Only my second time turning this wood and I really liked it. It turned and sanded well and was a very hard wood. This piece is 5 inches in diameter and 4 1/4 inches in height.
Eucalyptus HF
- Thread starter Alancw
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Absolute beauty! Your classic style!
Gorgeous piece!
Very pleasing piece this one. I don't know how many hundreds of species of eucalyptus there are but I do know the characteristics of the wood can vary dramatically. Some are so hard you can't hardly pound a nail into it and others are so soft and gummy they fall apart at the drop of a hat. Most of the eucalyptus in Calif are descended from some they imported with the intention of using them for lumber, I think for the railroad boom. But they brought the wrong kind and the wood is essentially useless as lumber and now all they do it contribute to the wild fires when one starts because of the way the bark sheds.
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- #6
Fascinating. I don’t know where I got this piece of eucalyptus. It was very heavy. I turned it to less than a quarter inch thickness throughout and yet still feels very heavy. It was a very dense hardwood.
It was useless for railroads because it warped so much. I heard it’s quite invasive now.
more than likely eucalyptus microtheca, common landscape tree in the southwest. based on the interlocking block mottle grain pattern. quatersawn aspect is especially beautiful
You gonna share some of that?
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- #10
It was a random chunk of wood in my woodpile and no idea from where it came . . . wish I had more.
i do have a fair amount in log and slab form
but getting the time to process for sale is another story
Very nice! Did it smell nice when turning?
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- #13
Didn’t really notice much. I turn outside.
That’s really nice wood and a really nice turning! And great photographs to showcase it!
@vegas urban lumber based on your post I started reading up a little bit on eucalyptus microtheca. If what I’m reading is correct, this is the same tree that yields the coolibah burl from Australia. Really interesting! I am familiar with red gum eucalyptus camaldulensis but not eucalyptus microtheca. Really fascinating! ps please let me know if you ever process one of those logs.
i have several 2 1/2" and 3" thick slabs that i cut several years ago, they are about 10 ft long and about 14" across.
and yes the eucalyptus in question has a long leaf, box bark trunk and smooth limbs, some of our locals trees must be a hybrid because the bark is crossing interlocking rather than boxy, those hybrid trees have more variable wood grain than the true blue ghost eucalyptus " coolibah tree"
since we don't have browsers that feed on new shoots, they are far less likely to develop burl, but i know of one that i drive by from time to time that has burls
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@vegas urban lumber nice photo! Definitely really interesting about this wood and it’s hybrids.
ps I’m going to start another thread to ask you another question
ps I’m going to start another thread to ask you another question
