Thread: Suitable timber for turning miniatures

Gidgee or mulga. Or other desert timbers. Dead finish. Although I have some quilted stuff that it a bit difficult to turn thin cos the grain runs off everywhere. Hard maple? Holly? Fruitwoods are very hard. And its nice to turn pale woods for a change. They also smell like their fruits. Which is fun. Rose wood. Western myall.

Still might take a bit of hunting about to source. Cant' exactly buy them at bunnings. Maybe put a notice in the wanted to buy section? Also sometimes available on ebay.

My top two would be Boxwood (Buxus sp. [Buxaceae]) and African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon Guill. & Perr. [Fabaceae])
As Tea Lady said - Holly is good but needs to be dried quickly in small (1/2" - 5/8") boards to get a nice 'bone' white colour. Dried in bigger lumps tends to give a bland buff colour.
For small turnings I have also used wood from slow growing shrubs like Berberis, Garrya, Cotoneaster etc. I can get 4 small lace bobbin blanks from a 4" x 1" dia branch.
Doesn't take long to give small bits a blast in the microwave and see what they are like to turn.

Mark

Thank you for the replies. I have used dry area rosewood for larger projects. The timber was hard on my saws. However, I have never turned a miniature from it. I will try

Thanks

So where's the pics of your miniatures?