Thread: Good "free" turning wood?

marcel, The best type of timber for turning is the kind that has a root system under the ground and leaves and branches above the ground.

As for sealing of the ends, You can use enamel paint (anything that is thinned with Turpentine is good), a product called Mobilcer is also a popular choice, and my favourite is bees wax.


Kev

The best guide was once published on the site of the Peninsula wood turners guild, but appears there no longer. It covered timber types, their turning properties, health effects and tool strategies.

Leave your email here if you'd like a copy. I'll seek permission from the Guild to send it out.

Beyond that, there are a range of sites ...

Here are some more general guides:

http://www.am-wood.com/wood/wood.html

http://www.getwoodworking.com/pages/wood_tests.cgi

http://green-alan.tripod.com/TimbersAtoM.htm

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/hardwoodsqld/7680.html

Some data on Oz hardwoods can be found on the last site and at:

http://www.kdi-lumber.com/woods.htm


On breaking logs down, see

http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/logcutting.html

Remember, crotch pieces often have good figuring, and cut your log into lengths slightly longer than their diameter.

It's all a bit of work too . You need a good chainsaw.

And you can reduce cracking and speed up drying by rough turning the bowls while (really) green. Some timbers will start to check in a matter of hours, so seal or turn soon!

Of course, you often end up with a heap of one species. Maybe a woodswap forum could be started here

Good luck,

Ern

Any free wood is great for turning in my book. I often pick up short logs that have been placed at the curb for trash pick up. I currently have about 10 short logs of various species (I'm in the US). While I'm not familiar with all the species that grow in Austraila, I would guess many (if not all) can be turned into some useful form.

Now only if shipping a 20 lbs log wasn't so darned expensive. I'm sure we could work a trade...

Glenn