Thread: Macadamia wood Q's

Patrick, are you in Brisbane?

I can't answer your question, I just want to know how far away you are so I can come over and sneek off with the wood if it turns out to be ok.

Pat, first of all seal it with what ever on hand. Oil based paint is ok. Macca is an open grained wood like Silky Oak. I have a piece of Macca in the wood shed and I am about to wander out to the shed to play with my bandsaw, so in a while I'll give you some idea.

Maca is beautiful wood for turning, nice to work too. Here's a sample - a small bowl completed recently. The base of the bowl could have been a bit smaller, but the wood has lovely features.

Jeff

Just in from playing with the bandsaw. I have to agree with jeff about the figure in the wood. Blooming marvellous. I'll have to await the arrival of MBGitW as she has the camera.

Well I found the camera. cleverly concealed in plain sight as a camera

Pic 1 is of both halves. I wetted one half to hopefully display the grain.
Pics 2 & 3 are the halves separately.
Pics 4 & 5 is the grain taken with a Macro Lens. Don't ask me any technical details on the lens, MBGitW is the photographer.

Jeff,

Thats a nicely turned bowl - I love the lines of it and the figure only enhances that!

Just one question; - is the inside slighly undercut or straight down from the rim? Its a bit hard to tell from the photos.

I have saved it in my "projects to be copied" file

Well done

Thornburn

Similar thread here.

Very pretty.... (looks around for a dead nut tree)

wow thanks everyone i sort of forgot about this thread this morning i went down and got some more logs well ok for turning and yeah there was a piece that was split so i could see the grain. i dont like silky oak but it ill see how this goes. the end grain has split on all the timber but i think its only gone down a few inches so that will be ok. i dont have a band saw so ill take them to wood turning for there stock (Eliza you want some im in Ipswich ...no jokes) there is still heaps of wood there, some really good for bowls but its a bit hard to get to so its going to take some time to get the good stuff (me and my mate got some looks while walking down the street lol) thanks for showing me what the grain is like i love it ill get on to sealing them latter.... will candle wax do? should i cut past the cracks before putting the wax on? (i only have a hand saw ) where is the best place to put them? and is there anything special i should do?

only bad point of the day was i stacked my bike and the front wheel is going to need to be replaced and i want a new bike

cant wait to get that 4 branch intersection and on the lathe ......damn no bowl gouge

thanks for the help

Patrick

Originally Posted by new_guy90

will candle wax do? should i cut past the cracks before putting the wax on? (i only have a hand saw ) where is the best place to put them? and is there anything special i should do?

Patrick

Cut off the split ends, coat the new ends in melted candle wax, put them in a safe place and forget about them for a few years. I have turning blanks "drying" under work benches, in the wood shed & in a wooden filing cabinet. The wax will not allow the wood to dry all that well, so if you can find some oil based paint at a later stage, this will allow more drying. Even with commercial blanks I do scrape back the wax sealant to allow some drying, I even bury the blanks in a box of shavings. Depending on the length and penetration of the splits you can try to split the "offcuts" with saw or wedges. This will give you more timber to play with

Just one question; - is the inside slighly undercut or straight down from the rim? Its a bit hard to tell from the photos.
Thornburn

Thanks Thorburn, for the encouragement.

Yes, it is undercut, probably around 10-12mm (I didn't measure and, having given it to a rellie across the ditch, I no longer can). The side walls were reasonably fine tho'. I was very happy with the way it turned out (I think it actually looked and felt better 'in the flesh') - probably one of my better efforts.

Jeff

splitting with wedges is the quickest way to half a log ,you'll need more than one wedge and a sledge hammer

the center of the timber "the Pith " should be cut to reduce cracking , i try to avoid piths all together , the cracks radiate out from them ,

halving the log through the center works well but quartering is better , ( the blanks are getting smaller) ,then you have to babysit them for years , the best way to turn timber with piths in it is to turn them green , as you turn the timber its going to start drying very quickly and change shape (warp) ,so if your not going to finish reducing down to 20mm thick you will have to keep the moisture up buy berrying in moist sawdust when not on the lathe ( wet sawdust will stain the timber )

you have 2 options turning green timber
turn down to 20mm and leave to dry for 6months to a 1 year before returning and finishing ,
or turning down to finished thickness ( 10mm ) and letting it warp to what ever shape it wants to be , then applying the finish

Do you need sawdust? Let me know asap as I have a big bag here that will be going in the rubbish today otherwise.

don't worry , i normally use the sawdust that came from the blank,

looks like the "timber Blank Fairy" is headed your way ( Hamish )
stock up on ya rum and stay safe all you guy's north of brizzie