Cypress pine

[thefixer]

G'day forumites

I manage a production facility here in Melbourne and have seven lovely ladies working for me. I wanted to turn up something special for each of them as a xmas gift in appreciation of their hard work. I was thinking of a goblet or bowl or both from cypress pine. Mainly because it is easy and quick to turn and has lots of color and grain and I don't have much time left.

Does anyone know if cypress holds its shape and resists splitting after turning and polishing? I know it will split if left unsealed out in the open but I have not seen anything turned from it or seen what happens to it after time.

Cheers
Shorty

[RufflyRustic]

Hi,

I reckon platters of cypress would be ok, but definitely seal them as quick as you can. Cypress will split - in time :(. I've a couple of little turned cypress pots from Reeves and after two years, they have hairline cracks in them.


Totally agree the Cypress will look fantastic!

Cheers
Wendy

[thefixer]

Thanks for the info Wendy.
BTW, congrats on the sale of your boxes.(I checked out box making last night) and I concur with others, your selling too cheap. Good luck in the future.

Cheers
Shorty

[TTIT]

I turned a 300mm x 100mm bowl from cypress about 4 years ago and to this day you can hear the cracks creaking when you pick it up or put something in it :C - never seemed to stop! I've still got some big chunks out there that cracked badly but I reckon it ought to be OK for lidded boxes to about 100mm diameter. All the boards I cut from the same tree have been really stable.
I reckon you're goblets will be alright if the timber came from large enough stock but keep your bowls shallow Shorty. :;

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

:wts:

If you're really, really lucky and your blanks are from the outside of a very large tree, so the rings in the end-grain seem almost flat then you shouldn't have a problem.

However, it's far more likely that it's from near the heart and there's significant difference in the arcs of the rings from one side of the blank to t'other, in which case... well... that's the "maybe" zone.

If your blank includes the heart, my advice is to forget about it; as far as turnings are concerned it probably won't see a year out. :no:

I still turn the stuff anyway, 'cos it does look nice when finished and is good practice in getting a clean finish off the tools...

[MartinL]

Cypress can be very tricky. Here is one of the very first pieces I turned when taking up the sport this summer. It is 7" x 2!/4" with 1\4" walls. I kept it in my basement workshop (ambient temp about 65F) for several weeks. Within 24 hours of bringing it into the living room (ambient temp 78F, air conditioned.) it split!

[Sorry about the measurements - I live in a small, backward nation that has not yet adopted the metric system:U]

[RufflyRustic]

Thanks Shorty :)

It's a real shame that cypress just wants to crack away so much, the grain in it is so beautiful.

MartinL - That bowl shape is a winner, I hope you make some more like like in similiar light-coloured timber.

cheers
Wendy

[dai sensei]

The favourites with the women at my work are the little perfume sprayers. See here (http://www.dai-sensei.com/perfume.html) for a few examples. I get my kits from GPW (http://gpwoodturning.yahoostore.com.au/cgi/index.cgi/shopfront/view_product_details?category_id=1107136753&product_id=1107219606).

The sides, or actual timber part, are very thin and hence you could stabilize the timber with thin CA.

Good luck.

[artme]

Are we talking about native Australian Cypress?
If its well seasoned it turns like cheese and yet is quite brittle so - no catches or dig ins!! Smells beautiful too!!:U:U

I have sucessfully made several pens and knife handles from it when it is well seasoned takes a beautiful finish of Shellawax or CA.
Use for perfume thingies as mentioned above may be fine depending on finish.

[Mike Jefferys]

Australian so called Cypress turns like cheese & you could work it with an axe but it splits notoriously. What I don't know is whether that's because of the lack of respect that it is shown by the fellers? If you could be in place in the Pillega Forest or wherever when it's cut and seal it when it's cut it might be much more predictable.

Hint when you buy it avoid the boxed hearts which get sneaked into the pile for market because most of it seems to from trees under about 300mm DBH (Diameter at Breast Height). Get sticks deep in the sling if you can and also watch the dust - it gets a listing in the toxic timbers listings. Think about it, anything termites won't touch until last resort isn't likely to be nice stuff.

[David Mitchell]

Yes, I turned a cypress platter along while ago 300mm dia 20mm thick and it was joined in the middle with apiece of enamelled copper in the centre and not a movement all to this day :):2tsup:
Regards D M

[Mike Jefferys]

Cypress pine, Callitris spp (there are as many as 9 variants but the common white cypress is Callitris glauca). Widely distributed across Eastern inland, air dry about 800kg/m cube, shrinkage 2.5% radial which means it's very stable. Heartwood has good resistance to termites, hardness 6.5 Janka (Radiata, a true pine, is 2.2) The bark can be the source of sandarac, a valuable resin which, BTW, I'm told is used by witches to this day in whatever ceremony they get up to!
Listed in "Australian Trees and Shrubs [URL="http://www.thewoodworks.com.au/product/products/BOOKS/1001304/B1456.html"[/URL] as maybe causing asthma and nasal cancer

[Manuka Jock]

Cypress can be very tricky. Here is one of the very first pieces I turned when taking up the sport this summer. It is 7" x 2!/4" with 14" walls. I kept it in my basement workshop (ambient temp about 65F) for several weeks. Within 24 hours of bringing it into the living room (ambient temp 78F, air conditioned.) it split!

