610 - Mulga

PB610 Mulga Pen Blank, Dense Australian Desert Timber

Mulga is one of the hardest and densest timbers in Australia, grown through the arid inland where decades of slow growth pack the grain tight. The heartwood is a deep chocolate brown with warm reddish tones running through it, and the grain is fine, straight and remarkably even. It takes a very high natural polish, and plenty of turners finish it with nothing more than the buff.

Where a blank carries sapwood, it runs a bright golden amber hard against the dark heartwood, and the contrast on a finished pen is striking. Not every blank has it. Some run a single deep shade end to end, which makes for a quieter, more classic pen. If the two tone look is what you are after, order a few.

The density is the thing to plan for. Mulga is hard on tooling and rewards sharp edges and light cuts. A blunt gouge will burnish rather than cut and leave you sanding out the shine. Sharpen more often than you would on a softer blank and it turns beautifully. Because it grows slowly under stress, the occasional tight check or bark inclusion turns up in some pieces. Thin CA wicked in before final sanding cures harder than the wood around it and blends away under polish.

This is a different species to the Black Mulga we have stocked previously, so the colour and figure will not match blanks bought under that name.

Features

• Very dense, very hard, one of Australia's toughest turning timbers
• Deep chocolate heartwood with warm reddish tones and a fine, even grain
• Golden amber sapwood on some blanks for a strong two tone contrast
• Polishes to a natural lustre with minimal finish
• Native Western Australian timber, sustainably sourced
• Supplied dry and ready to turn (not enclosed in wax)
• Ideal for pens, small turnings, and feature inlays

Specifications

• Approx. dimensions: 20mm x 20mm x 130mm
• Species: Mulga, Acacia aneura
• Supplied dry and ready to turn

Note: As a natural timber, colour and grain vary from blank to blank. Some pieces carry a band of golden sapwood, others are a single deep shade throughout. Each piece is unique.