To : jmpurchase22

Hi Alll,

I m new to this site, the wife of a woodworker, and not quite sure yet how to navigate.:

I m searching for burled silver maple cutoffs with which to surprise my husband. He is new to wood turning, and has gotten into making pens! However, burled silver maple is his favorite, and he can t seem to find any. I m wondering where I might find some in the DuPage County, IL area (Western Chicago suburbs.) It seems to take such little pieces to make a pen, I m not sure why it s so hard to find an old peice of wood!! :-) Thanks for any ideas, advice or offers!

Merry Christmas to all!

- jmpurchase22

jm, silver maple is one of the maple sub-species collectively referred to as “soft maple”, including red maple, long leaf maple, box elder, and striped maple. Silver maple usually isn’t specifically identified. This is one reason you may be having a hard time finding it. Also, burl is highly prized and, often, even small pieces are hung onto by woodworkers.

I would suggest simply looking for maple burl and not trying refine your search more than that. Many woodworking stores and on line sources carry pen blanks and, often, they are maple burl. I believe you would have much better luck looking for pen blanks rather than cut offs with such specific species criteria.