AWGB Woodturning Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: APH on September 07, 2017, 06:48:34 AM
-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lignum-Vitae-Cylinder-14-dia-x-3-Woodturning-Blank/322437582611?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
Not sure I've ever seen any blank offered at such a high price before; £632.10 for a 14" x 3' Lignun vitae blank.
Rare expensive wood for sure, but that's a lot of dosh.
-
Ah but will it sell..... then it becomes expensive, if it is not sold then it is worthless to the holder.
-
Much better option here LOL (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lignum-Vitae-Cylinders-2-25-dia-x-7-Woodturning-Blanks/322711753782?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D36dbc37f148b4a5ba96b9da859025837%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D2%26sd%3D322437582611&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851)
Pete
-
It has got to be a mistake
Regards George
-
Guys, you need to look at the dimensions properly: This is a blank with 14" diameter and 3 feet long, and according to the seller it weighs 129kg (that's almost 20 stone).
For starters, this would be an absolute rarity, as LV doesn't usually grow to this size. And then it's a lot of wood.
-
lignum is expensive and the seller has got only a few left and they will not be getting more in for a few years i've been told.
whitmores are the people i used to get my cylinders from for my skittle balls but they were only 12x5" size wise and about £45 each when i stopped buying from them as the quality was not great.
i did buy one of those cylinders a couple of years ago but the customer paid for it and they were much cheaper at around £450 but i think we only bought a 12" cylinder at the same length.
no one is bringing anymore lignum in and that is why the prices are going up as there will be someone who wants one and they'll be the only place who has one so can command the price.
i should point out that this is not genuine lignum but the argentine stuff from the bulnesia genus. genuine is impossible to buy unless you find decades old stock.
the bulnesia species are 1-2' diameter trees so this is an average size for a mature tree and at 129 likos works out at about £4.89p per kilo which is how lignum is sold and sounds about right price wise.
genuine lignum can go for £7-10 per kilo. it can also be 1-2' diameter but the biggest i have ever seen is 18" wide and is usually nearer the 1' diameter as it's a slower growing tree and can take 300 years to get to 12" wide.
i am currently stockpiling genuine lignum for my pension and if the price is right i'll buy any old stock if i can find it. i think i'm up to about 1 1/2 tons at the moment.
-
this would be an absolute rarity
The amazing aspect is looking at the photos. You can see four significantly bigger blanks around the one offered.
I wonder how much they actually have in stock.
What would you make from blanks like that ?
-
i was using the one i bought to make these.
they are called cheeses and are about 3" thick by 10-12" across.
-
So what are they good for (other than as paper weights)?
-
So what are they good for (other than as paper weights)?
VERY expensive paper weights at that.
At this price a 3" thick disk of that timber would cost £135. Given the difficulty of turning it should command a premium rate for working it, so would have to sell for an awful lot to make it profitable. Who pays £300 for a product like that ?
-
i make the equipment for this place.
http://www.londonskittles.co.uk/
from memory the one i had was about 110cm long so we should get about 13 blanks from it and they bought it for about £450 as i said so each blank is only around £35 and i charge £30 to turn it.
i also make the pins which are made from solid hornbeam at 14 1/4" tall and 6 1/2" wide.
i even made the current frame that the pins stand on which you can see on page 4 of this thread on another forum.
https://arbtalk.co.uk/forums/topic/58060-all-my-woodwork-so-far/
-
So what are they good for (other than as paper weights)?
VERY expensive paper weights at that.
At this price a 3" thick disk of that timber would cost £135. Given the difficulty of turning it should command a premium rate for working it, so would have to sell for an awful lot to make it profitable. Who pays £300 for a product like that ?
how did you work those prices out???
-
how did you work those prices out???
14" long @ £632 = £45 per inch, so a three inch blank is about £135.
I'd guess time for acquisition, prep, turning, finishing, packaging then add overheads, profit and VAT should add up to around a final retail of £300 to a customer for a reasonable return.
-
open your eyes mate, that's diameter not length.
it says it's 3' long so 3" of it is around £48.
as i said, they paid for the cylinder and i only charge £30 to turn one of those cheeses and it only takes me about an hour.
-
open your eyes mate, that's diameter not length.
it says it's 3' long so 3" of it is around £48.
