Hallo, glad you are here , so I can be too

[Manuka Jock]

Hi folks ,
having recently returned to turning , with a new lathe , this community looks to be a grand place for relaxing in . And learning from .
cheers , :2tsup:
Jock

[OGYT]

Welcome, Jock! You've found the right place. Can't meet a nicer bunch that are willing to share their knowledge and, at times, their disdain. :D
New lathe makes you want to turn, doesn't it?
You are there... NZ... wish I was. I'm in th' upover, in a place called Texas. Saw a beautiful pick of NZ yesterday... yep. I'd like to be there.
Welcome to the forum!

[tashammer]

Well then, be welcomed, be happy, buy a camera (everyone wants to see how everything is progressing - good and bad).

Tom min Tas:U

[Manuka Jock]

Thanks for the welcome guys .
Yep , a new lathe is great for that alright . Both my old ones were dancers , waltzing all over the floor .
Me new one is a wee Kiwi made one , that seems to be getting rave reviews .
Now all I have to do , is do it justice :U
Jock

[OGYT]

DVR's gotta be a nice one! And with a view. I like that, no claustraphobia there... but that window's gonna get dirty! Better get your windex!.. :)

[Manuka Jock]

A bit of a sweep with the broom will fix that . Can't be getting too fancy , 'cos then the house one's will want the same treatment :p
Even a dust covered window will be better that the last occupiers left it , painted white , from top to toe . It was a days work to remove it ,with hot vinegar and a scraper .
The little buggers were growing weed in there .....

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Perfect location for the lathe! Now you need to practice launching UFOs from the lathe at will, so if you see any "less than welcome" guests ambling down the driveway... :innocent:

For some people, replacing a pane of glass would be worth it! :D

[Manuka Jock]

Aye yer right there , one of the benefits of having a reverse gear eh .:wink:

Happy Tartan Day Folks ,
slainte mhath ,
Jock Grant

[TTIT]

Reckon I could have taken out at least 3 of those panes with the chunk of gidgee I had sprayin' round the shed tonight!:o Looks like a cosy set-up - welcome to the forum Jock :U

[Manuka Jock]

Thanks TT .
It is cosy , 'cept when it is cold or wet . The whole garage is concrete block , so this time of year has its moments .
Behind the camera ain't so cosy tho , due to the block walls , any shelving will have to be hung from the roof , till then , the floor is strewn with this , that , and everything else .
Still , sorting thru it all is like Christmas morning , finding gear that I haven't seen for 4 or 5 years :)

Maybe I should stretch wire mesh across the window , to stop anything smashing through , in or out .

Working with gidgee sounds like fun mate


Jock

[Stu in Tokyo]

Greeting Jock!

I've got the DVR 3000 and just love it!

I'd worry about that window for sure, and if you put some mesh over it, make sure it is not just chicken wire, but something more stout.

Not a bad place to be in, I wish I had a window in my Dungeon........... but then, all I would see is dirt.... :doh:

[BANNED]

Hi Manuka Jock, Welcome to a great, friendly and informative forum.

I like your DVR, as all DVR's but they seam to be above my $ capabilities.
How is yours treating you?
Send a few pics of some work you done with it, we all like to see new things.
:spyme:
Cheers
GV

[Speanwoody]

He welcome from Spean Bridge in scotland DVR looks good

[Manuka Jock]

Hi Guys ,
GV , my Xp is all they say it is , I have a bit of vibration , but I am thinking of bolting two rail irons along the base of the bench , rather that filling up the storage space with sand .

Stu, maybe ya need a periscope , with a wide angle lens , or a wee short circuit tele .....:U

Spean Bridge , aye now theres' a place thats a stamping ground in my folk memory . Well met Woody , slainte'

These are a wee sample work done on the DVR .
The first platter , ex 10x2 , is Monterey Pine , from the first tree I milled on my Logosol chainsaw mill . It was growing in my brother's Trotting Stud Farm ,and I have been saving the 16 ft length for something special .
The second is heart Rimu , ex 7x5x2 , a so called pine , that is as hard as the hobs of hell . It will burn highspeed drill bits , faster than any steel will .
The piece is on its way to being a Quaich . I shall laminate a lighter wood , maybe sap Rimu , top and bottom , and then define the curve , and shape the handles , possibly by spindle turning it .
This wood came from a Huge log that was felled years ago , and was milled , (not by me) about 6 years ago . The bulk of it is either in a Waka , or in the process of being carved , by a mate of mine , for a new Whare Tipuna not far from here.
I was turning a large platter from this wood , but it had a Quake:p ..... the spalting was beyond spalt .....:doh:

Ah well , I had better get up and do something , there seems to be a lot of yellow wood shavings on the dark gray carpet .........

[Wayne Blanch]

Welcome to the madhouse Jock!

Nice work :2tsup: Look forward to seeing more.
Regards
Wayne

[ftje]

Hey Jock.. welcome...

