretty scarce in south MS I have never had to worry about any marker except black ink for marking a blank for cutting circular either with the bandsaw or chainsaw, Well the Lord has blessed me with an entire large tree of walnut so I am going to need a white type marker for the wet walnut. Since I have never had this wonderful problem except here and there. I would appreciate advice as to what works best for you on very dark and wet woods. Also where to get them if you don't mind. Thanks

Howdy Breck.....

Some darkish woods are not easy to mark. If it has anchorseal or other wax coating, sometimes a scribe mark from dividers work to mark the circle. On dry wood, a Colorific pencil or artist's white charcoal pencil does a decent job, too.....but not in all cases.

This all depends on whether you want the mark to be permanent....like a sharpie would be. I usually decide which is the bottom and which is the top of a bowl, before making the circle.....and, then mark the circle on the top. I'd rather not mark in a permanent, penetrating way, so a white or silver sharpie, or white laundry marker is not a good option for me.....but, they do mark the dry wood very well.

-----odie-----

 

[robo hippy]

For cutting circles, I just use a compass/divider. The scribed line is fairly easy to follow if you have a good light on the wood. Other than that, a magic marker is good enough for chainsaw work. I can't do walnut any more. Makes me sneeze and itch.

robo hippy

 

[Breck Whitworth]

Howdy Breck.....

Some darkish woods are not easy to mark. If it has anchorseal or other wax coating, sometimes a scribe mark from dividers work to mark the circle. On dry wood, a Colorific pencil or artist's white charcoal pencil does a decent job, too.....but not in all cases.

This all depends on whether you want the mark to be permanent....like a sharpie would be. I usually decide which is the bottom and which is the top of a bowl, before making the circle.....and, then mark the circle on the top. I'd rather not mark in a permanent, penetrating way, so a white or silver sharpie, or white laundry marker is not a good option for me.....but, they do mark the dry wood very well.

-----odie-----

Thanks Odie, I only want a circle to show up long enough to circle cut these slabs with my bandsaw.

 

[Breck Whitworth]

I second Karl’s recommendation for lumber crayon. They’ve been a staple in my carpenter’s bags and shop aprons for over over 30 years.

Thanks Karl, I hadn't thought of a lumber crayon in years that was back in my flat work days.

 

[hockenbery]

Thanks Odie, I only want a circle to show up long enough to circle cut these slabs with my bandsaw.

I have used the lumber crayons with my giant compass. it can be tapped to the pencil end
but I usually just hold it against the end. there is a little indent by the pencil holder that keepers the crayon in the right spot
then walking a round to get a circle.
mostly I cut rounds with a hardboard disc pegged to the center.
I made them in 1” increments 8-16” diameters.
i gauge the cut on the outside of a guide which adds an inch. Keeps the disc from moving down in side from getting into the blade when I tried following closely

 

[Dwight R Rutherford]

Like Hockenbery I use discs, however my discs are cardboard which are easily and cheaply replaced when they get “ratty”.

 

[Tom Lucas]

Make yourself a circle cutting jig for your bandsaw and you only need to find and drill the center. A lot of good designs out there.

 

[Darryl Fective]

For chainsaw work, I use orange lumber crayons. They seem to make enough of a mark on rough (even on wet/damp) wood. Another possibility for drier/smoother wood is a silver Sharpie. It creates a finer line that's more solid than the crayons.

 

[Barry Richardson]

I use a white colored pencil. They sell them at Michaels/ hobby lobby, etc , can be sharpened in a pencil sharpener to a somewhat fine point, more precession than chalk or markers. I use it with ebony, ABW, wenge, walnut etc...

 

[Jonathan Silwones]

With a compass I use watercolor pencil from the art store. Works well on wet wood, even dark.

 

[Breck Whitworth]

Make yourself a circle cutting jig for your bandsaw and you only need to find and drill the center. A lot of good designs out there.

Tom I need to, but I've always just cut them by hand after outlining my cardboard circles on the wood.

 

[Breck Whitworth]

Like Hockenbery I use discs, however my discs are cardboard which are easily and cheaply replaced when they get “ratty”.
View attachment 51433

Same thing I use Dwight.

 

[odie]

With a compass I use watercolor pencil from the art store. Works well on wet wood, even dark.

Thanks for this suggestion.

I just ordered a used set of these on eBay to try them out.



-----odie-----

 

[Tyler Pierce]

Grease pens write on everything.

 

[odie]

Grease pens write on everything.

The Colorific pencils and scribe mark work to make circles useful for bandsawing bowl blocks round.....in 99% of the cases. But there is that occasional subborn surface where they don't. I'm going to try out the watercolor pencils I just ordered for that 1% that are a problem. If that doesn't work, I'll try a grease pencil. I haven't had a grease pencil in years, but my one concern about them is the ability to remove the mark, once it's there. Can you comment about that?

-----odie-----

 

[Randy Heinemann]

Pica retractable pencils with their red, yellow, or white lead will show up well. These leads are kind of soft, though, so you need to take a little care when marking with them, especially on rough wood like in blanks.

 

[odie]

The Colorific pencils and scribe mark work to make circles useful for bandsawing bowl blocks round.....in 99% of the cases.

The Colorific pencils work great for attaching to the compass, but do have their limitations for some wet wood.

The dividers work great for scribing a circle on anchorsealed wood.

Ebony pencils work on most surfaces, except very wet. I use it for marking info on roughed bowls. For that purpose, the Ebony pencils work very well. The Ebony pencil lead is very soft, so doesn't work as well for the compass because I prefer a fine line for bandsawing bowl blanks to round.

-----odie-----

 

[Marc Banka]

The new Sharpy Pro claims to write on wet or oily surfaces. I use them for marking my cut lines and circles when working with green/wet wood.
I think they might write on water!

 

[Michael Brown]

Paint pens are my preference. They come in dark and light. They're also pigment solid so that helps on woods that change colors like zebra, canary and wenge.

 

[Tyler Pierce]

The Colorific pencils and scribe mark work to make circles useful for bandsawing bowl blocks round.....in 99% of the cases. But there is that occasional subborn surface where they don't. I'm going to try out the watercolor pencils I just ordered for that 1% that are a problem. If that doesn't work, I'll try a grease pencil. I haven't had a grease pencil in years, but my one concern about them is the ability to remove the mark, once it's there. Can you comment about that?

-----odie-----

No I use the grease pens on wet wood for roughing so I never have to try and remove it.

 

[odie]

No I use the grease pens on wet wood for roughing so I never have to try and remove it.

Another concern that didn't occurr to me initially, is the grease pencil is very soft, and like the Ebony pencil does not lend itself to a fine line like the Colorific pencils do. That is why I don't use the Ebony pencils for this purpose. I'm going to give the watercolor pencils a try.....hopefully they will be satisfactory for wet wood, while enabling a fine line.

-----odie-----