Candlesticks

[joe greiner]

A couple candlesticks in Chinaberry, about 10" high (250mm). And a preliminary "sketch" turning, to assess the idea of exposing an inner growth ring for a feature area. The irregular regions fool the eye into thinking that the candlesticks might be identical shapes, which they're not. I re-attached the candle cups, after placing a few drops of CA glue in the first screw holes, for enhanced fastening in end grain. EEE and paste wax.

Cheers,
Joe

[ElizaLeahy]

What's that wood!!! Never heard of it! Where'd ya get it?! It's perdy!



Nice shape the candle sticks - but aren't you afraid that they will tip over?

[wheelinround]

love that wood Joe

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

They look like they may be branches turned down, showing the difference between heart- and sapwood?

No problems with checking? Or is Chinaberry (a new one to me, too ) like a gobstopper... and changes colour several times throughout the diameter?

[joe greiner]

It's classified as a non-native nuisance tree around here. Very fast growing. I thought I'd seen references about it in Oz, but maybe not. Some members of our WT club use it very successfully.

I felled the tree 25 April, as a favour to some friends, and a source of the timber. The wood is somewhat soft, and has wide growth rings. And one of the sticks has started to display a small crack. This particular chunk was probably from a leaning trunk, with the heartwood slightly off-centre. I tried to mount it centrally on the target growth ring for exposure.

I suppose I could hollow the bottom, to reduce cracking, and maybe then add some ballast weight. But anything can fall over if you hit it hard enough.

I'll photograph some of the stash later. Some spectacular candidates seem to hiding inside.

Cheers,
Joe

[ColW]

Just Googled

CHINABERRY WOOD (Melia Azedarach)
Chinaberry trees also known as the "pride of India" and "Jempanis" are native to East Asia. The Chinaberry is a deciduous tree with small lilac-colored flowers and a yellowish fruit. Fruits and tea from leaves are toxic if large quantities are eaten. The Chinaberry is a coarsely textured, medium density hardwood, this wood is generally used for painted or partially painted statues. However, when properly finished, this wood can be quite smooth and pleasant to look at with its visible grain and irregularities of pattern. The bare wood is tan to yellow in color. This wood tends to be fairly heavy and sometimes difficult to work with so carvings are usually small, (up to 30 centimeters) long.

guess a cuppa cha's out of the question then, nice work though Jon.