Weed wood but...

[TTIT]

A good bloke and generous forumite (thanks Mong ;) ) dragged this chunk of Peppercorn all the way from Victoria for me so I've tried to do it justice. Spalting and burl in one piece made it tricky to turn and sand and severely depleted my CA and brass powder supply but it came up real nice with 5 or 6 coats of Danish oil topped with a buffing of Traditional wax.

Waddjareckin?

[floobyduster]

Wow, what a fantastic result. Very inspiring piece of work.

[OGYT]

Gorgeous wood. Gorgeous turning. Like the brass fillings.
Ya did it justice.

[Rookie]

Wow. That is a beautiful looking piece.

Brass filling? Que? Please enlighten this novice as to what that is and how it's done. It looks fantastic.

[TTIT]

Wow. That is a beautiful looking piece.

Brass filling? Que? Please enlighten this novice as to what that is and how it's done. It looks fantastic.
Thanks for the comments guy's.
My first experiments and the info on the brass filling is here (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=28933&page=2) Rookie.

[Gil Jones]

TTIT, you do exceptionally fine work!!
I like the form, and your finish is very good.
Mother Nature did extend a bit of help.

[ss_11000]

beautiful work vern.

[cedar n silky]

whatirekon? I reckon it looks EXcellent!:) I've seen those pepper trees in Sydney and wondered what they would look like. The spalting looks great also. Top job TTIT!:D

[Caveman]

Gorgeous wood. Gorgeous turning. Like the brass fillings.
Ya did it justice.

I'll second that opinion - you certainly did it justice - lovely piece. Thanks for sharing.

[dai sensei]

Beautiful TTIT.

Better than our weed (camphor laurel), perhaps we can get a swap going:D Not that I have much of CL anyway:o

[mongrell]

hey vern well done and a really nice finish as usual .its good to see what peppercorn finally looks like

[hughie]

Vern,

So thats what the pepper tree looks like.Dunno whats the best your turnin' or the timber.

Thumbs up! I see you have licked the dispensing problem with the brass powder, good one.

no mail :confused:

[Mikko]

Lovely piece!! That timber looks pretty damn sweet!!
I wish we have some darker timbers up here too...

Cheers,
Mikko

[Caveman]

hey TTIT - any idea which species of pepper tree?
You call it a weed so I guess it's an import.
The only pepper tree I know is schinus molle - which I think comes from Mexico - it is also an exotic species planted in fairly arid areas around here - it is quite a hard wood and I always wondered how it would be for turning.
Wonder if it be the same species?

[Rookie]

Thanks for the comments guy's.
My first experiments and the info on the brass filling is here (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=28933&page=2) Rookie.

Thanks TTIT. Fantastic info. Opens up a whole world full of possibilities. And to think that when my wife took up turning I said "Why? What can you make except round stuff." Duh :o

[Speanwoody]

lovelly work, like the wood and finish you have achieved, also I like the brass filling really neat

[TTIT]

hey TTIT - any idea which species of pepper tree?
You call it a weed so I guess it's an import.
The only pepper tree I know is schinus molle - which I think comes from Mexico - it is also an exotic species planted in fairly arid areas around here - it is quite a hard wood and I always wondered how it would be for turning.
Wonder if it be the same species?That's the one Caveman - has scored weed status here (http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&ibra=all&card=E37) but some people are still planting them anyway.

[Andy Mac]

That's a great looking bowl, nice result despite your turning problems.
I take it the peppercorn tree is that gnarly one that early settlers used to plant around homesteads, often the only thing left standing to show where their homes were...from WA wheatbelt to the Darling Downs. I have never seen it cut open before, and had no idea it was such a rich dark colour.

Cheers:)

[Wild Dingo]

titman!!! :eek: Thats awesome! :cool:

[BernieP]

G'Day TTIT

Beautiful work and full of great examples for us learners, thanks for sharing

Bernie

[Caveman]

I take it the peppercorn tree is that gnarly one that early settlers used to plant around homesteads, often the only thing left standing to show where their homes were...from WA wheatbelt to the Darling Downs. Cheers:)

Andy - I quess it must the the one - it is a pretty resilient thing - also here it can often be seen as the only thing left standing to indicate settler homesteads.
Looks like it may be prone to burls!!!

[HoutBok]

Have one of these Peppercorn trees in our garden.
The locals collect the little red things for medicine?
Branches always seemed very soft - even thickish ones cut quite easily with the loppers - so always just sent to the dump.
Will keep the next lot and try turning it after seeing how great your bowl looks.

Nice timber and beautiful work.

[Caveman]

The locals collect the little red things for medicine?
.

Hey HoutBok - howzit.
Nice to see someone else from this side of the Indian Ocean!
Check out this site http://www.rain-tree.com/peppertree.htm looks like it has real medicinal value - even mentions its use in RSA.

[HoutBok]

Howzit Caveman

Been a lurker / member on here for years - best resource for information on just about any topic you can think of. The humour and passion for woodworking can really swing a day from pure grind to great.
Interesting site that - you should hear my GP on the subject of herbal medicine, he and Prince Charles don't exactly agree. Not quite in agreement with what the last bloke who asked to collect the berries told me. But hey - he was probably only collecting for a medicine man.
Have you tried turning the branches?
They must be pretty soft if I can cut them with loppers - pen pusher and all. As long as I can get the loppers to grip I have never needed to pull out a saw to trim the tree. It is also very fast growing which normally indicates a soft wood to me.

[ticklingmedusa]

hey TTIT - any idea which species of pepper tree?
You call it a weed so I guess it's an import.
The only pepper tree I know is schinus molle - which I think comes from Mexico - it is also an exotic species planted in fairly arid areas around here - it is quite a hard wood and I always wondered how it would be for turning.
Wonder if it be the same species?

Hey Caveman,
Schinus molle or California Peppertree aka Peruvian Mastic Tree is a native to the American tropics. I've turned it a few times and its prone to move or crack in a big way. It grows like weeds here in Southern California too.
I tried turning it green and it was soft and very dense with water.
The results of a liquid dish detergent soak were not much different.
Maybe DNA would be better.
In my opinion TTITs piece looks a bit like
another member of the genus, Schinus terebinthifolius, the Brazilian
Peppertree which lends itself to turning a bit more. Its more reddish in hue
with lots of inclusions, darker, less feathery bark and less movement as it seasons out.
Both trees have those reddish berries and fragrant foliage.
I cut down a rogue in the yard this year and have spun a bit in the shed.
Whatever it is, the piece is flash.
tm

[Caveman]

Brian - have'nt turned any, but will definately try the next piece I come across - It makes good charcoal :o , which generally indicates a hardish wood.
The locals here haven't started using it medicinally yet - once all the indigenous trees/plants have all been wrecked I guess they'll turn to other types.

TM - you may be right - I have seen the wood of S. terebinthifolius (have some drying in my workshop)and it does look a bit darker.

[Darrell Feltmate]

TTIT
Nice turning. You guys have some great wood in Oz. Even your weeds look good.