Illawarra plum any good ?

[Arron]

Hi. Does anyone know if Illawarra plum (aka brown pine, she pine or Podocarpus elatus) is any good for turning.

cheers
Arron

[jimmyh]

Have not tried to turn it, but it is generally a fairly easy timber to work with. Much easier than Radiata Pine and nowhere near as hard as say, Norfolk Island Pine with those horrible knots. My old man made some Brown Pine into a toolbox many years ago and it is still holding together. It is not the most spectacular wood available though. If you ever see one with the fruit on it, they are delicious! You need both the male and female trees for that though I believe.

[Pat]

Well Bootle mentions it for Turning and Carving, so it cannot be to bad.