Spotted gum , whats' it like to turn ?

[Manuka Jock]

Hi guys ,
my brother , just out of Brisbane felled some trees about 4 years ago ....

""Spotted gum - grow wild all over this place. Farmers call them woody weeds.
But they grow tall if left and fat as an oak when near a water course.
I have some fat logs I'm using as garden border seats. (300-500 diameter, 1200 lengths)
Some will have white ant damage on outside, but as they are a very hard wood there should be plenty of good timber inside.""


Whats it like as a working timber , on and off the lathe ?

Jock

[RETIRED]

Hard, real hard if dry but comes up nicely.
It is no mistake that they use it for floors.:D

[Manuka Jock]

So I better get over there , borrow a lathe , and have at some of it , before the white ants put paid to it all then eh :U

[tea lady]

I think its a little on the boring side. The few little things I made 'cause I got the wood for free remind me of floors every time I look at them.:rolleyes: 'tis very hard, but not difficult to turn (even by me.:D) But boring may mean that it won't distract from the form with showy grain or anything.:shrug:

[weisyboy]

white ants wont touch it. they break there teeth.

it will rot fairly quickly thow.

good for turning but you need sharp chisels.


But they grow tall if left and fat as an oak when near a water course.
I have some fat logs I'm using as garden border seats. (300-500 diameter, 1200 lengths)

there only babys there are some up on our back ridge a good meter in diameter. must be well over a hundred years old thow. growing between the blue metal boulders.

[Manuka Jock]

white ants wont touch it. they break there teeth.

it will rot fairly quickly thow.

good for turning but you need sharp chisels.



there only babys there are some up on our back ridge a good meter in diameter. must be well over a hundred years old thow. growing between the blue metal boulders.

cheers weisy ,
my brother Jeff is not far from your place , he's across the river at Redbank Plains .

[madcraft]

Hi Jock

Hard as rock , don't bother to turn off your grinder if you are going to turn some 500 stuff

EEE and shellawax bring out the grain otherwise a dark wood , oil works good too { I think I used something from ecowoodoil } you also could try bleaching and then do your polish { looks interesting and is a different sort of finish

I tried the bleaching on a few dark { hidden grain } timbers and was surprised with the results

Cheers
Glenn

[Manuka Jock]

Thanks for that Glenn,
I am thinking of heading over to stay with my brother , in Redbank , for a month or so , over Christmas New Year .

No lathe though . He does have a bench saw of some sort , so I might cut out some blanks to bring home .

If the work situation looks good for carpenters , I may come back with me kit ..... there is bugga all work here at present .

Jock

[weisyboy]

spotty gum isn't all that hard when turned. milling it is a bugger thow. it is kinda oily so cuts fairly well.


i thin things are starting to slow down here couple of me mates are builders and they reckon they haven't been doing as many quotes.

[Manuka Jock]

Has that new planned city of Springfield started slowing down too ?

Milling it is a bugga ? how so

[weisyboy]

springfield?

it is one of that hardest timbers to mill dont know why it just is.

[Manuka Jock]

this Springfield

http://www.greaterspringfield.com.au/

[weisyboy]

never heard anything about it.

[rsser]

What were you building over on the W. coast MJ?

[Manuka Jock]

It was a hotel Ern , for the Scenic Circle group in Franz Josef .
They already have two there, one built in 1965 , about a mile out of the town . And one in the village thats' about 20 years old.
The new one is across the road from that one , in amongst the forest .
Was there for about 3 months .
I spent 3 weeks just out of Fox , at Lake Matheson , building a Restaurant before that .

Not much work here now , next stop Brisbane , for a look anyway , with my nailbag .

[Claw Hama]

MJ, I know this thread has been pokeing about for a while but I just remembered I turned a realy sweet carving mallet from Spotted Gum. Turned great, like Weiseboy said a little oily, the tools loved it. And it's a fantastic mallet, good weight, dosn't split or anything weird I just slop a bit of linseed on it every now and then with all my other hammer handles.

[Manuka Jock]

Carving mallets eh , good to know , thanks Claw .
All the carvers I know tend to chew thru a few , especially when working big logs for standing poupou , and the carved panels in meeting houses .

[weisyboy]

has been used as tool handles for ever. good strong timber long grained so it docent split.