Thread: Red Gum, why do you hate me?

I'd say use a good glue (thick CA or Epoxy), rough up the tubes first with 120 grit paper and make sure you get good coverage.

Sharp tools are a must. if it's dusty when turning, it usually means blunt tools (or tools that aren't sharp enough for the wood )

Thirdly, Red Gum hates heat. When sanding, slow the lathe down and use light pressue and keep the paper moving. Hand holding the paper with only one layer between your fingers and the wood is a good idea. If the paper gets too warm, you're going to hard or using paper that's too old.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Dave

Redgum as a timber is widely spread around Australia, and shows the same variation on the lathe, in terms of how close the grain is, how brittle it is and how many voids there are.

Don't write it off on the basis of one or two samples.

I believe ther are three species of tree known as Red Gum. What you have could be anyhing.
The timber known as river red gum needs a flood every few years to stay heathy.
You will see posts here as to sustainable forrest management of river red gum, but thats just not so. However well intentioned these guys were, a lack of floods created a poor quality wood.
As a lover of the timber, I wont try again. My last consignment was full of borer holes and was very difficult to work. Spending several hundred dollars and finding most of your wood being reduced to sawdust or shavings is not pleasing. Again its hard to find pleasing wood now.
Perhaps its just as well Im an old fart, as nothing is as good as it was when I was a nipper.

Yes, there are sub-species.

Bottom line for pen turning is it should be close-grained (there's a lot of variation even within a sub-specie and a given tree), properly dried and without saplines or voids.

What brand/type of glue are you using ?

I use "Hot Stuff" - Super T. It comes in a
bottle with a yellow label and is available from
Jim Carroll.

Great stuff, it is thicker than the rubbish you get
from $2 shops. It sets extremely quickly and
it is rare to have a problem of any sort.

Allan

I never use anything but 15 minute epoxy from Gary Pye now and have never had a failure since using it. Gave CA away ages ago for gluing up blanks.

As others have said Red Gum can vary. I have had some that is dusty and porous and when polishing with Shellawax came up fairly dull.

I turned one the other week that was a beautiful piece of Red Gum, much harder than normal and the finish with the Shellawax was brilliant

I got these ones from someone on the forum can't remember who.

I think I have some left and you can have a couple if you like. If you do send me a PM with your details and I will post them off.