Craibia brownii

[Caveman]

G'day all,
Thought I'd share this rather unusual piece of wood with you - piece is about 15" across.

Took these pics during roughing out not too long ago - should be dry enough to re-turn in a coupla months.

Don't know if that figuring is the norm for this species or whether this is an extreme case of spalting - have never seen or used this wood before. Was from a freshly felled tree so I doubt it can be spalting unless it was diseased and on the way out - did have a large crack running down the middle of the log, but was otherwise very wet when turned.
Any ideas???

Wonder what it'll look like when it's dry.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

WOW!

Nothing else to say. :-

[DJ’s Timber]

:whs:

[Caveman]

WOW!

Nothing else to say. :-


:whs:

:U That's what I thought when the log parted after I sliced down the center with my chainsaw.

[TTIT]

That's gonna look awesome mate :o:U. Do you know the common name for it???

[Sebastiaan56]

Wonder what it'll look like when it's dry.

Amazing Im sure, what an incredible piece of timber. I hope it doesnt crack on you, doesnt look like a one tube of CA job.

[anderspv]

Where can I get some. THis looks like a really nice candidate for some chrushed stone inlay right thru that nasty crack.

[Alastair]

Hi Andy

My guess is spalting, especially as it is concentrated around the split, which would allow ingress of moisture/spores. Not unlike some Lace Sassafras I got in Tasmania a couple of years ago. The spalting in sassy takes place in the standing tree.

Common name? Started my turning in SA some 12 years ago, but don't recognise from the pic. Where you are located, (as opposed to a lat/long) might also help

regards

[Alastair]

Let Google do the walking

http://zipcodezoo.com/Plants/C/Craibia_brownii.asp#MoreInfo
http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=69498

[rsser]

Stunning Andy.

... btw, when's the big black baby due? :D

[Caveman]

Hi Guys',

Amazing Im sure, what an incredible piece of timber. I hope it doesnt crack on you, doesnt look like a one tube of CA job.
Hasn't cracked so far - I covered the whole thing in wax so it should be fine.


My guess is spalting, especially as it is concentrated around the split, which would allow ingress of moisture/spores.
Common name? Started my turning in SA some 12 years ago, but don't recognise from the pic. Where you are located, (as opposed to a lat/long) might also help
Yep - the more I think about it and recall how it looked when wet; I reckon it was spalting.
I also did some googling and couldn't really come up with much info other than what you uncovered - no common name - I doesn't usually get very large and is mostly planted for it's mass of fragrant flowers when in bloom.

If you have google earth you can check out where I am using those coords. A small farm in Athi River, Kenya.



... btw, when's the big black baby due? :D
:2tsup: Is currently somewhere on the Indian Ocean - ETA early next month - can't wait!

[hughie]

looks like the stuff of legends....:U

Oi rember, when Oi was a boy, me great great grand daddy 'ad a luverly bit o' wood........come frum darkest africa.....

[ss_11000]

wat skew said:2tsup:

[Caveman]

A valuable lesson learned today:doh: :~ :(( .
I just finished one of the small rough outs that I made from an off-cut of the above larger piece - it appeared totally dry so that was good (although I'm sure the bigger pieces are still a bit too damp).
I took a couple of pics (the 1st 3) as it was, off the lathe prior to oiling - looked really super, however after one coat of linseed (3rd & 4th pics) the lovely colours blended.
Bowl is 6" x 1.5".

I think with the next one I'll skip the application of any oil and just buff on a beeswax finish.

What do you reckon - I guess any oil will do the same as the linseed did?
How would you finish it so as the keep the original colours as close as possible?

[rsser]

Try blonde shellac Andy, or nitrocellulose sanding sealer; wax over the top.

Oil finishes darken pale timber too much.

Pity; good looking piece.

[OGYT]

Some top-notch timber. Ya gotta look inside the bark to find that stuff. :D
Ditto what Ern said about the oil.
If me, I'd try the lacquer, since that's what I have around. Sand a scrap, and make some tests. :)

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I really like the richer hues of the oiled finish - and would be quite pleased if that piece came off my lathe - but if it's not what you're after then I agree with Ern about trying a blond shellac.

I don't know that I'd use an NC sealer though, as I've found they can "cloud" the colours, especially if it has areas of open grain such as in the spalt lines. It could be just the NC I'm using though. :shrug:

[rsser]

Which n/c sealer are you using Skew? Something from up the road from you?

Agree it dulls the timber, but with wax over the top I've been happy with the results on spalted timber and pale stuff like Huon.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Yep. The Woodsmith's stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I like it (wouldn't buy it otherwise) but on some pieces I've found the spalted section is more porous or open-grained than the rest of the wood, so the NC doesn't have an equal effect over the entire surface.

If it's not acceptable having oil darken the lighter timbers, I'm pretty sure it also wouldn't be acceptable to have the NC "lighten" the darker bits of timber.

Same problem really, just the other end of the stick.

It could easily just be me though. :shrug:

[Caveman]

Thanks guy's.
Have got quite a few 'scrap' pieces so will have a play and see what comes up best.