rain tree and chisels...

[chews]

Hi, new to the forum and very first post.

A friend has had an extremely large (read bloody huge) Rain Tree trimmed and there are numerous logs. I have an old lathe from my grandfather that I intend to start turning and was wondering if anyone has turned this timber before and will it be ok? Idea was for some legs for a kitchen trolley/mobile bench style.

Also, I have done a little bit of turning a few years ago and would like to get a basic set of chisels to start on without too much outlay. Any ideas what to get and where would be greatly appreciated. I will try and use the search function on the site but there are a lot! of threads...

Cheers,

Chews.

[dai sensei]

Welcome aboard.

Raintree is a beautiful timber and well worth keeping for turning, just be careful, many people are allergic. I strongly recommend joining a turning club near you, where ever that is.

[Tangoman]

G'day Chews,

Welcome to the addiction ! Definitely worth joining the local club !

Good and reasonable priced tools here - recommended - http://www.garypye.com/Turning-Tools/GPW-Turning-Tools/Sets-c97/

Whereabouts in Oz are you ?

Regards,
Cam

[Cliff Rogers]

I like Rain Tree, easy to turn but the end grain tears out.
Becareful sanding it because the side grain sands differently to the end grain so if you are making a bowl & you do too much sanding, you will end up with some parts of the wall much thicker than other parts.

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum Chews.

[powderpost]

Raintree is a nice timber, also known as monkey pod. May make you sneeze a bit when turning. Borers have been known to fly through a cyclone to get to the sapwood. Make some inquiries on the web about borer protection.
Jim

[chews]

Thanks for the hints and tips so far, appreciate them.

I'm in sunny glorious Cairns. will update profile.

When you say the end grain tears out, what is that referring too, does that mean the end grain is very weak when on the lathe?

[Cliff Rogers]

Have you ever planed a bit of timber?

Side grain planes very nicely when you go with the grain, a little less smoothly when you go against the grain & totally unpredictable when you go accross the grain or across the end grain.

To get a good finish off the tool, you need a very sharp cutting edge & a very light touch.

Rain Tree end grain tears out if you aren't super careful.