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Scott
30th May 2011, 07:57 PM
Hi all,

After getting my first lathe a month or so ago I'm constantly on the lookout to turn anything at all. Even my 2yo Dachshund seems fair game. Addicted? Oh yes!

Seriously though, I've been eying off a dead tree fern sitting under the garage and was wondering if anyone has tried turning a tree fern? You know, something like the fellas from this image:

Tree Fern (http://palmnursery.com.au/product_images/f/tree_fern_15__78463.jpg).

I'd imagine it'd be pretty near soft/hairy/brittle to turn. Thoughts anyone?

mkypenturner
30th May 2011, 08:10 PM
i have'nt but some one will prob have i have seen a vase made from papaw :oo: yep
from one of my local club members

sjm
30th May 2011, 08:16 PM
There's no wood, it doesn't have a central core, it's just hair, and quite wet when green. When it dries out it falls apart. Since you have a dry one, simply cut the end off and have a look at it.

Scott
30th May 2011, 08:20 PM
There's no wood, it doesn't have a central core, it's just hair, and quite wet when green. When it dries out it falls apart.

Yep, thought as much. Thanks for the info :) You'd probably have to cast it in resin or something. Not worth the effort I think.

Be interesting to find out what the most ridiculous thing people have turned. Paw Paw sounds interesting!

sjm
30th May 2011, 08:25 PM
Be interesting to find out what the most ridiculous thing people have turned. Paw Paw sounds interesting!

I had a go at a Yucca tree - from the outside it looked hard, solid and dense, but once I broke through the bark, it was all hair, and with a hollow centre! Very disappointed.

watsrags
30th May 2011, 08:27 PM
Make a pen

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f69/tree-fern-sierra-134999/

mkypenturner
30th May 2011, 08:27 PM
There's no wood, it doesn't have a central core, it's just hair, and quite wet when green. When it dries out it falls apart. Since you have a dry one, simply cut the end off and have a look at it.

maybe but i was told that he had coated it in wax and left for 2 years before he even looked at it maybe worth giving it a go just call it a work in progress:rolleyes:

Yep, thought as much. Thanks for the info :) You'd probably have to cast it in resin or something. Not worth the effort I think.

Be interesting to find out what the most ridiculous thing people have turned. Paw Paw sounds interesting!
the papaw was not cast or stabilised at all just left to dry for 2 years will be seeing him on weekend will ask if still has a piece or the item so i can take a pic for all to see

Scott
30th May 2011, 08:31 PM
maybe but i was told that he had coated it in wax and left for 2 years before he even looked at it maybe worth giving it a go just call it a work in progress:rolleyes:[QUOTE]

Hmm, ok, since the tree fern has been sitting there for more than 5 years, I'll give it a go in the interest of humanity and those who are interested.

[QUOTE=mkypenturner;1325162]the papaw was not cast or stabilised at all just left to dry for 2 years will be seeing him on weekend will ask if still has a piece or the item so i can take a pic for all to see

Thanks Troy, would be very interested.

-Scott.

dai sensei
30th May 2011, 09:21 PM
Make a pen

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f69/tree-fern-sierra-134999/

Not quite the same tree fern, that one is from NZ and has a solid outer shell.

orraloon
31st May 2011, 02:59 PM
I remember seeing tree fern turnings in tourist shops in NZ many years ago. Perhaps they put some hardener down the center to keep things together.
Regards
John

Wizened of Oz
31st May 2011, 03:40 PM
To help clarify or confuse:
The tree fern so loved in Melbourne, the one that fills gullies in the Dandenongs, is Dicksonia antarctica. Dicksonias have no trunk, what appears to be a trunk is a mass of roots. That is why they can be lopped off and offered for sale in garden centres.
The other genus of tree fern in Australia is Cyathea, and these have an actual trunk.
The NZ Silver Fern is a Cyathea.

wood hacker
31st May 2011, 04:46 PM
Not quite the same tree fern, that one is from NZ and has a solid outer shell.


To help clarify or confuse:
The tree fern so loved in Melbourne, the one that fills gullies in the Dandenongs, is Dicksonia antarctica. Dicksonias have no trunk, what appears to be a trunk is a mass of roots. That is why they can be lopped off and offered for sale in garden centres.
The other genus of tree fern in Australia is Cyathea, and these have an actual trunk.
The NZ Silver Fern is a Cyathea.


Further info. The timber I turned the Sierra from was black mamuka (Cyathea Medularis).

hughie
31st May 2011, 09:13 PM
I remember seeing tree fern turnings in tourist shops in NZ many years ago. Perhaps they put some hardener down the center to keep things together.



The NZ Ponga tree is fairly solid with tough/hard like bark inclusions running vertically through the trunk. Turned green then dried so the pulp wood shrinks away leaving the characteristic patterns

Cyathea dealbata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyathea_dealbata)

The grass trees over here are somewhat different with the only solid part being near the base. Jack De Vos in the most well known Aussie turner who specializes in grass tree turning. The dust can be toxic, so you need to be careful.

Jack de Vos - Grass Tree Information (http://jackdevos.com/grasstree_info.cgi)

mkypenturner
7th June 2011, 09:35 PM
i have'nt but some one will prob have i have seen a vase made from papaw :oo: yep
from one of my local club members
ok guys as promised he no longer has the vase but has a half finished goblet
out of PAW PAW