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Oldneweng
15th August 2011, 12:09 AM
Today I tried out our new chainsaw. We bought it for my wife so she could learn to use it. It is a Stihl Mini Boss 170c. Only $300. I found it great for shaping bowl blanks. This is the first time for a bowl blank or otherwise as I have just got my lathe setup and still need to make a proper stand http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/wood-lathe-bargain-138574/.

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This is a piece of poplar I cut today. It had a branch coming out of the other side and is quite thick. It is 38 cm diam as shown by texta marks.

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This is the other half and is thinner.

I don't know how this will turn up but will be a good chance for a play. These came from a tree laying in my back yard waiting to be cut up. It is 60cm at the base. This piece came from about 10ft along.

Today I also cut up a couple of fallen branches from a melaleuca. Anybody tried turning this. The tree is on the side of my front drive and keeps dropping large branches. It is splitting thru the centre and as there is a very tall black wattle growing up thru it and out the top we have decided to remove it.

Dean

cookie48
15th August 2011, 12:43 AM
That would be right. Buy the missus a good chainsaw and they make you use it. Have never turned poplar but it looks ok. Have fun with it.

chuck1
15th August 2011, 09:10 PM
i have been told poplar wasnt any good to turn! but iam a firm beliver now of listen to what people say and do your own thing! looks like a nice blank! looking forward to seeing the results! ;)

HSS
15th August 2011, 09:39 PM
Expect a fair bit of tear out on the end grain if you're turning green, that's my experience anyway. It's easy to turn though (soft).

TTIT
16th August 2011, 10:29 AM
.....I don't know how this will turn up but will be a good chance for a play. .........

Today I also cut up a couple of fallen branches from a melaleuca. Anybody tried turning this........I've found Poplar difficult to turn because it's so 'furry' - like the fibres prefer to bend rather than cut - but it is still do-able.

There's lots of different melaleuca's out there but they're all turnable. If it's one with a 'paper' bark, it will probably spalt a little and go a murky brown if you don't de-bark it (DAMHIKT). I've found the melaleuca's with 'normal' bark tend to be denser and more colourful and very good to turn like Black Ti tree (http://www.ttit.id.au/treepages/black_ti_tree.htm) for example.:U

Oldneweng
16th August 2011, 08:35 PM
This one has a papery bark. I cut the branches because they sagged to the ground so to speak. One did this over part of our drive although we could still get our cars under it. It formed an arch. I have decided to remove the whole tree as it just keeps doing this and is split in the middle. A black wattle (mearnsii) has grown up through it over the last 10 years or so and is now towering above it and far taller and thicker than any other I have seen locally. This will fill the space. I will have plenty of wood to play with from this tree.

Dean