wood for making burr puzzles

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flawr
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wood for making burr puzzles

Post by flawr » November 26th, 2013, 9:29 pm

Hello puzzlers and/or woodworkers
Up to now I made all my burrs of beech (as I mentioned, because it is the cheapest and most available hard wood I can get here.) Now I heard that this is rather a troublesome kind of wood to work with. Can anyone recommend a rather 'good behaving' wood for making this kind of puzzles? (But that is still hard enough so it wont crack or split in case somone gets frustrated=) - or in case a piece falls down onto the floor.)

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Pio2001
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Re: wood for making burr puzzles

Post by Pio2001 » November 26th, 2013, 11:36 pm

Hi,
I didn't know that beech was troublesome to work with, but I am not a woodworker...

For burr puzzles, the woods to avoid are woods that are both heavy and hard : ebony, bloodwood, ipe. They don't forgive any approximation, but in the same time, dilate and contract easily. On top of that, they are difficult to glue.

Avoid also woods that warp : merbau, sucupira

Softwoods (pine) are interesting : they are forgiving with small approximation, and the pieces slide very well against each other. On the other hand, the finishing is poor.

Most other woods are suitable for burrs, though I've seen some advices in technical datasheets on the web, telling that some woods soften the blades faster than others.

I think that cherry is an example of very good wood for burrs : stable, not too hard, and usually without defects.

PS : some woods chip easily : coconut (red palm), Saint Martin rouge, wacapou.
And I remember a difficulty with wenge, that is very difficult to polish and wax properly.

TheJuggler
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Re: wood for making burr puzzles

Post by TheJuggler » November 27th, 2013, 4:15 pm

Walnut is a great wood to use. It's stable, easily available in most places, and it's both cheap, and good looking.

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jack
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Re: wood for making burr puzzles

Post by jack » November 27th, 2013, 4:21 pm

Hi,

I skipped using beech because I think it has a dull appearance. But it is a fine wood to work with for making burrs. What are the problems you are referring to?

Fine woods -and cheap- to work with are mahogany and maple. I've good experiences with both. They also look nice after finishing.
You just got to find a shop for it.

flawr
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Re: wood for making burr puzzles

Post by flawr » November 27th, 2013, 9:06 pm

You are right, there are nicer kinds of wood to look at.
I am sorry for my bad translation (In my language there is a certain word for that and it seems I cannot translate so literally=) By 'bad behaivour' I mean that it expands/contracts much more (and gets cracks quicker) than many other woods when exposed to humidity/temperature changes. And this can result in jammed pieces, or pieces that are way too loose which both is not desirable when you put much effort into making puzzles. I hope I was able to explain what I wanted to say=)
Thank you for your suggestions!
PS: Do you know an english word that describes what I wanted to say?
PPS: Another funny thing: I just thought I misread the word 'mahogany' and had to google it first, because in german it is 'Mahagoni'=)

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