need an easy turning wood
 

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

need an easy turning wood
 

Poplar - and sharp tools. Key will be to use DRY wood.

need an easy turning wood
 

IMHO maple is the wood of choice here, although a segmented blank might
hold up better than a solid one if you have the time and inclination
(i.e. the grain would be running *along* the ribs instead of *across*
them). Poplar is another choice, easier to turn but not as strong.

Ebony would work if you have a sharp scraper; it turns like plastic,
but is obviously not cheap ;-)

Or... plastic? Turn a rough cast and make an epoxy or melted plastic
blank.

need an easy turning wood
 

asdfasdf wrote:
I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

I don't know what part of the world you will be looking for wood in,
or how much turning you have done. If -I- were going to do this, I
would look in my wood stash, get a block of sassafras and whip it out.
It is free (here), turns easily and sands beautifully.

--
 GW Ross 

 A little inaccuracy saves tons of 
 explanation. 

need an easy turning wood
 

On 7/20/2013 7:57 AM, G. Ross wrote:
asdfasdf wrote:
I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg


or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

I don't know what part of the world you will be looking for wood in, or
how much turning you have done. If -I- were going to do this, I would
look in my wood stash, get a block of sassafras and whip it out. It is
free (here), turns easily and sands beautifully.


I'm in Northwest Ohio and have turned mainly pens. My wood stash
for turning is mostly small pieces. Poplar and maple that was
also recommended is easy to come by and cheap. I had a nice sassafras
sapling till a deer girdled it.

need an easy turning wood
 

asdfasdf wrote:

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

If you are going to paint it, color does not matter, nor does the ability to
get it gloss smooth. Popular, pine, walnut, mahogany, jarrah, cherry - in
other words, the wood does not matter. What matters is how sharp the tools
are and your skill.

Glue up a blank. Take it slow. Have fun.

Deb

need an easy turning wood
 

On 7/20/2013 5:54 AM, asdfasdf wrote:
On 7/20/2013 7:57 AM, G. Ross wrote:
asdfasdf wrote:
I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg



or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

I don't know what part of the world you will be looking for wood in, or
how much turning you have done. If -I- were going to do this, I would
look in my wood stash, get a block of sassafras and whip it out. It is
free (here), turns easily and sands beautifully.


I'm in Northwest Ohio and have turned mainly pens. My wood stash
for turning is mostly small pieces. Poplar and maple that was
also recommended is easy to come by and cheap. I had a nice sassafras
sapling till a deer girdled it.


ash is good, maple is good, any reasonably stable wood - avoid wood with
massivly crossed grain like eucalyptus, shape it with sharp tools - you
are going to paint it, right? so you can use lacquer underneath to get
smoothness - tearout doesn't matter because you can fill it.

need an easy turning wood
 

On 7/20/2013 4:52 PM, Dr. Deb wrote:
asdfasdf wrote:

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

If you are going to paint it, color does not matter, nor does the ability to
get it gloss smooth. Popular, pine, walnut, mahogany, jarrah, cherry - in
other words, the wood does not matter. What matters is how sharp the tools
are and your skill.

Glue up a blank. Take it slow. Have fun.

Deb

I've turned pine and it would tear out with 600 grit sandpaper.
Ok that is an exaggeration but I hate turning it.

need an easy turning wood
 

On Sat, 20 Jul 2013 15:52:45 -0500, "Dr. Deb" wrote:

asdfasdf wrote:

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

If you are going to paint it, color does not matter, nor does the ability to
get it gloss smooth. Popular, pine, walnut, mahogany, jarrah, cherry - in
other words, the wood does not matter. What matters is how sharp the tools
are and your skill.

Glue up a blank. Take it slow. Have fun.

Deb

There is a special spot in the dregs of Hell reserved for those who paint
cherry.

need an easy turning wood
 

On 7/22/2013 10:31 PM, Roy wrote:

There is a special spot in the dregs of Hell reserved for those who paint
cherry.


I tried some poplar and it tears out a bit but it may be partly my
tools. I am going to vacuum infuse some wood hardener into it and
try again. I have a feeling that will work pretty well. I promise
not to paint any cherry!!!

need an easy turning wood
 

In article , asdfasdf
wrote:

On 7/22/2013 10:31 PM, Roy wrote:

There is a special spot in the dregs of Hell reserved for those who paint
cherry.


