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Norfolk Island Pine

Turned fresh it'll be a golden color with red knots.
The darker spalting happens after the log sits fer 3 to 10 months.
The darker you want it the longer it needs to sit. 3 to 6 months will give a very nice mix of the gold & blue green.

The dark ends showing when you unpacked it will only be an inch or so deep, center will be golden.
I always wait a few months before turning a piece.
 
I am learning a lot about NIP by reading what you all are saying. Using the black bag method, once you’ve let it each the desired level of spalting after many months, how do you then let the chunk dry without it cracking or splitting or spalting more?

I have another question… suppose you took a fresh piece, stripped the bark and coated it 100% all around with anchorseal original and then let it sit (for years to dry). Would it spalt? Would it dry or would it rot?
 
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It is an amazing wood to work with. Here in Florida because of high humidity . it spalts very fast . There are several turnings of NIP by Ron Kent for sale on Ebay for over $800 . He invented the oil soaking procedure for finishing . I only have 5-6 pieces left that I will sell . Plenty of NIP trees here in Florida and my neighborhood . People will not cut them down because of the cost .
 
SA-Motors said:
I am learning a lot about NIP by reading what you all are saying. Using the black bag method, once you’ve let it each the desired level of spalting after many months, how do you then let the chunk dry without it cracking or splitting or spalting more?

I have another question… suppose you took a fresh piece, stripped the bark and coated it 100% all around with anchorseal original and then let it sit (for years to dry). Would it spalt? Would it dry or would it rot?
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I've made several hundred pieces from Norfolk Island Pine in the past 25+ years.
Well, turn it wet after 3 to 8 months. If you're bagging it to spalt quicker, turn it sooner. Logs 12" diameter & larger usually rot inside after about a year, so again cut it into what you plan to make . Waiting fer log to dry is usually a bad idea. You can freeze it to stop spalting.

I almost never seal the ends. I doesn't crack much here in south Florida.

I always leave the bark on till I put it on the lathe. I turn bark off while on lathe about a quarter of the time. If log sat fer 8 to 10 months or more the under bark turns to dirt or compost & bark comes off easily.
 
@Spinartist thank you for the great advice! So once I have let it spalt 3 to 8 months, I turn it and it will still be wet when I do? At that point, do I rough turn it into its final shape, but to about 1 inch thickness, then let it completely dry out from there?. Then once it’s completely dry, I finish turn it?
 
SA-Motors said:
@Spinartist thank you for the great advice! So once I have let it spalt 3 to 8 months, I turn it and it will still be wet when I do? At that point, do I rough turn it into its final shape, but to about 1 inch thickness, then let it completely dry out from there?. Then once it’s completely dry, I finish turn it?
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Best you turn it to final thickness. Same thickness all way through.
The main wood usually won't crack, but if it does mark the crack with pencil or tape so you know where it was cause it almost always closes completely. The red knots almost always crack a bit.
If repairs are needed I wait till I have one coat of finish on so the C/A glue won't stain the wood

Norfolk dries fast. A 1/4" wall thickness vessel usually dry next day or two, unless it has the orange stain in center which is caused when tree top is broken or cut off. Then it gets a starry shaped stain that goes all way through tree trunk. The orange stain area will not spalt & takes a couple weeks to dry.

3-4 months during summer ( not in bag) is good unless you want it to spalt very dark like the piece @Phil.H posted above.
 
Vase sat as log for about a year. Very dark. You can make it that black by plastic bagging or putting it in plastic tub & covering with dirt for 3ish months. The streak is from the orange stain (which doesn't really spalt) is from tree being topped for a while.

Lamp shade was probly 4-5 months sitting as log. It has a very nice mix of light & dark which I prefer. I didn't linseed oil the shade heavy like the vase which was soaked for a few days in thinned down linseed oil.

NIP vase and shade1.jpg
 
Hi @Spinartist Thanks for the advice! I will be doing a bowl of thicknesses 1/4” to 3/8” thickness. Sounds like I should turn the entire bowl in one turning session to its final shape. Then leave it mounted in the chuck on the lathe overnight, or for a few days until it completely dries and then sand it on the lathe from there. I was assuming the bowl would warp during drying, but I’ve never turned this wood before so I’ll follow your expertise. Thank you.
 
Orange stain. If you ever see the orange stain in fresh cut with a dark line around it, grab it!!
That's flame Norfolk. About one in a hundred with the orange stain have the dark line.

Flame NIP2.jpg

flame nip shade.jpg

Flame NIP.jpg

Flame NIP1.jpg
 
SA-Motors said:
Hi @Spinartist Thanks for the advice! I will be doing a bowl of thicknesses 1/4” to 3/8” thickness. Sounds like I should turn the entire bowl in one turning session to its final shape. Then leave it mounted in the chuck on the lathe overnight, or for a few days until it completely dries and then sand it on the lathe from there. I was assuming the bowl would warp during drying, but I’ve never turned this wood before so I’ll follow your expertise. Thank you.
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Yes I recommend turning to final shape. End grain turnings almost never warps. Side grain hardly at all too.
It shrinks while drying so don't turn the lathe on after dry until you re-tighten the chuck!
 
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