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4th October 2020, 12:44 PM #1Senior Member
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Any sources of Olive Tree Wood in Victoria?
I'm looking for some unsawn olive tree wood for some woodturning projects - does anyone know where I might be able to get some?
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5th October 2020, 06:56 AM #2SENIOR MEMBER
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What sort of sizes are you looking for ?
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5th October 2020, 11:09 AM #3Senior Member
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6th October 2020, 06:54 AM #4SENIOR MEMBER
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Sorry mate - that's much bigger than the bits I have.
Good hunting !
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6th October 2020, 07:42 AM #5Senior Member
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What size bits do you have?
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6th October 2020, 08:51 PM #6.
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My 12 year old olive tree story.
Tree Lopper Mate (TLM) calls and says,
"Bob got a 100 year olive tree coming up in the next month or so, are you interested?
After picking my mouth up off the floor I stammered "Of Course!"
"It's about 5m tall, the main trunk is only 1m high and more than 500 mm in diameter at the base and about 350 mm at the top of the trunk. Then a bunch of 150 mm diam long branches"
"Bewdy"!
A few weeks later TLM rings and says, "I'm going up north for a few weeks on a fishing trip and while I'm away the olive is going to become available. I've left instructions with the boys to deliver the Olive to the yard next week and they'll call you when it arrives."
"Great thanks!" I replied.
This is what they delivered
LONGEST PIECE WAS ABOUT 250 MM LONG!
IMG_8707.jpg
IMG_8708.jpg
Still have most of it in my stash - I did use a small piece to make this.
It really is one of the best turning timbers around.
MAllet3.jpg
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6th October 2020, 09:40 PM #7Senior Member
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Some interesting pieces there Bob! Could have been better but still...
I think that I may have found some... but the information is pretty vague... time will tell...
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7th October 2020, 08:23 AM #8SENIOR MEMBER
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7th October 2020, 12:15 PM #9
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7th October 2020, 01:49 PM #10.
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Yes it is hard but even when dry it turns so nicely.
These small slabs came from a 30+ year old tree at my sons place
IMG_6181.jpg
I made this (450mm) long spoon out of one of the pieces.
BigSpoon.jpg
Most fruit woods are nice for handles, apricot is one of my favourites, Apple is good too,
They all have really good tactile feels to them which makes them good for handles.
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7th October 2020, 02:34 PM #11
Delightful, Bob. Fully agree; I have used lots of fruit wood - pear, apple, cherry, plum, apricot, etc - but never olive. Lovely to work with, and looks and feels nice.
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7th October 2020, 08:38 PM #12
Those slabs look nice Bob, I like the way Olive wood turns out it is a favourite of woodturners for pens etc because of the decorative nature of the wood.
I have an Olive tree here but only with 20cm in base dia ,but I have some larger pieces that I intend to use from days of yore in the Woodturners Ass.
I think in some ways it holds its own amidst the figurative woods out there.
Johnno
Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
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7th October 2020, 09:44 PM #13.
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I agree it can be stunning. High quality Olive is one of the most prized woods around. Some semi custom made high end motor vehicles use it in their dashboards and other wooden trim. Large crack free olive lumber can command a significant premium. I was once asked about making a set of about 40 religious crucifixes out of Olive but that fell through once I told them what the timber would cost.
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9th October 2020, 08:25 AM #14
Bob, I noticed one of your "firewood" lengths of olive was from near the ground. Most (all?) olives I've seen growing have a swollen base at ground level & just below like the lignotubers of mallees, with lots of small adventitious shoots sticking out from them. I presume they would be similar inside to the mallee 'burls' and are the source of the fancy burl olive veneers? I was once given a couple of short logs from a small tree (~200mm diam), from well above ground level. If I ever get the offer of another one, I'd be round there in a flash with my mattock to grub out as much of the stump as I can!
It's a declared weed in S.A. I spent a few months in Gawler a few years ago & noticed there were thousands of feral olives along the river, and all over he place. Most had zillions of tiny rip fruits, just the right size for a bird to swallow & poop out the seeds all over the countryside.
I got a lot of nice wood out of my two logs worth, but it developed quite a few internal checks, despite very slow & careful air-drying. However, it's well worth the effort to find the sound pieces, it does indeed make very nice handles and tools, the oily wood takes a beautiful polish and feels very nice in the hand: Halfback olive b.jpg Olive wood layout set.jpg
Cheers,IW
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9th October 2020, 09:19 AM #15.
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