My neighbor is taking down a huge (50' tall with 42" thick trunk) tree that
he says is Bischofia and says I can have all I want. Has anybody worked with
this before? and should I seal the whole piece of wood or just the end
grain - the tree is dead and some pieces are partially dead. and would the
leftover exterior paint I have work or should I use something else?

I am a verry verry newbie to turning - only 2 times but I like it.

TIA

tom

"Tom" wrote in message ...
My neighbor is taking down a huge (50' tall with 42" thick trunk) tree that
he says is Bischofia and says I can have all I want. Has anybody worked with
this before? and should I seal the whole piece of wood or just the end
grain - the tree is dead and some pieces are partially dead. and would the
leftover exterior paint I have work or should I use something else?

I am a verry verry newbie to turning - only 2 times but I like it.

TIA

tom

Tom...I did a Google search and found that this is also called a
Bishop tree and is an exotic tree imported to Florida. Apparently the
local turners in Dade County turn it all the time...must be good stuff
Maynard! Mount a chunk on your lathe and dive in bro...turn sumpin.
Try this link;

http://www.miamidade.gov/derm/Plants...bishopwood.asp

Joel
Temple, Texas

Tom,
Bischofia, also known as Bishopwood, is a common landscape tree in south
Florida. It grows very large and is usually planted in the homeowners front
yard. It proiduces very nice shade but gets too large for most home sites.
When cut the tree emits a red colored sap that looks very much like blood. The
wood is a reddish brown color when first cut but later turns a medium to dark
brown, sometimes with lighter colored streaks. It makes very nice turned bowls
but because it "moves" so much during the drying process, it should be twice
turned.
Use a good quality end coating such as "Anchorseal" to coat the end grain. It
is prone to check badly so cut it to lengths that are twice the diameter as you
will lose several inches on the ends due to the checking. Leave the bark on
and store in a shaded area,under cover, if possible.
When properly dried after turning, the results can be well worth the effort.

I hope this helps- If you have the storage space take as much as you can turn
in a years time.

Regards,
Bill Sullivan
Fort Myers, FL

http://home.earthlink.net/~puketarge...oodsofflorida/