Furry bowls!

[TTIT]

I've been wanting to put this timber up on my website for years but didn't think it would be possible to turn anything from it - and I might still be right! It's a chunk of Batwing Coral Tree (erythina vespertilio) which is a most amazing tree and is listed by the Forestry Dept as a commercial alternative to Balsa - but not much chop for turning :C Apart from the shower I've been getting just trying to rough it down, I'm not sure how to tackle anything this furry/soft/open-grained!!! Any suggestions???
237273

[Mobyturns]

With a match! Seriously make a feature of the furry grain by torching it, worth a try at least Vern.:D

[Cliff Rogers]

Rough it, let it dry.
Then keep flooding it with something that is quick drying like shellac or sanding sealer or melamine lacquer, wait for it to dry & then turn it a bit & then flood it again, wait for it to dry & turn it a bit & keep going until it is finished.
You can do the same with sanding if you have to.

Same trick works with punky timber.

[hughie]

[]Rough it, let it dry.
Then keep flooding it with something that is quick drying like shellac or sanding sealer or melamine lacquer, wait for it to dry & then turn it a bit & then flood it again, wait for it to dry & turn it a bit & keep going until it is finished.
You can do the same with sanding if you have to.



Or... if you have any epoxy glue/resin you can thin it out and drench it with that also. When dry this stuff [Batwing Coral] will soak right in. But it might take a few days to dry and if its abit thin a couple goes would the be thing.

[dai sensei]

How big and how dry is it Vern? You could stabilize it under vacuum with Cactus Juice or one of those wood hardeners. Alternatively you could use lots of thin CA, use a thick plastic bag, put the timber in and fill it up with the CA. Leave it overnight to soak and then a week to dry.

[TTIT]

Thanks for the suggestions so far . . . but....

How big and how dry is it Vern? You could stabilize it under vacuum with Cactus Juice or one of those wood hardeners. Alternatively you could use lots of thin CA, use a thick plastic bag, put the timber in and fill it up with the CA. Leave it overnight to soak and then a week to dry.VERY wet - still spraying!, and about 250mm diameter. The only 'Cactus Juice' I know used to leave me with 3 day hangovers in my younger days so I'll skip that :B. I don't think I could afford enough CA to soak this one but it might be an option yet - the egg I turned from it for my collection years ago was only possible after completely saturating it with CA.


Rough it, let it dry.
Then keep flooding it with something that is quick drying like shellac or sanding sealer or melamine lacquer, wait for it to dry & then turn it a bit & then flood it again, wait for it to dry & turn it a bit & keep going until it is finished.
You can do the same with sanding if you have to.

Same trick works with punky timber.Sounds tedious but you're probably right - was just looking for a quicker fix :;
What the hell is 'melamine lacquer' any way! - often see it referred to on pommy sites but have never seen a can in the shops?!? :shrug:

[Cliff Rogers]

...
What the hell is 'melamine lacquer' any way! - often see it referred to on pommy sites but have never seen a can in the shops?!? :shrug:

I have had a can of it for about 20years now, I haven't even opened it since I started using Ubeaut stuff.

[Willy Nelson]

Hello Vern
IIRC, there is a chap in Hawaii who turn Palm trees, I googled for it, but could not find it.
They are very porous, open grained and he stains them with a brightly coloured dye and turns them . Once advantage is no sanding!!
They are not much good as salad bowls etc, more decoration/art
Sincerely
Willy
Jarrahland

[rsser]

One of my teachers turned some items out of grass tree.

Could only do it by firming up the fibres.

I was once given some Cottonwood (acc to the donor anyway) and tried to turn it green. Long fibres just peeled off the blank and wrapped around the gouge :oo:

[jimbur]

Make another two and call them the three bears' breakfast bowls.:D
Cheers,
Jim

[fozz]

This product, earls wood hardener, will turn all the furry bits hard and if the timber is put in a sealed plastic bag will soak in a fair way and turn the timber hard. You may have to do it a few times to get the required results. I've used it in the past on rotten window sills, it works brilliantly.

You can get it from bunnies in 500mil, 1 litre and 4 litres.

Hope that helps.

Ross.

[TTIT]

This product, earls wood hardener, will turn all the furry bits hard and if the timber is put in a sealed plastic bag will soak in a fair way and turn the timber hard. You may have to do it a few times to get the required results. I've used it in the past on rotten window sills, it works brilliantly.

You can get it from bunnies in 500mil, 1 litre and 4 litres.

Hope that helps.

Ross.Could be worth a shot - is it clear or coloured??? I'll even be in the big-smoke (well Rocky anyway) next week so I can get to Bunnings for a look.

[dr4g0nfly]

If you can turn that, I think the wife's got a bag of 'Cotton Wool' somewhere!

[fozz]

Its a milky colour out of the bottle that turns clear when dry.

[TTIT]

Its a milky colour out of the bottle that turns clear when dry.Cool! What sort of finishes can you use over the top of it???

[jimbur]

I wonder if watered down Bondcrete will work?
Cheers,
Jim

[angryranga]

rough turn it then impregnate it with resin in a vacuum chamber then finish it off would be my suggestion.

[Paul39]

I have had good luck painting punky wood with thinned white or yellow glue, or cellulose sanding sealer. The sanding sealer took a long time to dry but did harden up the soft places.

[TTIT]

I wonder if watered down Bondcrete will work?
Cheers,
Jim

I have had good luck painting punky wood with thinned white or yellow glue, or cellulose sanding sealer. The sanding sealer took a long time to dry but did harden up the soft places.I suspect Bondcrete is a PVA like the White glue Paul suggested. I have often thought this should work but don't know how well it soaks in and what ratio to thin it to so the plan is to try copious amounts of sanding sealer between light cuts once the rough-out is dry - should take at longest a month it's so porous!!! :o



rough turn it then impregnate it with resin in a vacuum chamber then finish it off would be my suggestion.I'm a bit light-on for vacuum chambers at present but thanks for the suggestion!:;

[Paul39]

I suspect Bondcrete is a PVA like the White glue Paul suggested. I have often thought this should work but don't know how well it soaks in and what ratio to thin it to so the plan is to try copious amounts of sanding sealer between light cuts once the rough-out is dry - should take at longest a month it's so porous!!! :o

I used 50 - 50 water and glue and kept brushing it on and rotating by hand on the lathe until it quit absorbing. Same with the sanding sealer.

I think I left both sit for a week and both were good and hard when I went back to turning.