Thread: Gidgee?

Hi Frank

Pretty hard to tell from the thumbnails - quite a variation - is the background your kitchen benchtop or granite?

What aroma did the timber have as you worked it or was it too old?

The other key aspect to gidgee it is very hard - bloody hard

Peter

Sorry mate, Never worked with Gidgee before. No help at all I'm afraid. Did you use power for the carving?

Hi guys. More questions than answers, huh?

The background is a granite benchtop, how does this help?

The smell was rather pungent and bitter, would not know how to better describe it.

Yes, very, very hard. The carving took a lot of bashing without small pieces breaking off. On the lathe it withstood a lot of pressure, although I was not able to avoid the thinnest rim of the goblet's foot chipping off, hence the rather too small final diametre. A problem more with the skill than the timber, I am afraid.

Besides drilling the centre of the holes and cutting a bit of the outline with the bandsaw, it was all done with chisels and mallet. Definitely needs the mallet. To be more precise, I did not reckon the time spent stealing the design from an old Chinese jade carving, photographing, and tracing it.

What I thought would really help with the ID is the chatoyancy. Never seen another timber like this. I have a cat's eye stone and they really look the same.

Sounds beautiful, can you photograph them against another backgorund? Love the spoon design, I didnt realise the chinese did spoony things like that.

OK, take 2, in natural light and white background. Still does not do it justice, but hopefully it shows the uncanny likeness with the stone.

I doubt the Chinese did spoony things like that myself. I said I picked the design by photographing a Chinese jade carving, then I applied it to the spoon (seems to be the flavour of the month at the club ). Cross-cultural pollination, if you wish.

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

OK, take 2, in natural light and white background. Still does not do it justice, but hopefully it shows the uncanny likeness with the stone.

I doubt the Chinese did spoony things like that myself. I said I picked the design by photographing a Chinese jade carving, then I applied it to the spoon (seems to be the flavour of the month at the club ). Cross-cultural pollination, if you wish.

Ahhh a cennin chop suey spoon! ahem.... very purdy piece of timber. Ive seen Minnerchi like that so it wouldnt surprise me that Gidgee could show similar figure.

Hi Frank

Hardness and smell fit - colour seems wrong from my experience - too much red but as many others have said they are limitations to identifying wood via photos

Regards

Peter

Thanks Peter and Sebastiaan, at least you added a bit more info. Given that there is no major indication to the contrary, the provisional ID will have to do for the moment.

Good save from the bin Frank and a wonderful transformation from the discarded knotty block If you hadn't said how hard the wood was I'd swear it was Blackwood as it can have a fair amount of that chatoyancy thing too. So why the spoon, has it any significance? No points for copying but your perseverance with carving such delicate detail in a notoriouslyy hard wood is admirable while bordering on masochismm You'd be needing a good dose of Huon after all that

Yep, blackwood was my first guess also, but all the people who had it in their hands (no assurance of expertise, though! ) told me it was not. On the other hand, so many timbers are called blackwood that it could well be one of them... No particular relevance for the spoon, only they seem to be popular and what else could I make quickly with just a thin strip? I thought that at the worst I could cut off the spoon part and use the little carved panel as decoration for something else, a box lid perhaps.

Anyway, after pontificating about skill and talent, I have now provided evidence that I do not possess either. You are right about potential masochism, though: I'll take hard wood over Huon any time. And to rattle the cage of the Huon cultists, I could say almost any wood...

Hi i have a brother travelling through [FNQ&NT] and is bringing me back some Gidgee
he stayed @ a cattle stn where they burned gidgee on the camp-fire they had a pile 10ft high x 30ft long [ i cried] but they told him to make sure you have a TETNUS SHOT before you work with gidgee , very hard& burns very hot\well ,they were throwing 6-8 ft logs on the fire anyway your work look's great well done kerry.

Originally Posted by powder monkey

but they told him to make sure you have a TETNUS SHOT before you work with gidgee

Why? I thought Tetnus was a soil organism,

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

...On the other hand, so many timbers are called blackwood that it could well be one of them...

...And to rattle the cage of the Huon cultists, I could say almost any wood...

Acacia Melanoxylon is the Blackwood I'm referring to, in my experience it's not anywhere as hard as Gidgee but it can have its moments.

...almost any wood whoa, them's fight'n words

nice carve Frank, although I'd be firing up the carbide burrs for that stuff.

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

.
What I thought would really help with the ID is the chatoyancy. .

chatoyancy??? isn't that a desire to make small talk about old playthings?

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

: I'll take hard wood over Huon any time. And to rattle the cage of the Huon cultists, I could say almost any wood...

yeah, you stick to yer gidgee Frank, just means more of the good stuff for me