I turn pens with some very drp spalted maple. I have stableized some
with 'Pentacryl' which you can get from Woodcraft. Others, I begin
turning, and stop periodically and coat the piece with CA glue. Works
pretty good too.

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 03:26:57 -0400, Greg G. wrote:


Greetings,

I have been exclusively turning green wood, but ran across an
interesting piece of very dry spalted dogwood. Attempts to turn it
have been somewhat less than impressive. The wood is very dry,
somewhat soft, and possibly deteriorated in a few areas. Turning the
OD results in some tearout, but most of this can be sanded away. But
I am attempting to turn a cup with the endgrain at the ends, and
cannot get a smooth cut for hollowing purposes. It sort of lumps the
grain together into dozens of bumpy masses, but doesn't really cut -
at least not like green wood does. Sharpening the tools doesn't
really help.

Any ideas on how to cut this stuff, or is it a lost cause?
Would soaking this blank in soapy water help?


Greg G.