Thread: Has anyone ever turned pittosporum sp?

Depends on which of the Pittosporums you're referring to but the one we have out here (Cattlebush - P.angustifolium) is fine for turning.

Cattle bush

Originally Posted by TTIT

Depends on which of the Pittosporums you're referring to but the one we have out here (Cattlebush - P.angustifolium) is fine for turning.

Cattle bush

Sorry should have been more specific - I think that it is a sweet pittosporum.

As long as you do something to prevent the borers it should be fine - can't be too different to CattleBush. Might also be susceptible to a bit of fungal attack but if you are roughing it out green you'll be OK.
I seem to remember Skew ChiDAMN turning some of this stuff many years ago - he might spot this and tell you more if you're lucky.

I'm not sure which we have here on the coast but when it dries it is tight grained, quite hard timber seems pretty featureless though


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In the past I've turned several species of Pittosporum, mainly those endemic to suburban Vic.

The only two I can remember off-hand are P. Eugenioides and P. Tenuifolium. (sp?)

I can't say that I've turned any that were suitable for hedges, as seems to be popular now, but they might have been. The wood I sourced was all from largish trees with 10" or larger trunks... perhaps with care they could've been kept smaller.

That being said, I found it quite alright for turning although some species seemed prone to splintering. That could've been due to the way I dried it at the time... at one stage I had about 4 tonne of the stuff that needed drying, so was doing a lot of experimentation with 'alternative' methods. I'm pretty sure I still have some naturally dried in my turning blanks,

'Tis a pretty bland timber, although several times I noticed that microwaving added quite pretty honey coloured swirls that were independent of the grain direction.

IMO it's best used when you don't want flashy grain; perhaps to highlight the form or let some other timber or feature stand out.

Originally Posted by code4pay

I'm not sure which we have here on the coast but when it dries it is tight grained, quite hard timber seems pretty featureless though


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i'm with you, nothing to write home about or even think of picking up a pen!