On Sun, 3 Apr 2016 15:58:14 -0600
graham wrote:

The piece was a bitch to turn and I couldn't get rid of tear outs on
the inside. Coarse grits just tore out other parts. I finally got it
to tolerable "gift" but not "selling" level and stopped. The grain

never turned this stuff and do not know anything about the species

is it really a tree or a bush

was it dry or still moist

at times like that i come up with a plan b

what that is depends

i might take a torch and scorch it then sand it then coat it with a
poly

On 08/04/2016 10:36 AM, Electric Comet wrote:
On Sun, 3 Apr 2016 15:58:14 -0600
graham wrote:

The piece was a bitch to turn and I couldn't get rid of tear outs on
the inside. Coarse grits just tore out other parts. I finally got it
to tolerable "gift" but not "selling" level and stopped. The grain

never turned this stuff and do not know anything about the species

is it really a tree or a bush

Tree, the source of those Banksia seed pods that appear in woodturner's
supply shops.

was it dry or still moist

Dry!

I e-mailed the President of the West Australian woodturners soc and she
told me that it is difficult to turn and that my experience was quite
normal.
Graham

On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 11:30:46 -0600
graham wrote:

I e-mailed the President of the West Australian woodturners soc and
she told me that it is difficult to turn and that my experience was
quite normal.

what did the president of the east australian woodturners soc say

sandblasting might also be another option

or have you resigned to gifting it


quick look shows them as evergreen shrubs and trees


might also turn better with a better result when turned green

On 08/04/2016 11:46 AM, Electric Comet wrote:
On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 11:30:46 -0600
graham wrote:

I e-mailed the President of the West Australian woodturners soc and
she told me that it is difficult to turn and that my experience was
quite normal.

what did the president of the east australian woodturners soc say

sandblasting might also be another option

or have you resigned to gifting it


quick look shows them as evergreen shrubs and trees


might also turn better with a better result when turned green

I doubt that I'll ever find another piece. This blank came from a
long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK.
I'm now turning some Manitoba Maple burl and practising my deep hollow
turning technique.

On 2016-04-08 18:42:05 +0000, graham said:

On 08/04/2016 11:46 AM, Electric Comet wrote:
On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 11:30:46 -0600
graham wrote:

I e-mailed the President of the West Australian woodturners soc and
she told me that it is difficult to turn and that my experience was
quite normal.

what did the president of the east australian woodturners soc say

sandblasting might also be another option

or have you resigned to gifting it


quick look shows them as evergreen shrubs and trees


might also turn better with a better result when turned green

I doubt that I'll ever find another piece. This blank came from a
long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK.
I'm now turning some Manitoba Maple burl and practising my deep hollow
turning technique.

It's actually imported quite a bit for wood-turning

I tried it once, like you I didn't like and will pass on any future
opportunities

In article ,
graham wrote:
I doubt that I'll ever find another piece. This blank came from a
long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK.
I'm now turning some Manitoba Maple burl and practising my deep hollow
turning technique.

I think you will find they are actually quite common. I think I've seen
them at "Axminster Power tools" and also at Yandles

http://www.yandles.co.uk/

That's definitely a place worth visiting.

Quickly looking, I see they have Banksia nuts for sale.

http://www.yandles.co.uk/banksia-nut...-grandis/p5221

--
Stuart Winsor

Tools With A Mission
sending tools across the world
http://www.twam.co.uk/

On 10/04/2016 8:55 AM, Stuart wrote:
In article ,
graham wrote:
I doubt that I'll ever find another piece. This blank came from a
long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK.
I'm now turning some Manitoba Maple burl and practising my deep hollow
turning technique.

I think you will find they are actually quite common. I think I've seen
them at "Axminster Power tools" and also at Yandles

But not the wood from the Banksia tree!


http://www.yandles.co.uk/

That's definitely a place worth visiting.

Quickly looking, I see they have Banksia nuts for sale.

http://www.yandles.co.uk/banksia-nut...-grandis/p5221

But I live in Canada. Banksia pods are no longer available as apparently
a shipment a few years ago had not been properly fumigated.
Graham

On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 12:42:05 -0600
graham wrote:

I doubt that I'll ever find another piece. This blank came from a
long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK.

never know
for example suppose the customs people dumped that bad unfumigated
batch out back the customs house

while they were busy imprt and exporting the seeds took hold

I'm now turning some Manitoba Maple burl and practising my deep hollow
turning technique.

is it really from manitoba

i saw some wood recently and they used a common name including the
united states place name but the wood was shipped from east europe

On 10/04/2016 12:27 PM, Electric Comet wrote:
On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 12:42:05 -0600
graham wrote:

I doubt that I'll ever find another piece. This blank came from a
long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK.

never know
for example suppose the customs people dumped that bad unfumigated
batch out back the customs house

while they were busy imprt and exporting the seeds took hold

I'm now turning some Manitoba Maple burl and practising my deep hollow
turning technique.

is it really from manitoba

i saw some wood recently and they used a common name including the
united states place name but the wood was shipped from east europe

We call it Manitoba Maple but the other name is Box Elder. It's Acer
negundo.
Graham

In article ,
graham wrote:
But not the wood from the Banksia tree!

Apologies for reading your post too quickly and missing that.

Mention of the "long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK." made
me think you were in the UK.

--
Stuart Winsor

Tools With A Mission
sending tools across the world
http://www.twam.co.uk/

On 10/04/2016 3:42 PM, Stuart wrote:
In article ,
graham wrote:
But not the wood from the Banksia tree!

Apologies for reading your post too quickly and missing that.

Mention of the "long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK." made
me think you were in the UK.

It was Craft Supplies that used to be in Derbyshire, Millers Dale IIRC.
I am English and visit the UK annually to see relatives and friends.

