Timber

[Woodchuck]

Hi Again,

Just thought I'd ask if anyone has ideas on a timber thats cheap & I could get from a local timber yard ? It doesn't need to be beautiful or great looking Just good to turn & then throw away after. I'm just wanting to learn & practice different things without wasting really nice timber.

I've tried some old bits of timber found laying about that were good fun but no idea what they were. Also tried Oregon but found for some reason it chipps alot. Was very hard to plane with my skew & even worse to get a nice finish on endgrain. (Maybe my tools blunt).

Anyone know what Meranti would be like to turn or any ideas on an even cheaper timber please would be great.

Cheers
Woodchuck :c)

[Zed]

meranti is ok - whenI did my course recently it was what they told us to buy to practice on. bit featureless though.

[Spike]

Go down to your local wood yard, M10, Bunnies where ever and buy some 70mm*70mm pine, what ever length you want.

You can then turn beads, coves, pummels to your hearts content.
Pine is quite cheap.

If you get fed up with beads and coves you can turn down a set of skittles for the kids to play with.

Have fun.

Cheers
Spike

[gatiep]

Pine is a very good idea, you'll get lots of practice and relatively cheap. Due to its varying grain it will get your skills up to scratch. Don't make a timber off as being difficult to turn and give up............sharpen those turning tools properly and practice, practice, practice till you have mastered what you intend doing.

Only then was the excercise worth the effort you put into it.

Have fun ..............keep turnin

[echnidna]

Try your local firewood merchant, often lotsa different types of timber but generally only in foot long blocks

[cliff cook]

G`day guys
Go to your local industrial area and look for a shipping company or aluminium boat builder or any transport company, slip in and ask if they have any scapp wood. Old pallets packing crates etc are usualy chucked or burnt ,i have had some magnificent timber from these souces and they can`t be more helpful in giving it to you. I have even scored some mohogany from one place.

One note of caution MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL THE NAILS OUT FIRST. A hidden nail can ruin your day REAL fast. Invest in a nail finder. These are not that dear considering that you get your wood for FREE.
cooky

[Woodchuck]

Thanks for the great ideas guys

The turning has been put on hold for a couple of months as I need to sharpen my tools & I've no workshop/tools of my own except the lathe & turning tools. I was planing on using a friends to start with but they have had to move interstate.

So the other day I ordered a small shed & started looking at some grinders, bandsaws, circular saws, drills the lot & have gotten very excitable & am surprised that most of it doesn't cost as much as I thought it would. So will take a couple months to get started & will grow from there I guess.

Thanks again for the input as I'm a total newbie to all of this but I'm learning alot from the people here & this great forum.

On the cheap timber tho I followed a tree/stump remover the other day & got some timber for free & also was told where I can get a trailer load of pine for only $10 bucks so will also have to look into that.

Cheers
woodchuck :c)

[jhunt_2000]

Woodchuck,
Hi. Good luck with the sharpening. Don't believe the hype, it's not as hard as it seems, or I'm just lucky. As far as the wood goes, your last post hit the nail on the head. There are many tree loppers who are only too happy to give away the wood chunks they would otherwise have to pay to dispose of. Hunt them down and have a chat. It may cost you a bowl at the most but the experience of turning many different types and sizes of timbers is priceless. If you have a car you are set but if you dont, try convincing your local father in law to pick the stuff up for you. Mine is fantastic, I now have enough wood to last for ages.
Happy hunting,
Jhunt_2000

[Don Nethercott]

The most useful tool I purchased was a small Stihl chainsaw (14" blade). Cost me about $600 but I have never had to buy timber.

There is always someone with a tree they want removed after it has fallen, etc (careful - don't go dropping trees in urban areas, the damage you could do could bankrupt you).

For example - a friend had a 3 metre high stump of a mango tree almost a metre in diameter. Was going to pay someone to remove it so I offered to do it for free. Took a lot of work, especially with a small saw, but you should see the huge pile of mango I have drying.

So far I sawn up a Jacaranda, a Camphor Laurel, a Norfolk Island pine, and parts of numerous other trees.

I also got a pile of small offcuts suitable for practice from the waste heap at a local sawmill.

All the best.

[BrianR]

Redgum fence posts from a scrap yard are excellent too. They're hard but they come up to a beautiful finish. Tree loppers will give you wood also.

[jhunt_2000]

Don. Can't remember if I saw it here or not but a little warning about Mango that I've just had reinforced by personal experience; you need to strip the bark before leaving it to dry. The bark is usually infested with little grubs, (no, I don't know which ones), who will proceed to munch into your beautiful timber if you don't strip it. Bothersome but worth the effort. Bye.

[Woodchuck]

Woot, at last. Got my new shed a few days back & just finished putting it up. The sparky is coming to put power on early next year which will be sweet.

By that time I should have the Bandsaw & few other goodies. found it pretty easy to sharpen the turning tools, even the carbon stuff wasn't hard, edges are sharp (7 of my ten fingers with bandaids now lol, but at least I still have all 10 ) I used a slip stone to take off the burrs.

Might start a new post & pick a few peoples brains because I have no trouble with getting a single facet/bevel & a correct angle on most but the gouges are driving me nuts. Grrrr

Will now have to look for some more wood also as the stuff I got b4 was raided by some friends for firewood while I was away. They even split up & threw a large turning round of purple heart I was saving till I had the skill to make it a nice bowl :c(

Cheers
Woodchuck

[Don Nethercott]

Cliff, you talked about a nail finder.

I've searched the net and checked at Bunnings and nobody has heard of one.

Obviously you have - can you give us some info please.

ie Brand name, where from, etc

Thanks
Don

[Red neck]

Don

Try this site. http://www.gregmach.com/new_exclusive/little_wizard.htm

They have several different sizes for sale.