Now i'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but in the back ground of the photo of jocks wood turning view i see a large building that appears to have a colour scheme that looks suspisicously like that of Mitre 10.

I have attached a little picture from the mitre 10 website for a colour reference for everyone (no i am not an advocate of mitre 10 i am just including the colours). I googled it and mitre 10 does exist in NZ... and several stores are in christchurch....

Could it be that one of our newest members is the envy of almost all city bound home handymen (and women of course)... Does he own a home that is quite literally across the roand from a hardware. Is it true that he never has to hire a trailor again and can just lump the wood/tool/whatever on his shoulder and walk across the road?

Jock is this true???? and if so do you want to swap houses and move to sunny :p melbourne?

Joe

[BANNED]

Hi ftje,
You maybe right about jock, and probably correct also about being the "knees bees" to have a major hardware store, on the other side of the street. I'm glad that I'm not in that situation, it would drive me absolutely and totally "nuts", just to wonder what would they have every day as a new toy...??? lets go for a walk!!!. :banghead:

Cheers
GV

[Manuka Jock]

Gidday folks ,
Yep , yer right mates , its a Mitre 10, and where I work is right next to PlaceMakers , and just along the road from Bunnings :D
Fortunately , me heritage keeps me from going completely daft with me wallet .
Cultural stereotypes do have their uses aye .:U :U

I dunno about Melbourne , I have a brother in Springfield , just out of Brisbane , he might get grumpy with me if I only moved half way .....
Cheers for the warm hallo lads , it makes a wet night a lot cheerier ,

Jock

[Kea5]

G'day Jock and others!

<----- Brand new member myself and I'm kicking myself for not hunting this place down sooner.

LOL at the Mitre 10 across the road! I saw that in the photo and thought "Nah, couldn't be..." I'd be in there every 10 minutes driving them daft, which is pretty much what I do with my local one. The staff scatter when they see me coming:U

[Manuka Jock]

Being driven daft by kea is common in the mountains down this way , I didn't know there was a jafa variety as well. :p

Hi kea , thats a nice part of the world you live in , I stayed out in Piha for a few weeks , about 20 years ago . Titirangi has gotta be one of the best places around Auckland to live .
Lotsa trees too , how is it for turning timber ?

Jock

[Kea5]

Aye, the JAFA Kea is the most annoying of the lot.......:q

Titirangi is great. I walk out my back door and I'm basically in the bush. It's mainly Kanuka (the tall version?) plus the usual pungas etc.

As a complete newb I was daunted by the hardness of the kanuka, but as I've learned a bit I've come to appreciate it. The secret to it is counter intuitive and I only discovered it by chance. If the wood is soaked it cuts MUCH easier with little or no affect after it dries out again.

Now I'm just waiting for a storm to knock a few more trees down. I seem to have cleared most of the stuff within easy lugging distance....mostly for firewood, considering that most of my turning ends up in the fire:U

[Manuka Jock]

Aye kea ,
Kanuka ,and its mate manuka , are two of the most underrated timbers in NZ eh . Fine grained hardwoods that are considered by most , to be firewood and nothing more .
As you say , soaking it is the key , tho it tool me a while to click on to that. (Works for heart rimu too) .
I intend to get out onto Banks Peninsular in the near future , and bring back some fresh cut lengths , and try rough turning them green.
Others I will split , and store the halves , to try and forestall the long crack .
With luck , I may find a pocket of trees with sizeable diameter .
It would be great to do some faceplate turning with some for a change .

Jock :)

How does Punga turn ?

[rsser]

Thanks for the Kanuka tip.

We get it here on some of the wilderness stretches of river in SE Oz (Rodger, Snowy, Genoa). Makes a good 'found' walking stick. B*gger to push your way through though as it's so springy and always pointing downstream.

[Manuka Jock]

rsser

Here is a rather good piece about the two trees .
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/publications/magazine/2000/february/Kanuka.asp

I don't know if any of you turners over there in the West Island , :D are working 'Tea Tree' , as some of us over here are .
I don't have any pics of it turned , but this one is of a weapon blade , manuka finished with olive oil .

Jock

[orraloon]

Jock,
Failte ! You have come to the right place. Perhaps not as good as next door to a hardware but good all the same.

Regards
John

[rsser]

West Island ?? Hmph!

;-}

That bit of Manuka looks very fine.

Yeah, lot's of tea tree over here and I've seen some nice candlesticks done out of it with plenty of bark inclusions.

Only time I salvaged a piece of it though it turned out wormy when I got it home, and I only had a bow saw at the time to section it so ... good firewood ;-}

[Added; might be a naming diff here, btwn your and our 'tea tree'. Ours doesn't match your article on a quick reading; it grows in sandy soils near the sea.]

[Kea5]

Some Kanuka bits I dusted off.

I was just fiddling with shapes and finishes, but it gives you an idea of what a decent woodturner might make from the wood :)

(I will now make my first attempt at an attachment.....*holds breath*)

[TTIT]

Some Kanuka bits I dusted off.

