nuturner

[greenwood]

hi everyone ,i have been turning now for around six months ,and really enjoying it , i have a chance of getting some norfolk pine of varying sizes , it will be green when i get it ,question what would be the best way to seal it to prevent it from splitting , has anyone turned norfolk pine , is it a timber worth turning ,
just thinking out loud can i paint the ends with ordinary say enamel paint as i have some spare cans in the shed ,
any info would be appreciated ,regards nuturner

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

hi everyone ,i have been turning now for around six months ,and really enjoying it

:2tsup:


i have a chance of getting some norfolk pine of varying sizes , it will be green when i get it ,question what would be the best way to seal it to prevent it from splitting , has anyone turned norfolk pine , is it a timber worth turning

Worth turning? Most definitely YES! Check out some of the pix on this (http://www.hawaiiwoodturning.com/) site. There's another Hawaiian turner, Bernie Kana-something-or-other who specialises in Norfolk Pine and his work is truly wondrous. (He's "the" expert in turning it translucently.) Sadly, I'm having a brain-fart and can't think of his correct name or site URL. :-


just thinking out loud can i paint the ends with ordinary say enamel paint as i have some spare cans in the shed

Again, yes, if an enamel, oil-based or otherwise "outdoors" paint. Almost anything is better than nothing. Personally I'd prefer to spend the money in a dedicated end-grain sealer such as Mobilcer or perhaps Paraffin wax... or even the old polystyrene & turps. (A search will reveal a wealth of info on end-grain sealing. :wink:)

But as I said, almost anything is better than nothing and suitable paint does work.

[rsser]

Hi nuturner,

NIP is a good timber to play with - can be turned green and stays stable.

My tree wasn't very prone to checking; end-grain sealer did the job.

If you can get some narrowish sections of the top trunk or some limbs - they make spekky end-grain hollowed vases with all the knot holes. Some guys soak the finished pieces in oil or poly to get a transluscent effect. (Do a google ... eg. Chris in Hawaii).

They can also be spalted to get some pink and green colour but I've had no luck ... just too darn dry this summer.

Lastly, if stacked outside the branches running into the main trunk rot first and fairly quickly, taking the rot into the lump.

Enjoy your find.

[greenwood]

thanks for your quick reply skew ,looks good ,
cant wait to get my hands on it , how long do you think it will take to dry in the shed , pot belly stove will have to stoked up for a while ,

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

pot belly stove will have to stoked up for a while ,

Please, NO! :oo: Don't try to "force dry" it. It's a stable wood, but that's one way to start it splitting... a kiln is carefully monitored to control temperature and humidity at different stages of drying. Not really something to try at home. :no:

You're better off stacking it on a shelf with air-flow between pieces, somewhere that stay's dry and keeps a fairly constant temperature. Under the house is good, a galv tin-shed in the back yard where you keep the mower and garden tools (that fries in Summer & freezes in Winter) is usually bad. The rule of thumb is to leave it curing 1 year for every inch of thickness.

If you're in a "hurry" you can rough turn it down to about 1" wall thickness, then seal it all over and put it away for 12 months. Or down to 1/2" and leave for 6 months if you like pushing the envelope. :innocent: That'll see it nicely dried. All the above applies to almost any timber, BTW.

NIP is, as Ern said, a very stable wood and it turns very nicely green with little movement afterwards. Which is how I believe those Hawaiian turners work it, simply soaking in 100% Tung Oil to give the translucency and as the final finish. So there's nothing to stop you from just throwing it straight on the lathe and giving it a go. :thyel: Although a bit more research on just how others turn it would probably be worth it. :wink:

[greenwood]

thank rsser, just had a look at the site in hawaii , it looks really nice , thanks for the advice, cant wait to fill the trailer up , regards nuturner

[hughie]

Worth turning? Most definitely YES! Check out some of the pix on this (http://www.hawaiiwoodturning.com/) site. There's another Hawaiian turner, Bernie Kana-something-or-other who specialises in Norfolk Pine and his work is truly wondrous. (He's "the" expert in turning it translucently.) Sadly, I'm having a brain-fart and can't think of his correct name or site URL. :-


This should do it :U
http://www.ronkent.com/ check out his method of curing his timber.
http://www.artnet.com/artist/21723/ron-kent.html
http://www.ronkent.com/events.php His current direction

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

This should do it :U
http://www.ronkent.com/ check out his method of curing his timber.
http://www.artnet.com/artist/21723/ron-kent.html
http://www.ronkent.com/events.php His current direction

Actually, Ron is the bloke I was thinking of. Bernie is one of his disciples. :- Well, I did say I was suffereing from a brain-fart. :(

[reeves]

yeah i got some from Rsser a while back its nice to turn and can have interesting grain.

For drying turning wood its best to rough turn so the chunks r lighter and dry quicker, leave them in a cool place.

have fun

[Gil Jones]

Try J Kelly Dunn at
http://jkellydunn.com/norfolk.asp

Beautiful NIP and turnings

[OGYT]

I'd love to have some of it to turn... it doesn't grow in my neck of the woods.
Go for it.

[greenwood]

thanks a lot guys :2tsup: , heaps of info to sort through , trees being felled next couple of days , will send photos , regards nuturner:)