Thread: White timber types please.

Originally Posted by Cklett

......I think when you allowed me to give it a try it was on a piece of Jacaranda. I probably thought it was from the same wood....

Most likely - I have plenty of scraps of Jacaranda & I usually keep a piece handy for setting/testing planes after sharpening...

Ian

Originally Posted by IanW

Crocy, I hope Paul has some clear (pun intended) solutions, 'cos yellowing finishes have bugged me all my woodworking life (along with the tendency of all dark-coloured woods to get paler & many pale woods get darker). Pieces I've been very happy with when freshly finished have almost always changed to something I'm not so happy with in either weeks or years.

Ian and Crocy

I am currently wearing my charlatans hat as I was relying on my memory (when will I learn? ) that there used to be a varnish specifically for radiata pine and added to that I had never actually used it!! However, while I am reasonably sure there was once this product, without being prepared to bet body parts, I can no longer find any reference to such a product: Perhaps it did not work and was pulled from production.

So in an attempt to redeem my credibility I went looking for solutions. I turned up this site with a rather quaint video demonstrating the technique. I rather like the understated approach. I had not previously heard of Finneys and have no idea if it is available in Oz.

Finneys Wood Finishes

Worth a look as it appears to address the issues mentioned above. Simple, but not a five minute fix.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by IanW

Nope, CK, I haven't used Jacaranda for plane infills, you may be thinking of the little plane with Box elder (Acer negundo) burl infill: Attachment 504963

Jacaranda would be ok for totes & buns but it's not a wood I'd use in that context as it's a little bit soft & easy to dent, and I'm not sure how white it will remain over time, it develops a very pale-brown colour quite quickly depending on how it's finished. As it happens, I've just been using Jacaranda scraps as the white wood for these Christmas ornaments for LOML's club to sell at a charity stall - it's a doddle to turn: Attachment 504961 Attachment 504962

Of course 'real' Box doesn't stay white either, it mellows to an orangey-brown: Attachment 504960

The large nut is Buxus & was made 30 plus years ago. It has probably gone as dark as it will ever get: The small nut is a local species (Mallotus) that is very fine-grained & very white, but doesn't grow down your way. I've made some handles from it that are still stark-white after a year or more, so it may never look like old Box.

Lemon starts out stark white but the little bit I've used developed a pale, almost translucent, ivory colour. I'd love to find a bit like that big enough for a small infill plane (not that I'm making any more planes!). Actually, the stuff I've got (a bit of "bush" lemon) is so fine-grained it looks like plastic - can't have folks thinking I use plastic in my planes...

For woods that stay white, Holly is the go-to (used for string inlays, for e.g.). There might be some of that available down your way. Another very white, close-grained wood is Privet (Ligustrum spp) - it's a weed tree up here & grows to a good size, too. I've got my eye on one in the gully on the neighbor's property that needs removing ( ). Cottoneaster was mentioned in this context recently, too, but I haven't used it myself. Murraya ('mock orange') is another very fine-grained wood which yellows like Box - it's another declared weed around here.....

Out of curiosity, which wood have you settled on, Matt?
Cheers,
Ian

Ian,I’ve settled on.
Norfolk Island Hibiscus, some one here who which’s too remain Anonymous.
Has offered to send me a piece.

Cheers Matt.

Another wood that would be suitable is Tamarind - Tamarindus indica though it is quite often spalted, bug eaten or stained. Very nice if you can get a well looked after blank.

I find that in Intarsi that I have done extensively, Rustoleoum clear dosen't appear to change like most clear finishes. This is not a sales pitch just my observation.

Originally Posted by IanW

... Lemon starts out stark white but the little bit I've used developed a pale, almost translucent, ivory colour. I'd love to find a bit like that big enough for a small infill plane (not that I'm making any more planes!). Actually, the stuff I've got (a bit of "bush" lemon) is so fine-grained it looks like plastic - can't have folks thinking I use plastic in my planes...
...

Schadenfreude!

They think it is plastic; you know it is lemon wood. Enjoy the schadenfreude.

Everyone here will smile, knowingly.

White Timber:
Holly
English Box
Pittosporum
Privet

So the lure of the holy grail got me searching and I found this.

Micador for Artists Varnish Gloss Spray 450g | Officeworks

So for $13 I thought it was worth a try. I did a couple of samples late this arvo, photos tomorrow, looked promising on bland white Camphor.
Rgds,
Crocy.

Cklett,

Thank you very much for the offer,
But in the space of under an hour, my problems been sorted.
An individual hear who wants to re main anonymous
as offered a bit of Norfolk Island Hibiscus up.

Wow that was quick

Cheers Matt.
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Hi Matt,

You have have some great suggestions and offers here. The best IMO is the Norfold Is Hibiscus, its a white white and has fine rays as well giving some interest.

The citrus woods and some Findersia are also good. I have some Denhamia (Orange bark or Orange Boxwood) and Ivorywood but though these are fine textured, they are plain and not as interesting as the NI Hibiscus.

Let us know and see how you go.

Eugene

Originally Posted by Euge

...... The best IMO is the Norfold Is Hibiscus, its a white white and has fine rays as well giving some interest......

Euge, could you post a pic of some Lagunaria wood sometime, just to satisfay my (& perhaps others') curiosity?

I have never come across the wood of this species, although I was well aware of it through its veterinary connotations (one of its common names is "cow-itch tree" for good reasons). I noticed it's a common street tree in upstate Victoria, & there were plenty of them in Benalla, where I lived for a while. Theey don't seem to be so common in S.E. Qld. - maybe too many folks had bad experiences with those nasty hairs in the seed-pods? I confess I once pulled one apart just to see what it was all about & of course got quite a few hairs in my finger-tips in the process. I didn't do that again!

Cheers,
Ian

Ian, I finally got to giving the new spray ago with mixed results.
1st and 2nd photos are a piece of Camphor sapwood with Wattyl lacquer and Danish Oil showing the effect.
3rd photo is the same wood with the Micador showing very little change to the colour of the wood.
4th photo is a piece of Cinnamon laurel and it has DO on the RHS then a section of the Micador. Where the Micador is labeled is the actual colour of the wood.
So the quest continues.
rgds,
Crocy.

Interesting, Crocy. I'm surprised the Micador is so obvious on the C. verum (I'm assuming it's the genuine cinnamon tree you mean) when it's clear on the camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora). The two species are very closely related, but there's bound to be different chemicals in their woods, after all, there are differences in the oils in clones of camphor laurel from different areas, so it's even more likely there'll be differences in some of the extractives of different species.

I think the quest for a perfectly colourless finish that works on all surfaces is going to be a long one. And perhaps it's a pointless quest because the more clear the finish, the quicker light is going to promote colour changes in the wood itself. About the only way to preserve the absolute "natural" colour of the wood is to plane/sand a bit off as soon as the fresh colour starts to fade. You can only do that for so long.....

Cheers,

This arrived today, My Precious insert, evil laugh.




A lovely bit of Norfolk Island Hibiscus.

Cheers Matt.
An a big thank you too the anonymous giver [emoji120][emoji120][emoji120]

That's pretty white, whiter than anything I've got.