Tonight I turned a gouge handle out of a small trunk of a Scotch Broom bush. A few days ago I was turning some heavenly bamboo (nandian) prunings and before that a small branch I cut off my pepper tree.
Is there a TA (Turners Anonymous). If so, if there are any members out there I NEED A SPONSOR!
chariie b
BTW - scotch broom, while not particularly attractive, can be finished to a glass like finish.
Seek therapy now.... turning a weed??? (god, I would love to have a serious discussion with the person that imported Scotch Bloom)
Please wrap your tools very carefully and send them to me. I will take care of them until you have recovered.
Ah, but scotch broom is such a nice turning wood when you can get stems the right size. I have made some weed pots with it and other small things.
Forget recovery, enjoy the addiction to the fullest.
Brian
A weed, by definition, is ANY plant growing where you don't want it to grow. Size also comes into play as well. In this case I hav a 3 foot length of the "trunk" that's over 2" in diameter The "bush/little tree", roots and all, has been out of the ground for over 6 months. The wood is surprisingly had, though the grain is not particularly attractive, nor is its color - a green tinge to it.
But once people know you'll turn anything they start keeping and bringing over stuff you might be able to turn. THAT can be good or bad. Tomorrow I'm going over to a buddy's to get some black walnut, almond and maybe some olive. He's also got an unlimited supply of turnable pin oak but I'm going to pass on that stuff.
A friend in Texas is going to send me some Texas Ebony and some mesquite to try and a tree trimmer neighbor will keep an eye out for tulip and cherry.
NO ONE has EVER given me furniture making size wood, especially any special stuff. But turning sized pieces - I've got a never ending supply.- unless I start in on bowls and the like.
Given the impending supply of turnable stuff, I headed up to WoodCraft today, allegedly to get a pair of 40" Bessy's on sale (reserved them last night) and picked up a rectangular and long oval 3/4" skew - on sale, along with a half inch jacobs chuch for the tale stock, a live center set and the Tormek jig for gouges. Still need a thin parting tool - for less than $25. Figure I'm into this obsession/addiction/hobby/avocation enough to get some semi-serious turning tools and accessories.
But sometime soon I need to finish the kiln table and the coopered door cabinet for router bits.
Fun this wood turning thing.
charlie b
The scotch broom that I have turned has a cream color on the outside and a deep brown in the center. It is very porous and I turned it wet. The bark shredded off and made a horrible mess of the shop. When I dried it in the microwave it poured out the water. Still it is kind of pretty.
Brian
The scotch broom that I have turned has a cream color on the outside and a deep brown in the center. It is very porous and I turned it wet. The bark shredded off and made a horrible mess of the shop. When I dried it in the microwave it poured out the water. Still it is kind of pretty.
Brian
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Find a place that sells wood cutting blades (approx 5-6 inches long) for reciprocating saws (Sawzall, etc.), grind the teeth off. Cut/grind the end at about a 25 degree angle, tape the other end (or sandwich it between two
3/4 X 1 1/2 in pieces of hard wood), and you have a parting tool similar to the Cris Stott tool. Use it point down for parting.Ken Moon Webberville, TX.
For a damn weed it does make fairly attractive christmas tree ornaments. Icicles etc...
interesting, perhaps it depends on where it grows? I used to turn broom for work, it made lovely bottlestoppers, bright yellow and brown with interesting swirling grain.
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