I tried some poplar and it tears out a bit but it may be partly my
tools. I am going to vacuum infuse some wood hardener into it and
try again. I have a feeling that will work pretty well. I promise
not to paint any cherry!!!

Very sharp tools, very light cuts, to avoid tearout.

--
The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact
mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows.
-- Frank Zappa

need an easy turning wood
 

In article ,
asdfasdf wrote:



I've turned pine and it would tear out with 600 grit sandpaper.
Ok that is an exaggeration but I hate turning it.

A lot depends on the wood, soft-woods are tougher, that being said,
small growth ring (old growth) is easier.

Personally I prefer Maple for just about any turning

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

need an easy turning wood
 

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 23:14:06 -0500, asdfasdf wrote
(in message ):

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame..._XWPkgH/176974
9081_Bbmvkvg#!i=1769749081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

straight-grained hard maple will give very good detail, but you will want
*sharp* tools and light cuts - you have turned pens, so you know the routine.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.

need an easy turning wood
 

The last couple of days I have been playing around with some yaupon holly. It
is pretty small in diameter (6-8 inches max), but it turns very well. I trimmed
some yaupon's for a friend last fall and kept a couple of larger trunks. Left
the bark on and let them dry in an a/c shop. Very little checking. The wood
is close grained, fairly hard and smooth as a baby's butt when sanded to 220.
The skew leaves an excellent surface that only needs minor sanding.

I have used yaupon for tent stakes for heavy canvas tents for over 25 years. It
is superior to locust and oak for splitting when being beaten on by a 4 pound
steel hammer. Yaupon is a type of holly and light in color. It would make nice
chess pieces because of the light color. I wish it grew larger. I am going to
use the rest that I have to replace some bench chisel handles and see how they
hold up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_vomitoria

Regards,
Roy


On Sat, 20 Jul 2013 00:14:06 -0400, asdfasdf wrote:

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

need an easy turning wood
 

When living in Northern Ca, we had a place in the Redwoods. The place
had roads on three sides and one side a lower road. Hill.

I had a large wild holly that was growing up into the power lines!
Big holly.

Power company came by one day and sawed it down and left it lying in the
bush. I got home after dark but noticed something was missing
in the headlights. The next day as I drove out - the tree was down.

- Got some of the wood with the chain saw. Decided to make something.

Turned a desk set - in fact 2 sets. Small cups - and tall pencil
holders. Paper clips, rubber bands and pencils.
The grain was white with dark brown vertical grain. The grain
was tight and to this day - 12-15 years later the cups have been used
and are in great shape. I had waxed the final product and buffed the sides.

Martin

On 7/28/2013 5:59 PM, Roy wrote:


The last couple of days I have been playing around with some yaupon holly. It
is pretty small in diameter (6-8 inches max), but it turns very well. I trimmed
some yaupon's for a friend last fall and kept a couple of larger trunks. Left
the bark on and let them dry in an a/c shop. Very little checking. The wood
is close grained, fairly hard and smooth as a baby's butt when sanded to 220.
The skew leaves an excellent surface that only needs minor sanding.

I have used yaupon for tent stakes for heavy canvas tents for over 25 years. It
is superior to locust and oak for splitting when being beaten on by a 4 pound
steel hammer. Yaupon is a type of holly and light in color. It would make nice
chess pieces because of the light color. I wish it grew larger. I am going to
use the rest that I have to replace some bench chisel handles and see how they
hold up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_vomitoria

Regards,
Roy


On Sat, 20 Jul 2013 00:14:06 -0400, asdfasdf wrote:

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

need an easy turning wood
 

"asdfasdf" wrote in message ...

I need to turn the nozzle of a rocket engine...

here is a picture...

http://www.stevepinker.com/North-Ame...9081&k=Bbmvkvg

or

http://tinyurl.com/kbwbk2g


It is going to be about 3" diameter and 4" long. It won't be
incredibly detailed but the ribs should show. It will be
hollowed out a bit but the wall thickness will be much greater
than the picture. I need a wood that will turn easy without
tear out and should be cheap. The grain is not important as
it will be painted. Any recommendations?

From your picture, it looks like you need to be able to hold extremely fine
details.

If you're up to it, I'd try to work with a piece of purpleheart. The grain
structure is fine and tightly interlocked, and won't slough away as you work
it, although it is extremely tough and requires well-sharpened tools. So you
would be able to retain the finest detail that you can turn and carve into
the piece.

Tom