Sourcing timber for handles

[Owen]

I went down to the local "wood turning" market today to check it out.

There was an old guy there with some really nice bits of timber, but not sized right for handles.

One in particular which he called "hairy oak" took my fancy.
It is apparently a western regions timber and has small dark (black) lines running through it.

I ended up paying $25 for a piece of cedar and a piece of camphor laurel (that bloody hurt - it's a weed where I grew up).

It'd be nice to know where you can get some nicely figured and dense timbers for fancy grips.

I found these pics of some pens made from hairy oak.

[finga]

Mate when your in brisy give me a cooee. I have some aged camphor with your name on it.
I still haven't done that experiment with it though...slack a-se I am. :(
There's some other's as well such as different pines, oaks and rosewoods if you want them.
I owe you a favour and I don't forget :)
The timber at the bottom of the picture could quite well be a member of the wattle family as well as that's what they look like turned up. I wouldn't be surprised if the bottle brush turned up a bit like that as well.
I have a bit of that Zebra wood that Sandy likes with your name on it as well.
There's a few wood supplies down here and I have other sources as well...ie dad's shed ;)
If you send some sizes and what you want I'll start looking in my little nooks and crannies and see what pops up.
Cheers then
Scott :)

[Owen]

Thanks Scott,
The botanical name of the hairy oak is cassuarina somebloodything.
Both pens are from the same wood... one cut with the grain & one across.
I wish I knew what different trees looked like.
There's so much timber on the sides of the road waiting for the termites :(

[finga]

And mate that is sometimes a great way to find bits and pieces.
That and the tip funnily enough...old broken furniture and windows and the like are great sources of wood.
For a bit of cedar so and see and wooden window and door places. They usually have some offcuts sitting about gathering dust...fair enough it's not aussie red cedar but a good place to start when your experimenting.
Mate have a look at this link about the cassuarina somebloodything
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casuarina
or
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/arbimg6b.htm
The bloody things are a pest along the creeks down out way.
A sheoak could be a member of that family and there's got to be some of that stuff up there. I have some in my shed at Warwick...I never did like that tree in the yard ;)
Another one I like to turn up is the wood of fruit trees like apples, peaches and pears etc. Some of it is quite hard and easy to get if you look around. The trick though is to get some that's been felled for a looooooooong time so it doesn't split after turning.

[oldboot]

another late reply reviving an old thread.

The pens are indeed made of hairy oak....I've turned a bit of if for pens actualy.
It is a lovely timber but there are a couple of problems
it doesn't grow very big....there fore bits big enough for rod grips could be a little dificult ( read expensive) to get hold of.
secondly it splits very easily between the hard & soft parts of the timber.
I would have concerns about it standing up as a handle.

very pretty timber all the same.

There are lots of fabulous timbers that would be appropriate.
give me a PM if you are still looking..... you'd be surprised what i could lay my hands on...... or I could refer you to someone who has something nice.

cheers

[Owen]

oldboot,
Thanks for the offer. My trouble is finding the time to do all the stuff I get excited about ;)
Maybe when I finish PicToWeave I'll have some time to actually make a rod or two :)

[Eagle]

I have a lot of wattle trees on our property that vary in size (diameter) from about 30mm up to 70mm or a bit more. Some have been knocked over and have dried out to a very useable moisture content. I wll definitelycheck these out and see what they look like after cleaning up in the lathe. The colour of the heartwood is a beautiful red and the sap wood is a creamy yellow. Wattle as a timber is immensely strong and can withstand a heavy bending load. I will see what I can find and post some photos for you all. If anyone decides to try some, give me a pm and let me know. Rosewood as used for fence posts is wonderful to machine on a lathe. It is very dense and polishes up to a glorious finish. Getting some at the size needed can be a bit tricky as the wood is not usually completely round when cut from the tree.
Eagle

[oldboot]

a late reply.


I like wattyl a lot.... I have 3 spicies growing here that could be called black wattyl.... fabulous.

there are all sorts of various wattyls.... some of them are just stunning.... others are just heart break.

regardless most of this stuff.... wattyl, sheoak, and similar....... you must break in to at least halves before it splits... quarters is better.

the radial shrinkage can be huge & likewise the splits...... make sure it is realy dry first..... either measure the moisture content or dry a a sample in the microwave checking the weight to establish the moisture content.

for a rod but you need it stable.

cheers

[sandyd]

I have put a chain saw on the shopping list. Last week end went for a drive out the back of the dam and all I could saw was "if only we had a chain saw".
Our problem is we have no idea what wood is what, you see a fallen tree that has dried but what is it.
So my way of thinking is it is going to be like christmas when we cut them and turn the pieces of wood.
You have me interested in the wattle though, I will have to find an area with heaps of live trees around and see what we end up with.

[finga]

That's the go Sandy....rip rip wood chip turn it into rod butts :)
I'll have to find a cartoon I have and put it up. It'll be Owen all over :D

[oldboot]

I have put a chain saw on the shopping list. Last week end went for a drive out the back of the dam and all I could saw was "if only we had a chain saw".
Our problem is we have no idea what wood is what, you see a fallen tree that has dried but what is it.
So my way of thinking is it is going to be like christmas when we cut them and turn the pieces of wood.
You have me interested in the wattle though, I will have to find an area with heaps of live trees around and see what we end up with.

Ha Ha Ha.... hook line & sinker;D you know you have the woodturners desease when every scrap of wood you see is a prospective turning blank;D

I did a trip north in august to townsville & the volume of timber just lying arround within site of the highway is just huge.

you have to look at timber with a critical eye......a lot of it is no better than firewood.
there is also alot of work in converting found timber and lots of waste.

you need to get hold of some books on timber.

cheers

[sandyd]

So now i have a fire place on the list too. ;D

[oldboot]

you forgot the compost heap;D

woodturning produces huge amounts of wood shavings.... so an interest in gardening and a steady supply of manure is helpfull for disposing of the shavings.

or you could put up a worm farm and stock it with african night crawlers.......wood becomes bait;D

cheers