West Australian Grass Tree

[PenPal]

This a fern like tree that grows ever so slowly and can live for a hundred or more years,flushed this one out of my shed clean up,been there for at least twelve years.Cut the top off,sliced it vertically in two and wow mustard yellow.The centre part up the tree is where the water to the plant travels,it has a radial set of lines see top slice.
I left a reject blank to show you can not use the centre brown bits.
One day I will turn the blanks,looking forward to that.Aparently it is inclined to need special treatment in the dust is nasty.
Peter

 

[alamocdc]

[]Nice looking stuff, Peter! Nice tight grain and rays similar to White Oak and Sycamore. So turn one already, I want to see it in a pen. [}]

 

[Rifleman1776]

Interesting wood. Billy likes the "tight" grain. [?] To me the grain (in the blanks) looks so open [:0] as to be porous. This wood might do best stabilized. Could make a neat pen.

 

[Dario]

From my readings, this is a grass that secreates tar that builds up and over time becomes what looked like the trunk of a tree.

I remember reading that it is either toxic or allergenic and you will need some form of protection (especially respiratory) if you plan on turning it.

I saw some pictures or really awesome bowls made out of it and would love to try making some pens out of it later.

 

[jkirkb94]

Will be interesting to see a pen made out of it. It does look like it will need to be stabilized. Kirk[8D]

 

[Dario]

Here's a link to a site with some awesome bowls/HF/vessels made out of grass tree

http://jackdevos.com/grasstree.cgi

One from that site that shows where the leaves were very well.

 

[alamocdc]

Originally posted by Rifleman1776
<br />Interesting wood. Billy likes the "tight" grain. [?] To me the grain (in the blanks) looks so open [:0] as to be porous. This wood might do best stabilized. Could make a neat pen.

I suppose that what I am thinking are rays, could be open grain, Frank. Not having any in hand, it's hard to know for sure. []

 

[PenPal]

Grass Tree,
I have not nor will just yet turned the material,it reminds me of palm tree,a friend has beem importing from Asia wooden spoons etc of palm so I will buy some ladles to cut the stems and if you do not find it too boring will show this material on this IAP segment.Also one of our members on the Australian Forum in Melbourne started us with purchasing Cyprus Pine fence palings that sell through a hardware aust wide store for only a few dollars with startling grain,results much like olive.Since I am a mug with the computer the olive pen I showed was much larger than life but still laughing at the detection of the monkey image formed in the swirl of the grain. Financial restraints will enable me to mostly only turn slimlines,your combined pens show me I have years to go before I will exhaust the slimline variations.Very pleased indeed you found the pics etc including detail of the Grass Tree it had a common name Blackboy referring as the article says to the nature of the fronds forming the appearance of a wrap around skin in the middle and the flowering stalk up to 9 feet long from the top,after the thousand small flowers die the stalk goes black.All of this to the early explorers resembled an aboriginal and spear at a distance.This innofensive reference resulted in the common name being the most used in Australia today. Peter