Sheaok Vase??

[dai sensei]

I got this log of sheaok off my work site a few months ago. It's been telling me to make it into a natural edge vase (I must have caught that talking thing off Wendy :rolleyes: :D :D ). I've never done a natural edge, and this large beast of a log makes me wonder if I have bitten off too much.

I've attached the faceplate to what will be the top while I turn the outside and base. My plan was to turn a spigot on the base to support it when I reverse the piece and use a steady to support the outside while I turn the inside.

Started to rough turn it after slicing a taper all round on the bandsaw to reduce the inballance. I was going Ok until I unfortunately I broke off one of the wings at the top :~ , too heavy a cut, so I am trying epoxy to glue it back on before giving it another go.

Hope I am on the right track, not sure how it will dry either, this stuff cracks like crazy. I was going to rough turn it then put in in sawdust, or should I finish turn it and take my chances while it dries?

Thoughts appreciated.

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Neil,

I hope this one turns out for you!! What a ripper of a sheoak log!! :)

I have to agree - a natural-edged vase would look a million dollars from this log!

Cheers
Wendy

[Doughboy]

:o

Good luck and I hope it goes well for you!!!

Pete

[Joash]

On a piece like this, minor splitting will not be noticed in the finished product. I reccomend turning it to an almost finished diameter, of around 4mm, put it in a freezer for 5 days, and then take it out, let it defrost, and then place it in a fridge for 5 more days, finish it, and it will be dry as.

If I was turning it, I would turn it, finish it, and then let it dry, a piece like this, will look great with a lot of warp, a few splits, and a high gloss finish.

With the natural edge, do not make it to wide and overpowering, leave it around 1/2" wide, so as to create a nice contrasting band up the top.

Hope it works out,
Joash

[dai sensei]

Thanks Joash. I was planning to do an overhung lip as per the sketch, but it may not work out, probably end up with a small lip as you suggest.

My freezed is pretty much full of food, no room for a large lump like this. I did have a few slices of the same log for clocks in the metho/detergent mix for 4 weeks. When I took them out I put them in shavings, but they still ended up with star cracks I thought I could still resin fill, but within a few weeks I had a heap of little pieces:~ .

[Gil Jones]

Gopherit Neil, looks like a great challenge to take on!!
It won't be big of a piece to chew on if you take small bites:p
I really want to see the finished piece!!

[Wayne Blanch]

Neil, I have a couple of bits of She Oak here that unfortunately split pretty badly:C. My fault though I didn't get them sealed soon enough:doh: . That one looks great and with the outer surfaces the shape they are it should make an awesome vase. Look forward to seeing it. Have fun with it and good luck.
Wayne

[tashammer]

ah well, if it cracks then you get some for pen blanks, hey?

That is a nice lump of wood though.

i wonder why i never seem to hear much about sap replacing in containers of water?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

i wonder why i never seem to hear much about sap replacing in containers of water?

Maybe 'cos it doesn't work as well as containers of alcohol or LDD? :p

I've never had much luck force-drying sheoak either. :( Nuking in the microwave works, but I've only done small pieces that way. I'm not too sure how well larger pieces would nuke... the odd few I've come across I've always sealed and racked. Too exxy to experiment with.

[rsser]

You could consider perhaps an easier shape ... with that kind of cross section a martini glass form can look spekky. Do a google for Brian Clifford's website in the UK which has a pic and some tips.

[dai sensei]

I managed to turn the beast this weekend. I ended up going for beeds and coves instead of the original shape I sketched. Should have stuck to the orginal, don't like it now - the trunk is too thick and long and it looks out of proportion. My wood talking translater must be broken:-

It started cracking while I was turning it, and along with a few chunks coming off from the edge, I did a fair bit of CA repairs. After turning I soaked it and burnished it with Organoil, then gave it a coat of Danish Oil, but it still continued to crack :((

I will give it a few more coats of Daish Oil then take some pics. I also kept the spigot on as I can see myself re-turning it after it has finished drying.

[ROB NZ]

Two questions:
Very interested to read Neil's experience with his she oak and the responses. Today, acting under instructions from SWMBO i have been doing major pruning work on some trees on our driveway including four she oaks, but are they what Neil and others are describing?
If so I will certainly sort out some of the best pieces tomorrow - mostly at least 400 mm dia for later wood turning.
We have known these trees as Casuarina, and from the books, probably C. cunninghamiana "River she oak", in Readers Digest -Gardeners encyclopaedia of plants and flowers - Australia and N.Z.

I'm so wary of the unfamiliar Australian names for timbers.

