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powderpost
27th April 2008, 11:47 PM
Had a good day on the lathe today. This bit of cedar came from an area known as a "dry rainforest", north west from Townsville. It is in an area where there are numerous small lava tubes in the ground. There is a spring in the area also. the top of the lava tubes has worn away and been filled with leaf litter that has broken down and formed these tubes of rich soil. The area has a mix of rainforest trees, including cedar, and an assortment of dry country trees. The owner of the property had cut down three cedar trees and had them milled. We got access to the stumps and crowns. The stumps were about 1500mm diameter and about 1200mm high. The first branches were about 450mm thick. We estimated the trees to be about 300 years old. The timber was quite dark and crisp to work.
After I started to turn, I stopped and checked what was coming up and was a little surprised to see some fiddle back on one side and a series of three borer holes vertically in line on the other side. the plan changed to preserve the fiddle back, and to disguise the holes by boring a pattern. Any way this is the end product. It is 210mm high and 95mm diameter. Wall thickness is just under 2mm. Pity the light covered some of the fiddle back.
Jim

Sawdust Maker
28th April 2008, 12:04 AM
very veerrryyyy nice
well trained borers, can I borrow them please:D

ss_11000
28th April 2008, 12:07 AM
nice:2tsup:

artme
28th April 2008, 07:57 AM
Wonderful!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Hardenfast
28th April 2008, 09:23 AM
Lucky boy to have access to some Australian Cedar in its raw form, Jim. Another stunning piece you've produced there from our finest timber. It's really beautiful to work with and I love the distinctive smell - unlike any other timber I know.

I'm currently creating a segmented bowl using very old Cedar and Kauri Pine which was reclaimed from an ancient, brutalised staircase during renovation works in Sydney. Trouble is its over 130 years old and full of nails, tacks, screws etc - all covered in 20+ layers of paint. Its painstaking work to cut out some usable pieces, but these smaller bits tend to suit the segmenting process anyway.

I'm getting some very nice ideas from your posts, and you've really fired my imagination with the pierced pieces - especially the privet hollow "leaf". Many thanks again for the post.

Wayne

Mrs Woodpecker
28th April 2008, 10:45 PM
Beautiful indeed !!!!! :2tsup::2tsup:

powderpost
28th April 2008, 10:55 PM
Wayne, that I have "fired your imagination" is music to my ears, that is the primary reason for posting here.
Jim

coffenup
30th April 2008, 08:22 PM
another great piece
regards Michael
:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

ciscokid
30th April 2008, 09:25 PM
That's very nice indeed. Very clever way to hide the borer holes. :2tsup: What's the finish? It positively glows.

Jarrahrules
30th April 2008, 09:40 PM
Magnificent vase.:2tsup::2tsup:
love it.
I have a daughter called cedar after the timber. And looking at the beautifull timber i can understand why.:D:D:D

Regards
Jamc

powderpost
30th April 2008, 11:17 PM
Cisco,
Don't know what materials you have access to, but I used four coats of sanding sealer to fill the grain, sanded back with OOOO steel wool between coats. Then four coats of lacquer cut back with 600# wet and dry paper. I use the paper wet with just a smear of soap. The surface is then buffed with EEE, a very fine abrasive paste.
Jim