Thread: Norfolk Island pine...?

hi guys
just wondering what this poly is that u r soaking the pine in?
thx
pete

aka Estapol. One guy uses finishing oil.

Ern, SWMBO has finally posted yr box, should arrive ina coupla days mate. cost was $21 for about 5 kilos.

cheeeers
john

Thanks John. Looking forward to it.

Heres my first turning from the Norfolk island pine
Its good to work, slightly 'gummy' and sweet and the grain is pale but with some figure.
It was probably a little 'hard' to turn,in terms of the density but not as hard as radiata.

I am finding it interesting how the various conifers (pine) stack up alongside each other in terms of figure and workability. As all softwood pines there are obvious similarities so the differences are subtle but defined.

In this comparision so far i have tuned

Huonpine
celerytop pine
bunya pine
Norfolk island pine
slashpine
hoop pine
radiatapine
some unkown pinkish pine, very hard tight grain
oregon
NZ ancient kauri

Huon is obviously the favourite for its grain , texture, scent, workability and general 'hey i am a really nice wood' factors but the other pines have something to offer in terms of light grained woods.

thanks for helping out with this Rsser.

Pleasure John.

The bowl blank has more figure from memory.

How'd you hollow it?

btw, a number of your list wouldn't be real pines would they? Just 'pines' by common name.

Rsser, yes 'most' of em i think are legit conifers of osme kind,, the aracurias included..i think huon pine is off in its own category, some texts say it is a pine some not. I kinda work on the angle that if it has cones and not flowers its a pine or conifer or softwood. I think its a grey area a bit and if it looks like a pine, ie: the tree has needles and cones, the wood is yellowish with fairly plain grain then its pine. But what u say is true some anre 'true' pines some not.

On the hollowing most of these i have just bored and sealed to hold water..some of the vases i have been experimenting with i have hollowed via a long bowel gouge, have been thinking about a proper hollowing setup some time, a more powerful lathe might also help..I have a small hollowing tool but in general i have tried and my equipment is not yet good enough, as in if I get a catch it rips it off the chuck or wobbles off center etc.

Most of these vase shapes have been learning experiments in wood texture, shape and finish.

cheeers
john

Hi John,

Pics of the Rosewood attached. Good colour and good to turn. Cracking started though, as with the Sheoak. We had a hot and dry summer.

[Edit: size 190 x 80, finished with Danish Oil]

Hey really nice shaped bowl Ern, good contours..glad you got something useful from those chunks, shame about the splittings but thats wood i guess. I have been turning the rosewood to rough and letting it settle awhile then turning down to finish, seems to limit the splitting...


cheeeeers
john

Hi Guys
New to this, but seeing as I live on Norfolk Island and have plenty of sources for timber including pine knots, slabs and boards, thought I would ask if anyone was interested in swapping for some good old Aussie home timbers.Have been using NIP here for around 13 yrs as furniture timber and for turning, I have found it a great all round timber to use.
Freight to this end is expensive half price on the return trip but of course I would pay all costs'
Any how if anyone is interested give me a email an see what we can do.

john i have a heap of kauri pine ,any good to ya...bob
ps any luck with those post bags yet