A couple of interesting handle woods

[IanW]

Actually, make that one - I'll post the other separately..

I'd read about this wood called 'Budgeroo' (lysicarpus angustifolius) some time ago, & it sounded interesting. One of our Forum members who has tried one or two different woods :; thinks pretty highly of it (http://www.ttit.id.au/treepages/budgeroo.htm), so when I had a chance to get hold of a bit big enough for a saw handle, I grabbed it.

It was only just big enough, and the curly grain swept around the piece in a quarter circle, so there was much head-scratching to figure out the best way to place my template. Eventually I settled on this: 352277

I had a few heart-stopping moments when some pieces of that very curly grain flaked off under the rasp, but luckily, none was in a critical spot & it all cleaned up ok. It's a slightly 'greasy' wood, firm and of medium density, and quite easy to shape, but another of those woods that has to be finished with ultimate care to make sure all sanding scratches have been eliminated.

Eventually, I got it there: 352278

The saw it attaches to is a 10", 12 tpi (0.020" plate) carcase saw. Turned out ok : 352276

Cheers,

[Pittwater Pete]

Better than OK Ian.:2tsup:
Pete.

[DaveTTC]

That looks awesome

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

[RayG]

That grain looks scary, you did well to get across the line without any hiccups, and the end result shows that it was worth it. :2tsup:

Ray

[IanW]

That grain looks scary, you did well to get across the line without any hiccups, and the end result shows that it was worth it. :2tsup:

Ray

Scary was the operative word, Ray! However, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I feared. This was my first experience of Budgeroo, and it was a good experience, all up. I managed to get the long grain to follow through the more important parts, so I think the handle is as structurally sound as it can be. It's the most interesting wood I've stumbled over in a very long while, pity it's such a limited resource, but I guess that just adds to its allure. I've got a few bits left that should make a couple of marking gauges, when I get a round tuit, but I doubt I will get my hands on much more like this.....
:U
Cheers,

[Luke Maddux]

Wow, fantastic! One of my favorite I. Wilkie and Co. saws to date.

:clap3:

[planemaker]

Hi ian. Budgeroo sounds like a difficult timber to shape into a backsaw handle.

http://www.thestiks.com.au/TimberPages/PageBudgeroo.html

[Sawdust Maker]

spectacular :2tsup:

[derekcohen]

Great one Ian!

Where does one purchase said timber?

Regards from Perth

Derek (with a backsaw build in the near future)

[IanW]

Hi ian. Budgeroo sounds like a difficult timber to shape into a backsaw handle.

http://www.thestiks.com.au/TimberPages/PageBudgeroo.html

Stewie, I think the bloke on that web page may be exaggerating the difficulties just a bit for 'commercial purposes'. :;

It isn't a very dense wood (about 0.5) and so not very hard - similar to, or a bit softer than Myrtle, to give a comparison with something you're used to. What made me nervous (justifiably so, as it turned out) was that particularly wild grain - the 'ripples' are in at least two different planes, and the grain swept around in a quarter circle - I must've tried about 10 different positions for the tmplate before deciding on what I thought was the best orientation! The piece I used arrived in a very rough state, a 150 x 160mm, wedge, with one side cut with a table-saw, the other side off a chainsaw, so & I had to flatten & thickness it. Despite all, it actually planed remarkably well - the wood has a very slightly 'greasy' feel & takes a nice sheen off the plane. When I was shaping the handle with rasps, I found I did have to be particularly careful where there was short-grain on any corners, like the tip of the 'wave' on the top (as you would with any very curly stuff). As I said, a couple of little bits picked out when I got a bit too enthusiastic with the rasp, but fortunately they weren't in a critical spot & I was able to clean them up in the sanding/scraping stage.

I got a couple of less wild (but still colourful) pieces at the same time, which I will use for a couple of marking gauges, eventually. I planed these too, and they cut very cleanly. So, based on that very small sample I would classify it as as fairly easy to work. However, we know what wood is like, and there is no guarantee that every bit will be the same, but if you can get you hands on a suitably-sized piece, it's well worth a try, I reckon..... :U

Cheers,