I was just fiddling with shapes and finishes, but it gives you an idea of what a decent woodturner might make from the wood :)

(I will now make my first attempt at an attachment.....*holds breath*)Welcome to the forum Kea:U - you just sort of snuck in there - kiwis are good at that eh! :;I like the forms you tried with that Kanuka stuff - they look great! Would love to try some one day myself.

[Manuka Jock]

Jock,
Failte ! You have come to the right place. Perhaps not as good as next door to a hardware but good all the same.

Regards
John
Tapadh leat John .
From where I'm sitting , this is a grand all round forum , and the teaching is tops . I cannot getto the local turning club , working nights as I do . I take time off to go to Scottish Council meetings and ceilidh , two nights a month . Another two would be pushing it a bit , so this community fits the bill just fine .

slainte'
Jock

[Manuka Jock]

West Island ?? Hmph!

;-}

That bit of Manuka looks very fine.

Yeah, lot's of tea tree over here and I've seen some nice candlesticks done out of it with plenty of bark inclusions.

Only time I salvaged a piece of it though it turned out wormy when I got it home, and I only had a bow saw at the time to section it so ... good firewood ;-}

[Added; might be a naming diff here, btwn your and our 'tea tree'. Ours doesn't match your article on a quick reading; it grows in sandy soils near the sea.]

Gidday Ern ,
Yep , it does seen that we have different ''Tea '' trees . named for the same reason .
Melaleuca alternifolia is yours .
Ours are Kunzea ericoides - Kanuka , and Leptospermum scoparium -Manuka
And you have both of those over there , somewhere.
But as the article points out , the trees have localized themselves long since , so they may look rather different to ours , as ours do from area to area .
Ours grows just about anywhere , from the beach to the snowline .

I am interested in seeing some of your variety in a finished state.
And comparing it to Kea's and my stuff.

Is our Kauri the same as yours ?

Kea ,
Nice work , it brings out the wood fine . Has it darkened much with time ?
My taiaha has , tho it has been out and about in all weather , over the years ,
What finish have you used ?

Jock

[BANNED]

Thanks for the article Manuka Jock, I read it all, learn something!
I wasn't aware of these trees existence, as their names didn't ring the bell.

The soaking tip, can be handy if I ever come across such timber species.

Some nice peaces you got there Kea5, good shapes and finish.

PS: So is our Melaleuca, a relative of your Kaduka & Manuka??
Our Melaleuca is soft to work with, I got a fair bit of it from a tree I cut a couple of months back. I already turn rough one peace, sealed it and put it way, I got one log cut 6" wide X 8" long with it's ends sealed, and plenty more under cover. The wider peace should be approx 12". I have never turned dry Melaleuca, but I've been told, is quite hard, the green stuff, is a pleaser to work with, apart from leaving a itchy throat.

Cheers
GV

[Manuka Jock]

PS: So is our Melaleuca, a relative of your Kaduka & Manuka??
Our Melaleuca is soft to work with, I got a fair bit of it from a tree I cut a couple of months back. I already turn rough one peace, sealed it and put it way, I got one log cut 6" wide X 8" long with it's ends sealed, and plenty more under cover. The wider peace should be approx 12". I have never turned dry Melaleuca, but I've been told, is quite hard, the green stuff, is a pleaser to work with, apart from leaving a itchy throat.

Cheers
GV

Doesn't seem to be GV , I'm not sure if we have a tree akin to that here . The bark is pretty distinctive eh .
I will look into it a bit more .
Jock

[Kea5]

Kea ,
Nice work , it brings out the wood fine . Has it darkened much with time ?
My taiaha has , tho it has been out and about in all weather , over the years ,
What finish have you used ?

Jock

No they haven't darkened that much....It's wierd but it's as though the grain has become more visible with time.

The finishes would have been Danish oil with a coat or two of Teak oil over the top for a glossier finish on a couple of them. I think I used Treeworkx's special finishing paste on the chalice shaped thingy...not as glossy.

[rsser]

Hi Jock, I've not seen Kanuka turned that I can recall. I wasn't into turning when I walked those rivers and paid little attention to the stuff apart from when it impeded progress. Just recall it as springy, fine grained and beige ... a bit like horizontal.

Sections are big enough over here and someone in Gippsland must've given it a go.

[rsser]

.... re your other question, Qld Kauri is the same genus, diff species. Poss a bit lighter in colour than 'NZ Kauri'.

[Ruddy]

WELCOME JOCK,
I also have a window at the back of my lathe and I can tell you, after a time, it does get messy. As OGYT said, keep the Windex nearby.

Ruddy

[Manuka Jock]

Hi Ruddy ,
Thanks for the welcome .
I have acquired a large sheet of heavy duty clear plastic , that I will drape over the window when wet turning . The light may not be as good , but then visibility is never the best when doing that job , huh.
I was going to use a shower curtain , but this off cut came home from work with me . I didn't have the heart to throw it in the skip. :)

Jock