| HOME | GALLERY | GETTING STARTED |
I use various types of wood but would very happily spend my time turning Elm burrs, if there was a plentiful supply that is. Unfortunately the Dutch Elm disease virtually wiped out the English Elm and stocks have dwindled to almost nil. I for one have exhausted local supplies of Elm burr which is sad to see. The bulk of the remaining Elm wood described as burr is quite pathetic, the odd burr pip in a plank of wood cannot fairly be described as a burr. I have attached a picture of a hollow form that I made from a full Elm burr, I have resisted many offers and will not sell it solely because I am unable to replace it due to the lack of Elm. The picture does not really do it justice, the figuring is a pleasure to look at. Notwithstanding the above I am continuing to search and do hope to find another source for Elm burr (soon I hope) .
Australian Burrs I keep a supply of Australian burrs that I have purchased mainly from Outback Timbers at Elmstead Market near Colchester Essex. Timing is everything and if one times it right when the new sea containers arrive from ‘Oz’ there are good pickings of Coolibah, Myrtle and other Goldfield burrs. Wonderful wood, each piece with its own characteristics and such variation of colours, faced with so many burrs it is difficult to leave any behind, I must get a bigger wood store. Eucalyptus Life is about learning and recently converting a large Eucalyptus tree into blanks of manageable sizes was one of the lessons that I have learnt recently. The physical cutting and carting was not the problem, in my haste I neglected to stop and ask what Eucalyptus is like to dry or store,6 months hence I can now answer answer that question. Care must be exercised with most green wood when drying or turning but you cannot begin to understand the word distortion until trying this wood. I will persevere and maybe salvage just a few pieces from that huge tree, the rest has sadly split so badly it will be virtually unusable despite laboriously end sealing it all. I will keep you informed of results, oh, as for the actual wood the figuring and colour is quite good, keeping it in the round and in one piece may prove to be something else though. If anyone hears of any Eucalyptus trees being cut down, please save the cost of a call, I am definitely not interested, thank you very much. Oak I have turned a fair amount of green burr Oak, when green it cuts like butter which is more than can be said for some of the drier pieces that I have. Oak has been traditionaly used throughout the ages and has withstood the test of time being probably the hardest native wood that we have. The downside is its tendency is to split and develop shakes but is nontheless very attractive and takes most finishes well. Yew This is one of most woodturner’s favourite woods. The colour and figuring of Yew is quite something, on the downside Yew does develop shakes and cracks whilst drying and it is also common to discover bark hidden inside the wood. Yew is dense and finishes well but some turners develop allergies when using it, need I say it even more reason to wear you respirators. Ash This is quite a course grain wood but is nevertheless easy to cut and many a good turning can be made from this timber. Ash was used by bodgers to make furniture and treen items. I t has always been associated with tool handles and used extensively in sports equipment as well as long bows. Ash finishes well, variation in colour is usually obtained from large trees where the heart wood is olive and has a very attractive grain. Spanish Olive This wood is a pleasure to work with but do not forget to clean and oil your lathe and tools after turning it. If not and left to the next day you will be faced with a rusty lathe as Olivewood is very corrosive!, so be warned. This wood will one day become scarce as whole areas are being cleared (or burnt) in Spain and Europe just to make way for hotels and building works which to the owners is a lot more profitable than Olive Groves. Beech A very common wood that is quite bland but provided you keep a careful watch will provide unsurpassable beauty after it has been allowed to spalt. (Spalt is the first stages of decay, the many colours and divisions are where different strains of decay meet thus forming a line - a barrier between them). Great care must be taken to dry the wood for the correct time, use too early and only the odd spalt line will be visible and leaving too long will often cause the timber to degrade so much that it can crumble in your hand. Literally a month can be the difference between a piece of beauty and firewood. Following a few mistakes you will quickly learn enough to produce a beautifully coloured piece of wood – next you need to enhance it even further, by turning it. Monkey Puzzle Tree Time for a quick story…….. I bought some wood from a very nice man in Hayling Island, I was pleased that I had managed to buy the biggest piece of wood that had come from the base of the tree and it was about 18” in diameter. I cut the wood into 3 just manageable pieces, loaded the car and drove home. A few months passed by and I just could not resist lifting one of the by now sticky lumps on to the lathe. I started to rough it between centres and where the branches had once been a good many years ago there were just small reddish lumps in the bark and nothing underneath but just plain wood. I turned some more wood off for a while but there was still no sign at all of any whorls that were synonymous to the monkey puzzle tree bowls that I had seen. Rather dejected that my monkey tree ‘had made a monkey out of me’ I took it off the Lathe, put it into a bag and got on with something else. After some weeks and seeing the discarded bag in the corner of the workshop I decided that I would turn the wood anyway and see what it looked like rather than just getting rid of it for firewood. I shaped the outside, fixed it to a faceplate with coach bolts and started to hollow the inside out. After 5 minutes or so the cutter started to knock knock on each revolution, I stopped the lathe and to my amazement two small knots had appeared inside, very small whorls but whorls nevertheless(see picture below) .
I continued removing waste from the inside and one by one discovered the other whorls (normally about six) appeared. Amazed that they were not showing on the outside I started to reshape the outside and kept removing wood until eventually I found them – amazing. I finished turning the hollow form, dried it for a few more weeks before using my favourite finish - Danish oil. I have since turned the second piece and am just finishing the last piece. Moral to this story always try to buy wood from the top third of a monkey puzzle tree – not the bottom, but be quick because I will hopefully beat you to it.
No I didn’t forget London Plane The streets in London and surrounding areas are full of London plane trees, what a shame there are none in my road though but just as well as it would take some explaining where they had disappeared to. You cannot really describe wood as pretty but London Plane is pretty with its intricate grain texture and it is easy to work with, when quarter sawn it is at its best and shows off its medular rays. |
