Blade Builders Thread

[SDC]

Funny, i found kiri in 1, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5 mm easily and cheap but haven't found Ayous. I also bought WRC but only in 3.5 and 4 mm which is a little much for my needs. I have to get it to the right thickness but i don't have access to a thickness sander or planer. I was thinking of using a router sled, which is the method i use for handles, but it's not very precise and the surface doesn't come out very smooth.

 

[AmiciSumus]

Hi,
I just to say thank you for the Consolidate Thread!
And I think you all make lovely blades!

But I have two Big question! > Do any of you sale some of the blades you make ?! And do you take order for special wishes of blades ?!

I am just asking because I could want to make a order!

Cheers!
Ray

 

[GinjaNinja]

Try always hobbies as they ship overseas from uk. https://www.alwayshobbies.com/ they sell 3mm ayous (listed as obeche) in various widths. Other model suppliers sell ayous/obeche in different thicknesses but they are cut to imperial measurements e.g. 1/8th inch which is 3.2mm. I'll have to search for those as I use a model shop around the corner from work, they order what I want and I can pick it up 3 days later, very handy.
where do you get you Kiri from?
As for thciknessing you could try a wide belt sander, you need to take real care and time though as you can remove too much very quickly.
Ive wanted to suggest this a few times but I wonder if an organised swapping process between blade builders would help?

 

[GinjaNinja]

Hi,
I just to say thank you for the Consolidate Thread!
And I think you all make lovely blades!

But I have two Big question! > Do any of you sale some of the blades you make ?! And do you take order for special wishes of blades ?!

I am just asking because I could want to make a order!

Cheers!
Ray

i think most of us do. I have made a lot of blades for others, the majority come from recommendations and my club mates. 9 people from my club have ordered one of my blades, most have re-ordered a second blade, sometimes as back up and sometimes to try something different. One player has ordered 4!
My advice would be to look at the various posts and see which blade maker's work you like most, then PM them. Some will make whatever you want, some will only make certain compositions and some have different custom options available. All of us do this as a serious hobby rather than as a business so there's no pressure to buy!

 

[SDC]

Try always hobbies as they ship overseas from uk. https://www.alwayshobbies.com/ they sell 3mm ayous (listed as obeche) in various widths. Other model suppliers sell ayous/obeche in different thicknesses but they are cut to imperial measurements e.g. 1/8th inch which is 3.2mm. I'll have to search for those as I use a model shop around the corner from work, they order what I want and I can pick it up 3 days later, very handy.
where do you get you Kiri from?
As for thciknessing you could try a wide belt sander, you need to take real care and time though as you can remove too much very quickly.
Ive wanted to suggest this a few times but I wonder if an organised swapping process between blade builders would help?

Thanks GinjaNinja, i saw that store but the shipping cost to Portugal would be 45£, that's very high!
I got my Kiri from Spain, http://www.tormodel.com/index.php they list it as Paulownia. I got my order the next day and only 7€ for shipping. There is also a store in Aliexpress that sells in bulk and the price is reasonable, just search for paulownia sheet. There is a seller with very interesting woods in 0.25 and 0.3mm.
I have a belt sander, i guess i can try that, thanks.

It might work, some of us can easily source materials that others don't, it's just a matter of shipping.

 

[AmiciSumus]

i think most of us do. I have made a lot of blades for others, the majority come from recommendations and my club mates. 9 people from my club have ordered one of my blades, most have re-ordered a second blade, sometimes as back up and sometimes to try something different. One player has ordered 4!
My advice would be to look at the various posts and see which blade maker's work you like most, then PM them. Some will make whatever you want, some will only make certain compositions and some have different custom options available. All of us do this as a serious hobby rather than as a business so there's no pressure to buy!

Thx for fast repley!
I am going to UK 20 Oct to 22 Oct to see Hudderfield - Liverpool so will try to pick up some TT items then
Cheers!
YNWA ;-)

 

[Giangt]

Try always hobbies as they ship overseas from uk. https://www.alwayshobbies.com/ they sell 3mm ayous (listed as obeche) in various widths. Other model suppliers sell ayous/obeche in different thicknesses but they are cut to imperial measurements e.g. 1/8th inch which is 3.2mm. I'll have to search for those as I use a model shop around the corner from work, they order what I want and I can pick it up 3 days later, very handy.
where do you get you Kiri from?
As for thciknessing you could try a wide belt sander, you need to take real care and time though as you can remove too much very quickly.
Ive wanted to suggest this a few times but I wonder if an organised swapping process between blade builders would help?

Just to elaborate the wood species Triplochiton Scleroxylon[FONT=arial, sans-serif] [/FONT]has more names, but is more or less the same wood. Common names that are used are Ayous, Obeche, Abachi and Samba.

 

[bobpuls]

Thanks GinjaNinja, i saw that store but the shipping cost to Portugal would be 45£, that's very high!
I got my Kiri from Spain, http://www.tormodel.com/index.php they list it as Paulownia. I got my order the next day and only 7€ for shipping. There is also a store in Aliexpress that sells in bulk and the price is reasonable, just search for paulownia sheet. There is a seller with very interesting woods in 0.25 and 0.3mm.
I have a belt sander, i guess i can try that, thanks.

It might work, some of us can easily source materials that others don't, it's just a matter of shipping.

Just great !!!!
Please can you check if they are shipping to Slovakia ? ... cause google translator does want to translate the menu part so i`m unable to find it !!!
Thanks once more ... if yes .. i just going to order some pieces and new blade designs are on the WAY !!!

