Amazing Buloke

[brendan stemp]

I have, for some time now, wondered what I can do with some of the most amazing pieces of timber I have seen. There are some pieces of Buloke that have extraordinary figure and colour to them but they often have cracks throughout which makes getting decent sized blanks out of them difficult. I have had to reluctantly burn it. However, I can get small pieces and this project seems perfect for them. I can also get pen blanks but I don't make pens. ENlarge the pic and look at the figure in the Buloke on the brush.

[wolften]

...beeeuudeeeeful. but the bloke timma is fulla worms:;

[rsser]

Agree with you about Buloke figure. At your first (?) turn fest I picked up a 6" bowl blank and it's stunning. Also v. heavy so I assume it's going to give my best HSS a good work-out.

[Mulgabill]

G'day Brendan!! I like it a lot. The figure is wonderful:2tsup:

I know what you mean with the cracks and splitting of Buloke. I have got some old She Oak in the shed and can mostly get only small blanks from it, but it finishes really well.

[artme]

Wowee Brendan!!Stunning figure and beautiful pieces.:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

The figure in the brush reminds me of Lace Sheoak.

[Kidbee]

Sure is nice. Where does it grow?

[smiife]

hi brendan,
very nice figure on the brush,they look very nice
do you sell those shaving sets??
cheers smiife

[dai sensei]

Wow Bendan :2tsup:, I recognise the razer timber, but that brush is like no other I have seen. Almost looks like cast thread noodles :cool:

[brendan stemp]

hi brendan,
very nice figure on the brush,they look very nice
do you sell those shaving sets??
cheers smiife
Check out my web site.

[dr4g0nfly]

Brendan,

I'll take your word that it's timber but with your reputation for resins I would not have been surprised you'd said it was thread noodles you'd cast and turned to see what happens.

Stunning grain, I can certainly see why you wanted to do something with it.

[Old Croc]

I have, for some time now, wondered what I can do with some of the most amazing pieces of timber I have seen. There are some pieces of Buloke that have extraordinary figure and colour to them but they often have cracks throughout which makes getting decent sized blanks out of them difficult. I have had to reluctantly burn it. However, I can get small pieces and this project seems perfect for them. I can also get pen blanks but I don't make pens. ENlarge the pic and look at the figure in the Buloke on the brush.

Hi Brendan,
One day Kenny Wraight dropped into see me and I showed him this large platter I was making that had several cracks that showed up inside a stunning piece of timber and he got me to fill the cracks with ebony dust and supaglue for a contrast to the 2 tone brown wood. Worked a charm, and now everyone admires the stunning platter with the filled in cracks,
Might be worth a go,
rgds,
Crocy

[brendan stemp]

Hi Brendan,
One day Kenny Wraight dropped into see me and I showed him this large platter I was making that had several cracks that showed up inside a stunning piece of timber and he got me to fill the cracks with ebony dust and supaglue for a contrast to the 2 tone brown wood. Worked a charm, and now everyone admires the stunning platter with the filled in cracks,
Might be worth a go,
rgds,
Crocy

THanks Crocy, yep, I'm quite happy to fill a crack or two. Epoxy resin is another good method.

[brendan stemp]

Brendan,

I'll take your word that it's timber but with your reputation for resins I would not have been surprised you'd said it was thread noodles you'd cast and turned to see what happens.

Stunning grain, I can certainly see why you wanted to do something with it.

Good call DF. And when its polished up it looks even more like it is a composite. I have other pieces that have bigger swirls and they just dont look like timber at all.

[brendan stemp]

Sure is nice. Where does it grow?

I know it grows in my area; ie western Victoria and think I would be right in saying it grows west of the Great Dividing Range up to central NSW. It is a Casurina, like She Oak and looks quite similar to She Oak. One easy way to tell the difference is the needles(leaves) on the BUloke point upwards while those on the SO point downwards.

[Old Croc]

THanks Crocy, yep, I'm quite happy to fill a crack or two. Epoxy resin is another good method.

Brendan, on that note, is the resin that you use affected by Danish Oil or clear lacquer, as I used coloured Plasti Bond once, and it shrunk from the DO,:o
Rgds,
Crocy.

[brendan stemp]

Brendan, on that note, is the resin that you use affected by Danish Oil or clear lacquer, as I used coloured Plasti Bond once, and it shrunk from the DO,:o
Rgds,
Crocy.

Mmmmm... that's an interesting one. I'm not sure what Plasti Bond is but I use epoxy resin and it doesn't shrink. I don't use DO on it because it won't absorb into the resin. My standard way of finishing work with e resin is spray on lacquer and I have never had any problems with it.

[brendan stemp]

Here are some pen blanks I cut from the Highly Figured Buloke.

[Mulgabill]

Here are some pen blanks I cut from the Highly Figured Buloke.

Brendan, I hope you have these under lock and key. When some of those penturners see them you may have to sleep with side-arms to protect them.:biggrin2:

[TTIT]

Very nice Brendan :2tsup: I've got some River Oak burl that has the same figure except the dark bits are darker and the swirls are lighter - very special stuff :U - and one day I'm going to make something out of it :B

I know it grows in my area; ie western Victoria and think I would be right in saying it grows west of the Great Dividing Range up to central NSW. It is a Casurina, like She Oak and looks quite similar to She Oak. One easy way to tell the difference is the needles(leaves) on the BUloke point upwards while those on the SO point downwards.It actually grows up through parts of QLD too but unlike your states, it's not on the endangered list here yet - and there just happens to be a patch just out the road :cool:
Careful using the needle direction as a guide - boring old Belah points upwards too and even grows amongst Buloke in places - only sure ID is the pumpkin shaped cones :2tsup:

[NeilS]

...:2tsup:

[Yxoc]

Happy New Year Turners!