On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 10:46:28 -0700, Electric Comet
wrote:

On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 11:30:46 -0600
graham wrote:

I e-mailed the President of the West Australian woodturners soc and
she told me that it is difficult to turn and that my experience was
quite normal.

what did the president of the east australian woodturners soc say

Where ?????? NSW, Queensland ?

They are as far away from WA as San Diego is to New York.

It takes about 1 & 1/2 days driving travelling east just to get out of
WA which is about 1/3 of Australia.

Banksia is a Western Australian timber, as is Jarrah, Marri, Karri and
Sheoak. I think I have about 4 Banksia pods out in my shed and only
have to go out in the bush to get more. I prefer Sheoak and Jarrah.


Alan

On 13/04/2016 9:01 AM, Alan wrote:
On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 10:46:28 -0700, Electric Comet
wrote:

On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 11:30:46 -0600
graham wrote:

I e-mailed the President of the West Australian woodturners soc and
she told me that it is difficult to turn and that my experience was
quite normal.

what did the president of the east australian woodturners soc say

Where ?????? NSW, Queensland ?

They are as far away from WA as San Diego is to New York.

It takes about 1 & 1/2 days driving travelling east just to get out of
WA which is about 1/3 of Australia.

Banksia is a Western Australian timber, as is Jarrah, Marri, Karri and
Sheoak. I think I have about 4 Banksia pods out in my shed and only
have to go out in the bush to get more. I prefer Sheoak and Jarrah.


Alan

I have some pods but this was a piece of wood. The bowl I turned is
surprisingly heavy.
I hope to visit WA next January and perhaps pick up the odd bowl blank -
but not in Banskia wood!
Graham

On Wed, 13 Apr 2016 23:01:36 +0800
Alan wrote:

have to go out in the bush to get more. I prefer Sheoak and Jarrah.

aha
so it is a bush

On 16/04/2016 9:13 AM, Electric Comet wrote:
On Wed, 13 Apr 2016 23:01:36 +0800
Alan wrote:

have to go out in the bush to get more. I prefer Sheoak and Jarrah.

aha
so it is a bush

No!!!! The "bush" is the West Australian term for the eastern Aussie
term "outback".
Graham

On Sat, 16 Apr 2016 11:22:48 -0600
graham wrote:

No!!!! The "bush" is the West Australian term for the eastern Aussie
term "outback".

a bird in the hand is worth two in the outback

In article ,
graham wrote:
On 10/04/2016 3:42 PM, Stuart wrote:
In article ,
graham wrote:
But not the wood from the Banksia tree!

Apologies for reading your post too quickly and missing that.

Mention of the "long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK." made
me think you were in the UK.

It was Craft Supplies that used to be in Derbyshire, Millers Dale IIRC.
I am English and visit the UK annually to see relatives and friends.

They are now:

http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/

See:

http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=3036

--
Stuart Winsor

Tools With A Mission
sending tools across the world
http://www.twam.co.uk/

On 16/04/2016 3:31 PM, Stuart wrote:
In article ,
graham wrote:
On 10/04/2016 3:42 PM, Stuart wrote:
In article ,
graham wrote:
But not the wood from the Banksia tree!

Apologies for reading your post too quickly and missing that.

Mention of the "long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK." made
me think you were in the UK.

It was Craft Supplies that used to be in Derbyshire, Millers Dale IIRC.
I am English and visit the UK annually to see relatives and friends.

They are now:

http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/

See:

http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=3036

Many thanks for the info! Particularly the bit where the Davidsons run a
woodturning school in France. I rather fancy that even though I have
been turning for many years.
I'll be visiting the UK next month but I doubt that I will be able to
make it to Haworth. Peter Child is closer to where I will be staying.
Graham

On 2016-04-16 21:31:12 +0000, Stuart said:

In article ,
graham wrote:
On 10/04/2016 3:42 PM, Stuart wrote:
In article ,
graham wrote:
But not the wood from the Banksia tree!

Apologies for reading your post too quickly and missing that.

Mention of the "long-defunct woodturning supply store in the UK." made
me think you were in the UK.

It was Craft Supplies that used to be in Derbyshire, Millers Dale IIRC.
I am English and visit the UK annually to see relatives and friends.

They are now:

http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/

See:

http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=3036

Wow, I'd actually dropped by the ol' location in Derbyshire when we
were in the area some years back. Didn't know that things had changed

On Wed, 13 Apr 2016 11:14:09 -0600, graham wrote:


I have some pods but this was a piece of wood. The bowl I turned is
surprisingly heavy.
I hope to visit WA next January and perhaps pick up the odd bowl blank -
but not in Banskia wood!
Graham

Send me an email before you arrive with your itinerary, and I
should be able to take you around the Perth area., if convenient.
I live in Darling Downs in the southern part of Perth.

You would love Sheoak for the beautiful grain, but it does vary,
depending on where it grows. Allocasuarina fraseriana

On 17/04/2016 9:37 PM, Alan wrote:
On Wed, 13 Apr 2016 11:14:09 -0600, graham wrote:


I have some pods but this was a piece of wood. The bowl I turned is
surprisingly heavy.
I hope to visit WA next January and perhaps pick up the odd bowl blank -
but not in Banskia wood!
Graham

Send me an email before you arrive with your itinerary, and I
should be able to take you around the Perth area., if convenient.
I live in Darling Downs in the southern part of Perth.

You would love Sheoak for the beautiful grain, but it does vary,
depending on where it grows. Allocasuarina fraseriana

Many thanks!!
I lived in Perth for 4 years in the early 70s, working for an oil
company. I wasn't into wood turning then but did make a small table out
of Jarrah.
Graham