grasstree

[turnerted]

G,day
At our club sales over christmas , I was offered some WA grasstree . I am yet to collect it, but has anyone had any experience turning these ? About all I have found out, is that they produce horrible dust .
Ted

[KBs PensNmore]

Make sure that you wear a Trend or Triton type mask respirator as they are not actually a wood as such and as you say very dusty, I'd probably go as far as to say wear overalls that can be washed separately or thrown out, some people are allergic to it also. Looks very unusual when turned and polished.
Kryn

[Willy Nelson]

The sawdust is very dusty, and nasty. We actually banned anyone turning them at our club due to the dangers of the dust affecting other members. Once turned, they look speccy, sort of like highly polished bakelite.

Full PPE, dust extraction and every other precaution. Is it worth it?

Willy
Jarrahland

[dusteater]

I have used Grasstree a few times and have either worked outside with a strong wind blowing or use a very good dust mask , I did have a cold once while working with it and the reaction of the dust with the moisture in my nose was most unpleasant,and avoid sweating too much. However I would use it again because it`s easy to work and looks great .Here`s a couple of projects I`ve done using the Grasstree, the Octopus is made from about 6 grasstrees ,the biggest I could find, and the inlay of the Octopus in the coffee table is also Grasstree. I`ve also turned small objects up to large lamp stands ,I`ve had one piece that the wood looked like snakeskin.

[turnerted]

That looks pretty wild .
Ted