I have a friend from overseas who, having discovered the existence of Buloke, and the fact that, apparently it's the hardest wood in the world, is very interested in obtaining a large enough piece to make a tool handle - say 30mm x 50mm x 400mm. In the interests of furthering the international standing of Aussies everywhere, can anyone give me some leads towards obtaining some?

Appreciate your help and regards

Derek

[ian thorn]

nice pieces . you could try used coffee grounds and super glue comes up nice and stays in place

Ian

[dai sensei]

I have a friend from overseas who, having discovered the existence of Buloke, and the fact that, apparently it's the hardest wood in the world...

Tell him he's dreamin :U It may be hard, but certainly not the hardest in the world :doh:

[brendan stemp]

I can help out with that order. Send me an email.

[NeilS]

Tell him he's dreamin :U It may be hard, but certainly not the hardest in the world :doh:

Neither the densest (heaviest), nor the harshest on turning tools, but, according to a number of sources, the hardest wood as measured on the Janka scale:

Ref 1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test)

Ref 2 (http://diyguides.dremel.com/type-wood-hardest-20183.html)

Ref 3 (http://www.morlanwoodgifts.com/MM011.ASP?pageno=207) see the heading "The World's Top 125 Known Hardest Woods" about one third the way down page or search for the following phrase within that page The Hardest Wood In The World, Known To Man Or On Earth Is

[dr4g0nfly]

Neil,

the third link was interesting, I only cast my over it quickly but noticed many woods I hear you guy's talking about. Seems a lot of your timbers are among the hardest.

[Yxoc]

Brendan,
Thank you for the offer to help - e-mail sent.

Neil - Thanks for those references, amazing how many acacias appear at the top of that list, and to a lesser extent, casuarinas and eucalypts.

Regards to all

Derek

[dai sensei]

Neither the densest (heaviest), nor the harshest on turning tools, but, according to a number of sources, the hardest wood as measured on the Janka scale:

Ref 1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test)

Ref 2 (http://diyguides.dremel.com/type-wood-hardest-20183.html)

Ref 3 (http://www.morlanwoodgifts.com/MM011.ASP?pageno=207) see the heading "The World's Top 125 Known Hardest Woods" about one third the way down page or search for the following phrase within that page The Hardest Wood In The World, Known To Man Or On Earth Is

I stand corrected :B.

I would have put the stuff I have here softer than Hairy Oak, I can dint it easily :whatonearth:

[TTIT]

I stand corrected :B.

I would have put the stuff I have here softer than Hairy Oak, I can dint it easily :whatonearth:Something to keep in mind - it is simply the hardest wood THAT HAS BEEN JANKA TESTED - not necessarily the hardest wood in existence! Since that bloke published those results last year I have had more requests for Buloke through my website than you can poke a stick at, possibly one from Dereks mate included - has certainly made it flavour of the month in the US :doh:

[dai sensei]

And perhaps my Bull Oak is not the same as yours :rolleyes:. From Australian National Herbarium:


<tbody>
Cardwellia sublimis
Bull Oak (13)


Cardwellia sublimis
Bull Oak (10)


Cardwellia sublimis
Northern Bull Oak (10)


Casuarina obesa
Grey Bull Oak (10)


Casuarina suberosa
Bull Oak (10)


Hakea chordophylla
Bull Oak (10)


Oreocallis wickhamii
Lowland Bull Oak (10)


Allocasuarina fraseriana
Bull Oak (14)


Allocasuarina littoralis
Bull Oak (14)


Allocasuarina luehmannii
Bull Oak (14)

</tbody>


The stuff I was given was from the back of Toowoomba, common names :doh:.

Cheers

[NeilS]

And perhaps my Bull Oak is not the same as yours :rolleyes:. From Australian National Herbarium:


<tbody>
Cardwellia sublimis
Bull Oak (13)


Cardwellia sublimis
Bull Oak (10)


Cardwellia sublimis
Northern Bull Oak (10)


Casuarina obesa
Grey Bull Oak (10)


Casuarina suberosa
Bull Oak (10)


Hakea chordophylla
Bull Oak (10)


Oreocallis wickhamii
Lowland Bull Oak (10)


Allocasuarina fraseriana
Bull Oak (14)


Allocasuarina littoralis
Bull Oak (14)


Allocasuarina luehmannii

Bull Oak (14)

</tbody>


The stuff I was given was from the back of Toowoomba, common names :doh:.

Cheers

That's the problem with common names, they get thrown around loosely and can refer to a completely different tree in another district.

The species we have here in the SE of South Australia and Wimmera region of western Victoria (and the one that Brendan would supply) is A. luehmannii. It does grow right up into Queensland, but the major stands of it are found in the above areas.

[jinnsc]

I know it grows in my area; ie western Victoria and think I would be right in saying it grows west of the Great Dividing Range up to central NSW. It is a Casurina, like She Oak and looks quite similar to She Oak. One easy way to tell the difference is the needles(leaves) on the BUloke point upwards while those on the SO point downwards.

I am looking for a piece of buloke wood for making a walking cane. I was corresponding with someone on this site while I was deployed to Afghanistan, but lost their contact info.

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks,

CJ

[brendan stemp]

That was me CJ. You can send me a PM through this forum. Brendan

[Sumbloak]

Every time this thread turns up in the new posts listing I always see the title as "Amazing Bukake". Not sure why.

Now that I've actually read the thread and found out the timber in question is bull oak, it's even funnier.