In the freshly cut limbs there is a hint of the grain of Banksia integrifolia, although quite white rather than the rich reddy brown of the Banksia which I have been "blank banking" with water soluble wax recently.
I've never heard before of Joash's freezing method of speeding up the drying process. Is that generally succesful?

Keep talking to the wood, and hug a tree today!

Cheers,

ROB NZ

[soundman]

I've been playing with some sheoak lattely.

Radial shrinkage on this stuff is huge. the outside has further to shrink than the inside therefore splitting is inevitable unless you do something to relieve the posible stress.

I have microwave dried some small stuff with good success.
But this shrinkage is wild.
I rough turned a couple of bowl like objects:B . I turned a spigot on the bottom for the chuck in expansion.... recess about 55mm ID....after drying a couple of them were oval recesses about 48mm across the short diameter. thats more than 10% radial shrinkage and these logs were far from green and I had already cut arround one lot of cracks.
These were half log crossgrain bowls.

Turning whole log..... best of luck.
That centre core at the bottom of the vase will be where your problem comes from.
When rough turning.. be very generous with your recut allowance.

No matter if it does crack......you can fix it with some resin:D "Mr Resin King"

cheers

[tashammer]

LDD ? And i can't see alcohol lasting to long around some of you lot; stick it in the tractor or the vegisolarcar.

[dai sensei]

she oaks, but are they what Neil and others are describing?


I have 3 sheoaks, what I call Casuarina (Beach Sheoak - Casuarina equisetifolia), what I call Rose Sheoak (Allocasuarina torulosa), and this one that I just call Sheoak (River sheoak - Casuarina cunninghamiana)



That centre core at the bottom of the vase will be where your problem comes from.
When rough turning.. be very generous with your recut allowance.

No matter if it does crack......you can fix it with some resin:D

I turned this one to final, sort of, the inside still has walls of 10mm so I can still re-turn. I did seal the spigot end with some paint I had lying around. The crack to date are on the sides.

It has and no doubt continue to crack, and yes I intend to fil with resin. There are limits however, if it cracks and warps (ie crack no longer line up), it may not be worth filling the cracks.

Post some piccies tomorrow.

Cheers

[dai sensei]

Well here it is. I did sand all the edges of the flower head as the natural edge was really rough and didn’t look the best. As I said previously, I don’t particularly like the shape, the proportions are out and all those beads and coves, well hmm.

It has only had a couple of coats of Danish Oil (this stuff really soaks it up) but it is not worth putting anything else on it until it has dried out more due to the extent of cracking already evident. (see last photo).

[Wayne Blanch]

. As I said previously, I don’t particularly like the shape, the proportions are out and all those beads and coves, well hmm.
G'day Neil,
I tend to agree with your assessment of the shape but I love the natural edge top it is really nice.
Did you have to stop the lathe and count your fingers from time to time. :)(
Wayne

[TTIT]

As I said previously, I don’t particularly like the shape, the proportions are out and all those beads and coves, well hmm.
I dunno - I somehow find it strangely appealing? Conjures up visions of midieval weaponry and the dark ages.:2tsup:

[SawDustSniffer]

what the %^$#
it is sort of , well , um
i like it ,
how big is this ,well um , thing, 300mm tall ?
pitty about the cheacking around the base ,but thats sheoak ,other timbers dont have that shape ,

well done , i like it

[ss_11000]

mmmm. i like it to. it looks weird but it looks good.
great work neil.

[dai sensei]

how big is this ,well um , thing, 300mm tall ?

Yep around 300 tall. The flower ended up being 220mm and the trunk 70-120.

[Simomatra]

Looks great Neil

I can only dream of that at this stage

[reeves]

man, pretty challenging wood to try that in, looks nice tho.Those natural edge flutes look like real finger snappers! ouch

I have been practicing some natural edge stuff in red cedar and huon pine, soft and easy.

i find with the sheok its best to turn it rough and leave it a while to settle, even oil yr peice and then leave it. One sit settles and dries well u wont have many splitting issues, if anythings gonna split sheok will, the rose sheok and hairy oak more than any other...

still u did a nice job...

cheeeeeeers
john

[tashammer]

triffid, itsa triffid

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Hmmm... is this it's relative?

http://www.woodworkforums.com/showpost.php?p=325793&postcount=17

[tashammer]

Hmmm... is this it's relative?

http://www.woodworkforums.com/showpost.php?p=325793&postcount=17

no, that one is what happens when you pick out a stop motion pic of dropping a brick in some caramel. (i was going to say into a dunny but i didn't want to upset anyone).