[Sorry about the measurements - I live in a small, backward nation that has not yet adopted the metric system:U]

Martin ,
your cypress bowl looks like what we , here in NZ , call macrocarpra (monterey cypress) .
Turned from a full branch , it will split , but if the log is split first , for wet turning , it may stay stable . If allowed to crack as it seasons , or if turned from milled timber , it is reasonably stable.
A good saturation with oil, (I use olive), helps too.:)

Over here , the name macrocarpa puts folk in mind of firewood , so I use the term Golden Cypress .:wink:

Jock

[MartinL]

Martin ,
your cypress bowl looks like what we , here in NZ , call macrocarpra (monterey cypress) .
Turned from a full branch , it will split , but if the log is split first , for wet turning , it may stay stable . If allowed to crack as it seasons , or if turned from milled timber , it is reasonably stable.
A good saturation with oil, (I use olive), helps too.:)

Over here , the name macrocarpa puts folk in mind of firewood , so I use the term Golden Cypress .:wink:

Jock:

Thanks for the information, Jock. Mine was finished with Danish oil, but not very much. I have now taken to rough turning bowls, soaking them in de-natured alcohol (methylated spirits, as we called it in the UK) for 24 hours, then paper wrapping and allowing to dry for 2 weeks. This has reduced cracking in all kinds of wood to near zero.

Martin

[Mike Jefferys]

Martin might look about for a less dangerous and probably cheaper method and ask for End Grain Sealer at his turning supplies place. It's a petrochemical industry by product a wax in emulsion which is non toxic and washup-able in hot water. BP call it Logshield, Mobil used to call it Mobilcer. Slop it over freshly cut green wood and it will usually (not always) do the job of regulating the seasoning process

[Calm]

Martin might look about for a less dangerous and probably cheaper method and ask for End Grain Sealer at his turning supplies place. It's a petrochemical industry by product a wax in emulsion which is non toxic and washup-able in hot water. BP call it Logshield, Mobil used to call it Mobilcer. Slop it over freshly cut green wood and it will usually (not always) do the job of regulating the seasoning process

I think you will find that by using "Metho" which absorbs water it will quicken the drying process. While your suggestion is far less flammible i doubt that the drying process would be finished in 2 weeks.

I agree with the end grain sealer and use it or parafin wax myself but are yet to try "Metho". As the green of the timber has a certain percentage of water in it i beleive metho may quicken the "drying" process.

I know and have used metho in the petrol tank of a car to eliminate water problems and it defineitly works.

[Mike Jefferys]

If you choose to (or have to be) in a helluva hurry to get stuff to EMC (equilibrium moisture content) which is a definition of "seasoned" you can also try researching PEG or polyethelene glycol which years ago was all the rage for getting pieces to "dry" quicker. It was I believe a chemical with an affinity for water (as does metho) and was supposed to replace the water in the wood and somehow cure. It finally fell out of favour because it was a cow to get a finish on. BTW if you can get stuff "dry" in 2 weeks that's speed record territory.

I market 100% DAA spirits (Denatured Absolute Alcohol) for the French Polishing trades. If you are using hardware store metho and getting results like you say you are the 100% stuff might be even better. Common & Garden metho can be heavilly watered - I'm told if it burns it can be called Methylated Spirits. It's also I believe a skin penetrant and to this extent nasty.

[Ashore]

Fixer how about a flat cup to fit under a wine bottle with some felt in the bottom and a matching stopper given with a bottle of wine :U

[Gil Jones]

Shorty,
I do not know the comparison of your Cypress and ours, but I turned these Christmas trees from local Cypress Knees (which were 20 years old and very dry). The wood turned very well, and I like the grain and color of it. The smallest is 75mm tall, and the highest is 160mm tall. They are sanded to 600 grit, given two coats of lacquer, buffed and waxed.

[Red Gum]

G/Day Shorty

I have been turning Cypress Pine for years and think it is one of the most underestimated timebrs used.

First it is an Australian Native. The grain is outstanding. It has a high oil level and it is quite dense that makes it very good for turning.

I suggest that you avoid using core wood as it splits around the diameter of the core. I have been gluing sections together such as 4x2 and due to the high grain caracter the join dosn't show up as much as other timbers.

I use timber straight out of the shop and even though it is quite green it holds it's shape very well. I stear away from very dry timber as it will split and could be trouble.

If you do get splits I suggest cheap super glue and saw dust rubed in.

Finish with U Beut products

Good luck and I hope you enjoy one of our beutifull native timbers as much as I have

It is also an inexpensive timber to buy

Red Gum