Thread: Australian equivalent of curly/quilted maple.

Originally Posted by auscab

I agree , Red gum has great figure, it also bleaches out really well, from red to blonde.

last time I did it about ten years back I was amazed how pale it went, I will do a test piece tomorrow and put a picture up if any one wants to see it ?

Rob

That would be interesting. Is there a link on how to bleach it out?

Cheers

James

I have had mixed results bending Tassie Oak. The first time the pieces I had were impossible to bend without breaking. More recently I have been bending Tassie Oak with no problems. I think it probably depends on the species you get.

Originally Posted by mandoman

Big Leaf Maple from Northwest Timber I presume. I know what you mean. I bought a piece about 6 months ago and the postage cost was more than the cost of the wood. They do have some nice wood though. I visited them in 1999 and spent most of the day looking at Maple and Walnut and drooling. Lewis Judy is a bit of a character who can soon spot a person with WAS and takes advantage of it. Came out considerably poorer. Luckily then the cost of transport was much less than what it is now.

That piece of Tassie Oak looks like a piece I got from Bunnings for a fraction of what they want. You can get lucky in Bunnings occasionally.

Mandoman

You are quite correct! Postage was an absolute killer at $110.00, but I designed my chess board around figured maple and wenge so I closed my eyes and just bought it. They are quite thick at 1.5" and 2" so I will be able to resaw at the very least.

There are a lot of good timber suppliers around, however have found that the regular providers on eBay are very expensive. If they are making good money though, more power to them. Darwin has little to no choice of timber, with only one sawmill who stocks jarrah that doesn't make the grade for his furniture business so I have started getting mine in bulk from Tasmania and taking a hit in freight costs.

Cheers

James

Originally Posted by mandoman

I have had mixed results bending Tassie Oak. The first time the pieces I had were impossible to bend without breaking. More recently I have been bending Tassie Oak with no problems. I think it probably depends on the species you get.

Could be grain run out causing them to break? But then again Tassie Oak covers several species so it could be that.

cheers
steve

I dont know if there is a link James, there probably would be. It's done with Amonia and Peroxide.

This method has been written about, In books.

Some times I add a dash of Oxalic acid at the end, never read of that before ,but it makes a difference on some timbers,not always a good difference though

I will take some pics and post it Tomorrow

Rob

Originally Posted by mandoman

I have had mixed results bending Tassie Oak. The first time the pieces I had were impossible to bend without breaking. More recently I have been bending Tassie Oak with no problems. I think it probably depends on the species you get.

I remember you saying that here a while back mandoman, with fiddle back it's probably a bit risky,

I would need to test a bit first ,about 25mm wide by 100 long .

I did see your lovely Tassie Oak Mandolin and your second OM,

very nice

Rob

Thats a new one on me Blackwood is not a tree its a wood.
Tasmania blackwood is the largest of the Acacia family wattle is also one of the acacia family- buy the bible book. -Wood in Australia by Keith R. Bootle this is only one of many books that I own on understanding wood plus the huge book that I have inside my head.
Its like answering some of the posts that follow this one what wood will steam bend what ones will not it all is about understanding wood and what species are suitable this you learn in time, As for Eucalyptus have a look how many species there is in Australia.
Same as colouring and staining timbers some can stain better than others, I have Eucalyptus that I have pulled out of rivers as well as Tasmanian myrtle that look like ebony jet black from the tannans in the river myrtle that has turned red on my lathe and yet 1/2 hour after they come off the lathe it will go black again same with the eucalyptus also I have had blackwood like this also. read learn study this I have done for 64 years and I am still learning some thing new every day, so I will keep going for another 64 years.
Cheers, Bob

Originally Posted by luxemburg

mountain ash, tassie oak, vic ash etc etc- i think these are some of the tassie eucalyptus'.

Tassie oak is of course the wood name for three different species of eucalypt.
Same as blackwood isnt a tree its a wood, the tree is wattle or Acacia melanoxylon

I know what you mean, I paid a bomb for them to post a bookmatched set of curly and quilted tops to me. What really narked me was they charged me $70 and sent them surface mail (7 weeks to get here). My son was going to take his pick of them for his 21st birthday guitar, I ended up using bookmatched figured black bean for the top. I would never ever use them again.

Originally Posted by Bigriver

I know what you mean, I paid a bomb for them to post a bookmatched set of curly and quilted tops to me. What really narked me was they charged me $70 and sent them surface mail (7 weeks to get here). My son was going to take his pick of them for his 21st birthday guitar, I ended up using bookmatched figured black bean for the top. I would never ever use them again.

If they do that to me I will be sending some pretty directed words their way. Thanks for the heads up and I'll post later to see if they do the same to me.

Tassie Oak covers several species so it could be that.

Tasmanian Oak is not a species it is just a marketing name try selling Eucalytus under its latin name.
Cheers, Bob

cheers
steve[/QUOTE]

Here is some Red Gum bleached,

Rob

See what you mean Rob. Certainly turned it from a red to a blonde.

cheers
Steve

Why bother.? red gum looks nice use that for something else not a guitar, if you wanted that look just go to Bunnings and buy some Tasmanian Eucalyptus mutch better sound volocity.

Cheers, Bob

Originally Posted by auscab

Here is some Red Gum bleached,

Rob

Originally Posted by woodturner777

Why bother.? red gum looks nice use that for something else not a guitar, if you wanted that look just go to Bunnings and buy some Tasmanian Eucalyptus mutch better sound volocity.

Cheers, Bob

What's wrong , dont you sell it ?

Red gum has grain and figure combinations that are incredible, the likes of which dont get seen as much in Tassie Eucalyptus, if at all.

So it is an option for some one who wants to bother

Rob