Thread: May....be prepared

Very nice Gary.

["PKROEZE says Now I don't have a pen disassembler so to take the nib out I had to use pliers which obviously wrecked the nib and then to get the twist mechanism out was an exercise in futility. I tried bashing it out with a nail; pulling it out with plyers; WD40. Finally I drilled it out, which wasn't simple either as I didn't have a drill bit the exact size of the barrel."]

Don't think you're the first one to ever have dramas with a pen kit. At least you have got rid of almost all the dramas possible in just two pen kits.
But you have learned a lot in a very short time, so you're definitely not dim. By the way, a pen disassembler (just $9 at Pye's, or $8.50 at Timberbits) is a great investment - mine paid for itself the first week! And the assembly instructions (usually in Chenglish) can really confuse the issue - I lay out all the parts next to the finished blanks, check what will go where and in what logical sequence, and then quite often re-write the instructions for next time. But it's all good fun - as long as you don't lose your sense of humour!

Cheers, Gary H

Very interesting and beautiful pen Gary .. and the patterns and streaks in spalted wood is always interesting.
well done

This may come in handy for those starting out. Doesn't give all the details on how to assemble but could be a starting point for some of the details that are often hard to find.

Originally Posted by Gary H

Here's number 1 for me for the May challenge. A Northern Tamarind blank, courtesy of Ironwood, using a Cigar kit and EEE and Shellawax Glow finish. And the penguin is for real - it just popped up while I was turning! Just proves you never know what to expect.

Spalted timbers are always interesting and it looks like you are enjoying this journey with a really nice results.

Thanks Pkroeze, Knappen, Euge and Treecycle - your comments are appreciated. And special thanks to Ironwood for his generous supply of blanks from what must be a large and long held stash, and his assistance and encouragement.

Cheers, Gary

Originally Posted by Euge

Comment on the wood: Rose (floral) smelling wood is a characteristic of drier region Acacias. I have not noticed any odour in "Inland Rosewood" - do you mean Alectryon spp? Or, do you mean Acacia rhodoxylon, a species with a very dark wood, dark short scaly bark, and where the species name means "rose-smelling wood"?

To me it looks like it could be wood from another wattle. If your mate was from near Mt Morgan it may be wood from a Mt Morgan Wattle. I have never see heartwood from this species. So its just a possibility only with another link to your mate.

Acacia podalyriifolia (Mt Morgan Wattle, Queensland Silver Wattle)

Hi Euge, my mates surname is Morgan, that’s why I gave it the name of Morgan Gum.
A few years back I was given a small block, marked “Inland Rosewood “ I remember it had a sweet smell when cut, when I cut a slice off the Morgan Gum block, the smell immediately reminded me of the other block, the same sweet smell.
Even if I did find out the proper name for it, I would probably still call it Morgan something, in reference to my mate from years ago, because he gave it to me means more than any botanical name (to me)

Originally Posted by Gary H

Thanks Pkroeze, Knappen, Euge and Treecycle - your comments are appreciated. And special thanks to Ironwood for his generous supply of blanks from what must be a large and long held stash, and his assistance and encouragement.

Cheers, Gary

Only too happy to help Gary.
That Penguin would have been a nice surprise. That blank ( and many others I have ) came from a branch that came down in a storm , the tree is just into the bush near my house, it sat on the damp rainforest floor for 6 months or so, before I cut it and saw the spalting, I kept a piece, and left the remainder in the bush to spalt more, which it did, I got some amazing stuff out of that branch.

Originally Posted by Ironwood

Hi Euge, my mates surname is Morgan, that’s why I gave it the name of Morgan Gum.
A few years back I was given a small block, marked “Inland Rosewood “ I remember it had a sweet smell when cut, when I cut a slice off the Morgan Gum block, the smell immediately reminded me of the other block, the same sweet smell.
Even if I did find out the proper name for it, I would probably still call it Morgan something, in reference to my mate from years ago, because he gave it to me means more than any botanical name (to me)

Hi Ironwood, when wood identity is uncertain it is always a fascination to me (even if a Mugs Game). Most especially when it's provided with a good pic, info re its smell and location as clues as you have nicely done. Thanks for more background on your naming, I do appreciate it so hope you don't mind me elaborating on the topic of wood id just a bit more.

The term "Western or Inland Rosewood" is usually (probably not exclusively) applied to Alectryon oleifolius with a rose-like appearing heartwood (spalted I believe, as I have found a fungus often associated with it). (“Rose” is seemingly applied to appearance as well as odour.) To my knowledge this wood does not have an odour (I’ve cut quite a bt over the years) but it may be a deficiency in my nose. I will post some pics separately. Nor am I aware of any eucalypt wood which has a distinctive odour either, but there may be. However most inland acacias do have floral odours and the wood you turned as "Morgan’s Gum" looks more like an acacia than a eucalypt or Alectryon to me. Naming it Morgan’s Gum in memory of your mate is totally fine, as common wood names are filled with such associations with persons and places.

Its a very beautiful pen (and wood) no matter what you call it!

I should have added, I know it’s not a Gum/Eucalypt, it’s just the name I jokingly christened it as at the time.
I can add a little bit more info here. The older part of Weipa township where this tree had grown, was built on mined out ground, what this means is the area was completely cleared of vegetation, the topsoil stripped off, then the Bauxite was mined out , which would have been about 2 to 3 meters deep in that area, then the topsoil would have been put back over the mined area. So any trees in that area , were planted by the early residents, this would have happened in the 1970’s. Back then you could go to the Regeneration Department and get free seedlings of species that they were propagating for mass planting in the mined out areas, no doubt these would have been Australian natives, though they did plant a lot of Khaya trees in the early days .
The seeds for the regeneration stock were collected locally by local Aborigines, though I think early on, they did bring seeds in from other areas that they thought might be suitable. Later on they realised that the original species of the area were best for replanting.

I googled for info , hoping for some info, there is a book which was published in 1979 which was written on the subject by Comalco ( the mining company ) , but I wasn’t prepared to pay for it. Most other info that came up, is from later times.

Thanks for that background detail. As Gab says such background, of a piece like this important, especially if you are hanging on to it as a memorabilia and with the emotional attachment to friend, a place, a piece of history.

Hey, your account of Weipa brought back nice memories of my own - flying in on a C-130 with a bunch of military guys, visiting mining sites and operations as well as touring the unmanned airfield near there. Then flying back to Townsville, all on same long day! This was before I was interested in wood, but was interested in trees then.

Again thanks for the background & history Ironwood. You have done your friend Morgan proud!!

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