My mistake.
i only charge £30 to turn one of those cheeses and it only takes me about an hour.
Impressed if you can source/prep/turn/finish/pack in an hour and your overheads are so low you can make a decent profit for £30.
-
out of the source/prep/turn/finish/pack i only do two.
i turn and sand/finish.
what do you mean by the others precisely?
-
what do you mean by the others precisely?
You presumably need to source the timber, ie call/email merchants for stock ? Then cut to size ready for turning. It's all time that needs accounting for when running a business.
My experience of working LV is that is a very hard, difficult timber to prep.
-
i only had to cut it into discs which isn't hard with a nice big ripsaw that goes through 6 1/4" so i rolled it through twice each time and got some discs within 20 mins. it did take me 10 mins to cut in half with a panel saw though. i get repeat custom from this place so i'm happy to keep prices a bit lower that if i was doing a one off for them.
i'm crap at running a business so have probably not made nearly as much over the years as i should have.
-
result...
just scored what is effectively half of one of these cylinders for a great price...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lignum/152690602754?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&autorefresh=true
i'd never pay £630 of my own money for one of those cylinders but i will spend £50 for just over half of one...
-
Feeling cuffed about now.
Bought a Lignum headed Lead Beaters mallet for only £1 at a fund raising table a couple of weekends ago.
-
I was told to throw some LV bowls in a skip, as my car was nearby I got a bit confused and opened the boot by mistake!
Ron
-
I was told to throw some LV bowls in a skip, as my car was nearby I got a bit confused and opened the boot by mistake!
Ron
Bin - Boot, easy to mistake.
-
i only had to cut it into discs which isn't hard with a nice big ripsaw that goes through 6 1/4" so i rolled it through twice each time and got some discs within 20 mins. it did take me 10 mins to cut in half with a panel saw though. i get repeat custom from this place so i'm happy to keep prices a bit lower that if i was doing a one off for them.
i'm crap at running a business so have probably not made nearly as much over the years as i should have.
The AWGB does not advocate rolling timber through any type of saw, a carriage is the safest method to use.
-
i don't have any sort of carriage for a saw.
-
i don't have any sort of carriage for a saw.
DIY sled would be safer.
-
in my opinion it is safer to know what you are doing with the machines you work with and to know how the timber will cut. the day i cut something off i will happily eat my words.
-
in my opinion it is safer to know what you are doing with the machines you work with and to know how the timber will cut. the day i cut something off i will happily eat my words.
Precisely why the AWGB guides it's members towards safe working practices. The safest way to cut a round piece of timber(on any type of saw) is by using a sled of somesort.The timber should be firmly fixed in place, when using a circular saw the saw teeth should protrude through the workpiece by at least 10mm and a top guard and riving knife should be correctly placed. On a bandsaw the blade should be guarded to prevent fingers being able to slip into the blade, therefore should be set about 10mm above the cut.
REGARDLESS OF HOW BLASE OTHER MEMBERS ARE ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY I WILL ALWAYS ADVOCATE THAT OUR MEMBERS SHOULD WORK SAFELY.
-
i will happily eat my words.
Happily ?? You won't be at all happy if you're sitting in A&E dripping blood wondering if the surgeons can sew your finger back on or you've permanently lost the sight in an eye.
Accidents with woodworking machinery happen so fast you can't react.
The smart thing to do is learn from other's mistakes so you don't suffer the same pain. Follow best recommended practice and stay safe.
-
I use a simple vee shaped sled on the band saw (no circular saw) which I find works a treat, also for the pillar drill, easy to make, disposable and cheap, ticks all the boxes. I am sure that we are all guilty of pushing the H & S recommendations at times, either from laziness or just being blasé, I would wager that dust filtration in our workshops would be top of that list!
-
Also remember that those whom are (or are supposed to be) experienced aren't necessarily the safest people to emulate. As said we can all get blase but we need to be aware that new turners will assume that because we do something it must be right.
Pete
-
to be fair i do agree with those statements and i wish to inform any members reading this that they are not to follow my actions as they are likely to be unsafe practices.
i am an experienced wood worker and know what i'm doing but i am unlikely to do that again as it was a one off.
i know that the saw blade should protrude though the top of the workpiece but i don't have a saw that will cut through 12"
my bandsaw table would not hold 60kg and could not cut through such a wide piece.