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Calm
18th August 2009, 05:25 PM
Had a phone call from a freind today and they are cutting down a 30 year old spruce tree and i can have it if it any good for turning.

Any advice welcome/accepted.

Cheers

turnerted
18th August 2009, 05:37 PM
G'day Calm
I was given a plank of spruce a little while ago.I found it not over exciting timber but easy to turn and finishes well . Looks a bit like oragon with distinctive redish growth rings .I probably wouldn't be able to resist getting some if a tree was being cut down.

Ted

Woodwould
18th August 2009, 05:48 PM
Spruce is the UK/European equivalent of Radiata Pine. Radiata is definitely the more horid of the two, but they're used for the same purposes e.g. house frames, pallets etc.

pommyphil
18th August 2009, 05:55 PM
It's wood, what doesn't turn burns:wink: I grabbed a block of the much maligned Radiata at the greenwaste section ,turned two big bowls 300 X 140 chucked them on the veranda weeks ago and they haven't moved. Suck it and see

Skew ChiDAMN!!
18th August 2009, 09:00 PM
Spruce turns OK, just looks bland.

Which is perfectly alright if you're into playing with textured/painted finishes or complex forms.

echnidna
18th August 2009, 09:45 PM
think of baltic pine, that's a spruce.

jmk89
18th August 2009, 10:01 PM
If you don't like it, cut it into staves and sell it to Boatmik - spruce is great for masts, booms and spars for his boats

rrobor
18th August 2009, 11:34 PM
Im with Woodwold, its one step up from radiata pine

Woodwould
19th August 2009, 12:16 AM
think of baltic pine, that's a spruce.

Baltic Pine is a far superior timber to Spruce. Pine is denser and tougher. Just about every Victorian-built house in Melbourne was floored with Pine. Spruce would have been trampled to dust long ago.

rodent
19th August 2009, 01:52 AM
Turns well for , rails as in chair backs , baby cots , thin lamps etc its a spindle turners thing . ask .

Calm
19th August 2009, 08:43 AM
Thankyou, i will get it in as big a lengths as i can handle paint the ends then decide who/what to do with it.

Cheers

echnidna
19th August 2009, 10:18 AM
WW, have a look at your books.
Baltic pine comes from 3 main species of spruce, one of which , Scots Pine, is a misnamed spruce.

issatree
19th August 2009, 10:52 AM
Hi Calm,
Yes I've turned Blue Spruce. It's OK, but a bit gummy, especially when sanding.

Very much like Atlantic Cedar - Stinky Cedar, & heaps of that tree in Daylesford, not far from you. At the Railway Station, & on the left side, heading for Castlemaine.

You could most likely ask the owner for some that is laying in the paddock at this time, as we go past those trees every fortnight or so.

Regards,
issatree.
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Woodwould
19th August 2009, 10:59 AM
According to World Woods in Colour by William A. Lincoln, Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is also known as Baltic Pine and colloquially, redwood or red deal in the UK with an average of 510 kg/m3.
See also here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_Pine).

Also according to World Woods in Colour by William A. Lincoln, Spruce (Abies alba and Picea abies) with an average of 470 kg/m3. The growth rings viewed on the plain sawn surfaces are less prominent than those of Scots Pine.
See also here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Spruce).

According to Wood in Australia by Keith R. Bootle, Baltic, Red Pinus sylvestris L. Other common names: Scots pine, red deal, Baltic pine.


I think what happens is that all/any Pine/Spruce coming into Australia from the Baltics is incorrectly labeled 'Baltic Pine' even though Spruce isn't a Pine.

Ed Reiss
19th August 2009, 12:30 PM
David...you could always take up guitar making...spruce is great as a sound board for the backs of guitars.:2tsup:

Woodwould
19th August 2009, 12:43 PM
I forgot about guitar backs, although the stuff they use is slow growing Spruce from the coldest of climes with very close grain and no knots.

Sebastiaan56
19th August 2009, 01:26 PM
Actually its the soundboards (fronts) of acoustic guitars that are made of Spruce and you can pay a lot of money for a first class top. See here for some mandolin and violin pricing http://www.rockisland.com/~tonewoods/Stocklist.html BTW some bearclaw Sitka Spruce sets sell for >$300 US. You will find luthiers throwing women and children out of the way to get to good Spruce.

Calm
19th August 2009, 03:24 PM
ok its all good.

Here are some photos i will take it out to the farm paint the ends tomorrow morning and leave it there

Its an 8 foot x 4 foot trailer

Cheers

Ed Reiss
19th August 2009, 09:39 PM
Actually its the soundboards (fronts) of acoustic guitars that are made of Spruce and you can pay a lot of money for a first class top. See here for some mandolin and violin pricing http://www.rockisland.com/~tonewoods/Stocklist.html (http://www.rockisland.com/%7Etonewoods/Stocklist.html) BTW some bearclaw Sitka Spruce sets sell for >$300 US. You will find luthiers throwing women and children out of the way to get to good Spruce.

I stand corrected :B:D

ElizaLeahy
20th August 2009, 07:20 PM
Thankyou, i will get it in as big a lengths as i can handle paint the ends then decide who/what to do with it.

Cheers

"Who" to do with it?

Hmmm, that's a worry!