Grasstrees

[turnerted]

G'day
A little while ago I posted a query on turning grasstree .Here is the result of the first turnings .As others have said it is a very dusty, dirty operation but with good dust control, manageable .
The bowls are about 170mm diam. and the finish is DO .
Comments welcome.
Ted

[DaveTTC]

Nice work Ted.

All the grass trees I have seen were hollow down the guts from memory.

Was this hollow?
Did you just use the edge of the trunk?

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

[turnerted]

Dave
These are WA grasstrees and were solid . Have a look at the site of Jack De Voss for an explanation and some pictures of some beautiful grasstree vessels .
Ted

[BobL]

Nice work Ted.
I have turned a few pieces but its not easy to find large pieces.
I know where there are some really big trees and have been negotiating with the owners to get some for a number of years.


.As others have said it is a very dusty, dirty operation but with good dust control, manageable .

Grasstree wood dust is quite toxic - apparently more so than other woods. In one study done on grass tree leaves a number of curare poison like compounds were found which probably explains why these trees are not eaten by Australian fauna. Curare poison is what South American natives used on arrow tips and it was also used in small doses as muscle relaxants for pre anaesthesia before safer medicinals were discovered.

[Sawdust Maker]

The small piece I've played with was quite fibrous and is soaking up the ca to keep it together

[turnerted]

BobL
Obviously not toxic to everything,as evident by the large grub holes in some pieces.
Ted

[dai sensei]

Looking good. I am amazed at the shine you have achieved with just DO. I would have thought it would just soak it up

[dusteater]

Great work Ted, always looks good when you use the natural edge of the base of the stump.
I find that the lighter in weight the dryer the stump[obviously] but creates far more dust and is darker in colour and less in feature,where as if it has a bit of weight with some moisture it creates a more manageable dust and can have a beautiful spalted yellow feature,not every dead Grasstree will produce a good stump to work with , it`s very hit and miss the bugs and rot get to most.
The largest one I`ve used to make a small table was 700 mm across at the base, when the tree was alive [it died a natural death , promise] it was over
5 mt tall , we have another one that size on the place but it is alive and healthy and probably 5 or 6 hundred years old, or more.

[turnerted]

dusteater
I understand these were harvested many years ago, so should be well and truly dry but as you can see, one of these has a bit of yellow in it and the vase had a bit of red . Unfortunatly the blanks all look the same from the outside .
Thanks everyone for your comments.
Ted