Help needed - Olivewood

[Sebastiaan56]

Ahhh another learning day in the shed. My father in law gave me a piece of Olivewood from his property at Picton. These "Olive" trees bear no fruit but look and smell like the real deal. My portion was on the ground for a year before it was lopped off with axe.

Its heavy, hard and still a bit wet. I had an interesting 30 mins digging in every tool except the parting gouge. The heartwood is rather darker (see photo) and seemed to be the source of the catching. Later when I dried it in the microwave it exuded resin from the heartwood and cracked but only in the heartwood. I tried another piece with small eyes from branches it and the had same problems with dig ins, particularly on the eyes..

I was resonably sure all the digging in wasnt all my technique so I turned some Kauri pine as revenge and proved it was this "wood". So ideas please, how do I turn this timber? I like the colour and the drama of the grain. My father in law regards it as a pest so I have access to as much of it as I want. Would be great if I could turn it.

Sebastiaan

[rsser]

Just a guess but you might have had some flexing in the piece.

I've only turned one bit of 'real' olive wood and it was dry and dense and no problem.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Like Ern, all the Olive I've turned has already been well cured and hasn't given me any problems. If I were in your shoes, I'd definitely grab some nicely sized pieces and simply stash them away somewhere nice, dark and relatively cool (eg. under the house) and forget about 'em for a few years.

From your description, it sounds as though the heartwood is significantly harder (or softer) than the sapwood, which may cause you grief. Or flexing, as Ern suggested. Have you tried scraping? If you have problems with gouging while using a scraper... well... let's just say that you shouldn't if you're using it properly!

Scraping usually means more sanding is involved, but if you're getting dig-ins anyway, it may actually mean less sanding.

[rsser]

Sage advice as always from Skew.

Another option might be to take very light cuts with freshly sharpened tools. Minimise the tool overhang. Hope this isn't teaching you how to suck eggs.

[Frank&Earnest]

Hi Sebastiaan. Are you sure that's real olive, as in olive oil ? The picture and your description don't look anything like the olive I have worked with, wet or dry. Resin? Marked sapwood/heartwood difference? My guess is that it is some sort of "native" olive, with very different properties. Unless laying in the wet has messed it up, but that seems a very long shot. As far as technique is concerned, I can only concur with the expert advice already given .

[Richard Findley]

Hi Sebastiaan,

Just a thought, but African Olive is also known as as Ironwood and is quite a bit more dense than European Olive. Not sure what sort of Olive you guys get out there in Oz.

If it is very dense then a scraper is probably your best bet!

Good luck,

Richard

[Sebastiaan56]

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

No, Im not sure that it olive apart from the fact that it looks like an olive, the timber matches the descriptions on the net and the tree looks like the olive tree I have a fruiting variety in the back yard. The key is that these dont bear recognisable fruit so it may be some deranged cousin of the real thing. Are there sterile olives?, native olives?, time for more google.

Good idea about the scraper Skew, Ill try that next chance I get. The parting chisel didnt grab, it was the skew and the gouge.

Olives are quite common in Southern Australia as there has been massive investment over the last 20 years partially due to a reasonably generous tax treatment of agricultural schemes. We are now seeing Australian olive oils in our supermarkets and some of them are very high quality. My father in law even reckons they have become a bit of a pest as the birds eat the fruit and distribute the seeds far and wide. He also has lots a Peppertrees, but I havent heard a good word about them for turining.


Sebastiaan

[TTIT]

......................... He also has lots a Peppertrees, but I havent heard a good word about them for turining.


Sebastiaan

What am I !!?? - the sacred saint of peppercorn ???? Someone has to stick up for the stuff

[cedar n silky]

What am I !!?? - the sacred saint of peppercorn ???? Someone has to stick up for the stuff

Hi TTIT-Not trying to hijack the thread, but HOW DO YOU DO THAT!! how do you substitute the whole address for one word (peppercorn)? Or as many of you guys (n gals) do -"here"

[Sebastiaan56]

TTIT,

Its a pity you arent closer, Im sure my father in law would help load your car full of the stuff. From your description of the bowl its seems like it had its moments, how much CA did you use? Nice piece of work, attractive timber,

Sebastiaan

[DJ’s Timber]

Hi TTIT-Not trying to hijack the thread, but HOW DO YOU DO THAT!! how do you substitute the whole address for one word (peppercorn)? Or as many of you guys (n gals) do -"here"

Here you go Cedar have a sticky here, it explains how to do so

[Sebastiaan56]

OK, A few calls to the local council in the area has resolved a some questions. It is an African variety of the olive. It was imported by John Macarthur early in the 1800's for the estate now called Camden in NSW. Peppertree has exactly the same history. Both have gone feral and are regarded as pests and are endemic throughout the area. So you were right Richard.

There was a thread by Caveman where he described his experience of the stuff. Caveman are you out there? Richard do you have experience? Small cuts, extra sharp tools are what Ive picked up.

Seems that it is also used for pens, so you may well see blanks around the traps.

And yes, TTIT my FIL is bringing a piece of Peppertree for me so all will be revealed! How much CA did you really use?........, just teasing ...

Many thanks for all the feedback, truly appreciated.

Sebastiaan

[cedar n silky]

Here you go Cedar have a sticky here, it explains how to do so

You mean like this .
Thanks DJS, and every one!

[Alastair]

Hi Seb

Need to ask all the obvious questions, ie bevel rubbing , tool overhang etc, but something I came across a while ago might also be pertinent.

One of the guys at our SWG group was having a similar problem with a Blackwood blank he was turning. I put it on the group lathe, (Leady), and was able to turn without trouble. His lathe was one of the MC**** variants.

What we eventually worked out as a reason, was that while the blank was round, it was still out of balance, due to varying timber density. It appeared that at the speed he was turning, there was enough 'flex' in his lathe at the 'resonating' speed to mean that the toolrest was moving with respect to the periphery of the blank, allowing the gouge to 'bite' each revolution. The Leady was stiffer, and thus problem not evident. He solved the problem by increasing speed out of the resonating frequency.

I have had a similar experience turning an out of balance Coolibah burl, and had to resort to scraping. Seems to happen with hard timber, and differential toolrest movement.

Hope this helps

Alastair

[Sebastiaan56]

Hi Alistair,

I saw the SWG Leady lathe yesterday at the show. That will be my next lathe. Im using a Record Power about 15yo with the 1.5 inch rails. None of the cam locks or any of that fancy stuff, all adjustments with a ring spanner. It is bolted to the bench but I will check out the resonance you have suggested. There was a density difference for sure,

Im going to try 800rpm with a scraper and see how it goes,

Sebastiaan