Thread: New Catcher and sometimes Turner

Hi all.
Good to find this forum and the wealth of information it contains.
I'm new to wood turning. Have been mucking around for the past few months on a little WL-18 Hafco lathe.

Have found the imitations of the lathe... continually finding more of my own limitations as I try new techniques.
I'm turning dead, cracked, burnt and unwanted hardwoods. Plenty of catches, occasional chunks flying, and a little success now and then. Not he easiest learning curve but am learning to listen to what direction the timber wants me to go.

Would like to upgrade the lathe, the shed needs a good fit out and I need help identifying different tree species and how to work with them.
I have been browsing various topics and will post on relevant threads sooner or later.

Heres one of my efforts of making a mortar from a dead tree that has been sitting on a mates property for 9 years outside.
Very hard, very heavy (sinks in water), impervious to termites, unknown timber. Looks like kwila but that doesnt grow here. Could be a bloodwood or some other Corymbia sepcies. Some 1-1.5mm growth ring voids/delaminationsk filled and a chunk reattached with epoxy.

Can click images to go to image hosting site for bigger size.
Final finish pics aren't great - they were taken in a hurry to give the mortar to the mate who gave me the timber. I might post a video when time allows.

Looking forward to the conversations
Cheers - Fallen