Available timbers for segmented turning?

[Evanism]

Adoring fans, a quick question!

I'm reading a fabulous book called The Art of Segmented Woodturning by Tibbetts.

Good stuff.

Naturally my enthusiasm to start has broken the bridle and I'm keen to find out what others think would be good substitutes for the "personal favourites" he lists on page 23.

There is also an "ok woods" list, but I wanted to focus on what he calls the Hard woods that polish nicely, not oily, stable and offer good colour without leeching.

Apple
Blackwood
Bloodwood
Bocote
Bubinga
Carob
Ebony (Gabon and Macassar)
Holly
Jarrah (yeah!)
Maple hard
Mesquite
Mahogany
Myrtlewood
Persimmon
Pink Ivory
Rosewoods
Yellowheart
Ziricote

I went to Misan Craftwood and had a look. Perhaps youse all can suggest other friendly exotic merchants in Oz?

[greyhound]

Do a bit of segmenting and from your list I have used myrtle(Tasmania ) jarrah,Blackwood .
found these timbers turn good and take a variety of finishes.
With the jarrah I get mine from my local hardware they have decking which is about 19mm x 85 mm perfect for segmenting just dress and ripp in half .this mug was done with Blackwood and houon pine(the pine can be oily and some finishes will not take). Graham

[tea lady]

The fruit woods and holly you just have to be friendly with a lot of people whose trees might die. :D

For lightish timber there is always tassie oak. (Vic ash from bunnings. But propper tassie oak is a bid better.)

Silky oaks, banksia and hakea give the added interest of the madelry rays with a mid range golden colour.

The uncoloured bit of sassafrass is also light.

Tulip wood. Light and also a green/brown heartwood.

Red gum of course.

I have a friendly local guy who has collected wood from all over the Dandenong ranges for a while.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

The Woodsmith (http://www.thewoodsmith.com.au/thewoodsmith/) in Lusher Rd, Croydon, VIC was my main goto for cheap(ish) exotic turning materials until I moved here to NSW. I've recently been told that since Len retired, his son has shut the shop-front and is only dealing online. I've no idea whether this is so - or mere gossip - but IMO it's worth following through.


Red gum of course.

While Redgum can be - in my opinion - a glorious timber, I heartily don't recommend it for seg work. :no:

It's prone to huge movement (which decreases with age until it's... ohhh... 100 years old or so. And even then it's not particularly stable.) and is what many consider to be a "dirty" wood to work. ie. the dust from sanding/working turns everything black. Including non-black neighbouring segments.

I've also found Banksias, Hakeas and Grevilleas are prone to movement; given that they're also very prone to splitting I'd try to NOT "lock them into a form" with other, different materials.

[Ray153]

The Woodsmith (http://www.thewoodsmith.com.au/thewoodsmith/) in Lusher Rd, Croydon, VIC was my main goto for cheap(ish) exotic turning materials until I moved here to NSW. I've recently been told that since Len retired, his son has shut the shop-front and is only dealing online. I've no idea whether this is so - or mere gossip - but IMO it's worth following through..

It's mostly correct. They still have the Lusher Rd site, it's all online now but there are still one of two Friday and Saturday big open day events where the shop opens.

[Sturdee]

The Woodsmith (http://www.thewoodsmith.com.au/thewoodsmith/) in Lusher Rd, Croydon, VIC was my main goto for cheap(ish) exotic turning materials until I moved here to NSW. I've recently been told that since Len retired, his son has shut the shop-front and is only dealing online. I've no idea whether this is so - or mere gossip - but IMO it's worth following through.


Yes, last year they changed to mail order only with a few special wood open days (http://www.thewoodsmith.com.au/thewoodsmith/contact.htm)a year.


Peter.

[Hermit]

I've bought some nice stuff from the Woodsmith, as mentioned by others, and regularly from Misan, but even more often I buy from Andrew Kavasilas at Nimbin Timbers items - Get great deals on items on eBay Stores! (http://stores.ebay.com.au/Nimbin-Timbers?_trksid=p4340.l2563). He's always worth a look and often has some pretty nice and rare exotic timbers. Online only, as far as I know.

There's always the old favourites, too.
You'll need to Google these - I don't have links immediately at hand:

- Trend Timbers
- Tasmanian Tonewoods
- Distinctive Timbers
- Island Specialty Timbers
- Monaro Timbers
- Rivergum Timbers