Australian Silky Oak (Grevilla robusta), can be VERY dangerous, Cover your
arms against dust and wear Dust protection when ever you work with it.
(Green or Dry).
I know two woodturners who both were able to turn it till the cows came
home, here are their stories.

"A" had been turning Silky Oak for years and loved the look it gave him till
one weekend He turned some on the Saturday, and like usual not taking any
special care after all it did not effect him, and everything was normal on
Sunday he went to finish the Job he was doing, next thing he knew he was in
intensive care fighting for his life.

"T" even after knowing "A's" Story bragged that Silky Oak did not effect him
and he could turn it with no effect 4 years later he now loses his sence of
taste and smell for 3 days after turning the wood even though he now wears a
full resperator AND a secondary mask under the resporator.

That said it does work well and has some interesting grain.

"Copernicus Skygazer" wrote in message
...
Greetings from a novice bowl turner,

I recently came into a lucky find. A friend wanted to cut down three
large trees in her front yard. I took a few logs to try out, until I
identified the wood. Silky oak (Grevilla robusta), a relative of
LACEWOOD!

Apparently these Australian trees are grown in Aridzona due to their
drought resistance, but either way, I grabbed them all.

I have since sealed the ends (either with the waxy anchor seal or thick
coating of outside latex paint), but not removed the bark yet. I've
gotten a variety of advice, including leave the bark on and store it in
my garage (as the summer heat will probably be a bad idea).

Also, there is some concern due to the phenolic compounds found in the
wood.

Any advice on how to properly store this, best way to work it, and will
the LDD technique work with it etc?

Thanks,
Phil