 

[SDC]

Just great !!!!
Please can you check if they are shipping to Slovakia ? ... cause google translator does want to translate the menu part so i`m unable to find it !!!
Thanks once more ... if yes .. i just going to order some pieces and new blade designs are on the WAY !!!

Yes, they ship worldwide but you have to add the products to your cart to calculate the cost.

 

[GinjaNinja]

Here is the mahogany I saved from the skip and the handles that came from it.


after a quick wipe with white spirit.

 

[MDP]

I can't seem to finish my purchase with tormodel shop, due to not being able to ship to Belgium.
Anyone else have any luck?
I contacted them, but no reply...

 

[bobpuls]

I still did not make a order... But I'm looking forward to buy some Kiri from them.... Let us now about the progress. Thanks

 

[SDC]

Shopping day! Bought the 4 big ones for 13€, the small ones were freebies

View attachment 17466

 

[Giangt]

I don't remember if one of you guys posted a link where you could buy black limba?

 

[Nate4s]

I get my black limba from certainlywood in the US.

 

[SDC]

This seems like black limba: https://oakdalecrafts.co.uk/limba--frake--veneer-343-p.asp

 

[SDC]

Can you help me identify these woods? I have the approximate weights and some guesses but i'm not sure:

1. 0,653 g/cm3. It's more greyish than it seems by the photo. I think 1 and 2 are the same species, just different parts of the tree.
View attachment 17524

2. 0,563 g/cm3
View attachment 17525

3. 0,604 g/cm3. My first quess was Iroko but i think it was wrong. It seems brazilian cherry (Amburana cearensis)
View attachment 17526

4. 0,823 g/cm3. I think it's sucupira.
View attachment 17527

5. 0,909 g/cm3. Either sucupira or Ipê.
View attachment 17528

6. 0.881 g/cm3. I'm guessing Faieira (Roupala montana).
View attachment 17529

7. 0,531 g/cm3. Maybe khaya??
View attachment 17530

 

[GinjaNinja]

Can you help me identify these woods? I have the approximate weights and some guesses but i'm not sure:

1. 0,653 g/cm3. It's more greyish than it seems by the photo. I think 1 and 2 are the same species, just different parts of the tree.
View attachment 17524

2. 0,563 g/cm3
View attachment 17525

3. 0,604 g/cm3. My first quess was Iroko but i think it was wrong. It seems brazilian cherry (Amburana cearensis)
View attachment 17526

4. 0,823 g/cm3. I think it's sucupira.
View attachment 17527

5. 0,909 g/cm3. Either sucupira or Ipê.
View attachment 17528

6. 0.881 g/cm3. I'm guessing Faieira (Roupala montana).
View attachment 17529

7. 0,531 g/cm3. Maybe khaya??
View attachment 17530

It's really difficult to identify wood types when you have them in front of you, even harder from photos. The second one looks like a crown cut walnut to me but it's hard to tell the colour from the photo. However, walnut veneer doesn't usually have sapwood but sometimes it does, again making this really hard! It could also be elm, which I think would be useful to you. I've recently made a blade with an elm outer and, theoretically, it has suitable properties, I haven't tested it yet though. Elm tends to be less golden brown though.

The last one is definitely a mahogany of some sort, however which one? It could be khaya (African mahogany), I would want it to be a true mahogany as that's softer and lighter. I would go off the weight as much as anything as identifying through appearance is really difficult. Although the g/cm3 makes sense I don't measure that way, I measure the weight of a 28 x 16cm sheet. So for example a true south American Mahogany at 0.6mm will be (approx) 15g, limba 14g, koto 15g, ayous 12-13g, walnut 16g, ash 17g etc. However, this can vary depending on the moisture level/age. Based on its properties I would expect khaya to be 16 - 17g.

Wood 4 - cerejeira? It looks like an oak of some sort.

Wood 6 - lacewood? Although the weight suggests something heavier. Leopardwood? Although your's looks too golden.

As for the others, hard to say, they are not woods i'm familiar with. Good luck!

 

[SDC]

It's really difficult to identify wood types when you have them in front of you, even harder from photos. The second one looks like a crown cut walnut to me but it's hard to tell the colour from the photo. However, walnut veneer doesn't usually have sapwood but sometimes it does, again making this really hard! It could also be elm, which I think would be useful to you. I've recently made a blade with an elm outer and, theoretically, it has suitable properties, I haven't tested it yet though. Elm tends to be less golden brown though.

The last one is definitely a mahogany of some sort, however which one? It could be khaya (African mahogany), I would want it to be a true mahogany as that's softer and lighter. I would go off the weight as much as anything as identifying through appearance is really difficult. Although the g/cm3 makes sense I don't measure that way, I measure the weight of a 28 x 16cm sheet. So for example a true south American Mahogany at 0.6mm will be (approx) 15g, limba 14g, koto 15g, ayous 12-13g, walnut 16g, ash 17g etc. However, this can vary depending on the moisture level/age. Based on its properties I would expect khaya to be 16 - 17g.

Wood 4 - cerejeira? It looks like an oak of some sort.

Wood 6 - lacewood? Although the weight suggests something heavier. Leopardwood? Although your's looks too golden.

As for the others, hard to say, they are not woods i'm familiar with. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions GinjaNinja. I know it's really hard, but i tought that some of you may have worked with some of of these woods, so i gave it a try. To make mathers worse, the photos were taken without natural light, so they all have that golden hue.

Regarding the weight, it's basically the same thing. If you have a 28x16x0.06cm sheet that weighs 15g that would be 15/(28x16x0.06)=0,558 g/cm3. These sheets all have different widths , so i have to compare them by density rather than individual weight.

 

[Robin.w]

Blades design and build service.
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...Build-it-here!&p=244497&viewfull=1#post244497