robutacion
Member
Hi everyone,
Here is another piece that I turned to offer as a "Gift" to the tree owner.
This was a tree that I had to dismantle from the top down due to its surroundings. The species is Sugar Gum and the tree was about 12 years old but planted 2' from the sewage tank so, this tree was never suppose to be near that tank and as a result, the roots break through the tank, making it grown at a super speed, and lifting it off the ground, in these last few years, made the tree condemned and approved for removal...!
I like to turn Sugar Gum as the colours and grains are quite pretty, and I normally rough turn it green and finish it a few months later but, some of the trunk base (close to the ground) looked extremely pretty and showing some markings that were quite unusual but amazing so, I decided to select this particular log, slice it in half, cut the round out of it and mount it in then lathe.
I was enjoying my "dust free" wood turning as soft as butter, when shaping the outside I saw a very dark patch appearing and started to bleed slightly, that known bright red resin, found in many Gum species so, I stopped working of the outside and started hollowing the inside.
About a 14" chunk of wood, turning at about 800rpm, was a nice feeling pealing through the soft/green wood and after some fair amount of wood removed, I've got a face full of red resin and everything/everywhere was covered with that damn sticky resin that before I had the chance to turn the lathe off, it had already emptied the resin pocket where the resin was.
What make it worse was that, the little bleeding on the outside was just what the resin pocket needed to explode when, I perforated the pocket from the inside as this time I was using some "magnum" tools that are quite aggressive and take lots of wood on each pass, that was in fact, my doing...!
I have had lots of these resin pockets through many of the blanks I turned but this one had to be the one with the most soft/liquid resin (resin consistency), I ever had. I couldn't tell how much of that stuff come out, as it was all spread all over me, the lathe, and anything near it but, I could tell how much of it was, when I filled the pocket with my resin PR mix, and that was very close to 1/4 of a litre...!
, yes, that's right...!
I was not a happy bloke as that sticky red gum is nasty to clean up, unless you let it dry/crystallize all by itself and than, it just falls off, easy. I only cleaned what absolutely needed clean for the moment and left the mess to dry (about 1 week), the blank was then cleaned and washed with acetone to clean/remove any resin left in the pocket and put to dry for a few weeks after I soaked it with Fungishield.
When I though that the wood was right to continue working on it, I sealed the small hole (outside) and mixed a certain amount of resin that, I then realise, was only half of what I needed to fill that hole and that's when I knew how much volume of red resin was in it, originally...!
Anyway, got it finished and coated with Floorseal and I got the biggest smile when I went to give it to the young lady of the house, as apparently the tree owners teenager, had a "thing" for that tree that endup in tears when she found out, it was going to be cut so, I reckon her smile, has made her forgive me for cutting the tree in the first place, even tough she knew, it was condemned by the Council and had to come down, regardless...!
I endup making her a pen as the mother wanted the bowl at any cost so I guess, I made both happy as the young girl, was most happy with a nice pen she could use, everyday at school...!
I actually had another problem, and that was, my wife wanted it also, not because she is short of bowls of all sizes and shapes, in the house but because, she adores any of the wood turnings I do so, she had to let go of that one, and I made another one from the same wood for her but, I never got any resin pocket so, to make it more identical, and without her seeing, I carved out some wood, in identical faction as the "original" one so, and unless she reads this post, she was/is content...!:wink::biggrin:
Oh....! the things I do...!
Cheers
George
Here is another piece that I turned to offer as a "Gift" to the tree owner.
This was a tree that I had to dismantle from the top down due to its surroundings. The species is Sugar Gum and the tree was about 12 years old but planted 2' from the sewage tank so, this tree was never suppose to be near that tank and as a result, the roots break through the tank, making it grown at a super speed, and lifting it off the ground, in these last few years, made the tree condemned and approved for removal...!
I like to turn Sugar Gum as the colours and grains are quite pretty, and I normally rough turn it green and finish it a few months later but, some of the trunk base (close to the ground) looked extremely pretty and showing some markings that were quite unusual but amazing so, I decided to select this particular log, slice it in half, cut the round out of it and mount it in then lathe.
I was enjoying my "dust free" wood turning as soft as butter, when shaping the outside I saw a very dark patch appearing and started to bleed slightly, that known bright red resin, found in many Gum species so, I stopped working of the outside and started hollowing the inside.
About a 14" chunk of wood, turning at about 800rpm, was a nice feeling pealing through the soft/green wood and after some fair amount of wood removed, I've got a face full of red resin and everything/everywhere was covered with that damn sticky resin that before I had the chance to turn the lathe off, it had already emptied the resin pocket where the resin was.
What make it worse was that, the little bleeding on the outside was just what the resin pocket needed to explode when, I perforated the pocket from the inside as this time I was using some "magnum" tools that are quite aggressive and take lots of wood on each pass, that was in fact, my doing...!
I have had lots of these resin pockets through many of the blanks I turned but this one had to be the one with the most soft/liquid resin (resin consistency), I ever had. I couldn't tell how much of that stuff come out, as it was all spread all over me, the lathe, and anything near it but, I could tell how much of it was, when I filled the pocket with my resin PR mix, and that was very close to 1/4 of a litre...!
, yes, that's right...!I was not a happy bloke as that sticky red gum is nasty to clean up, unless you let it dry/crystallize all by itself and than, it just falls off, easy. I only cleaned what absolutely needed clean for the moment and left the mess to dry (about 1 week), the blank was then cleaned and washed with acetone to clean/remove any resin left in the pocket and put to dry for a few weeks after I soaked it with Fungishield.
When I though that the wood was right to continue working on it, I sealed the small hole (outside) and mixed a certain amount of resin that, I then realise, was only half of what I needed to fill that hole and that's when I knew how much volume of red resin was in it, originally...!
Anyway, got it finished and coated with Floorseal and I got the biggest smile when I went to give it to the young lady of the house, as apparently the tree owners teenager, had a "thing" for that tree that endup in tears when she found out, it was going to be cut so, I reckon her smile, has made her forgive me for cutting the tree in the first place, even tough she knew, it was condemned by the Council and had to come down, regardless...!
I endup making her a pen as the mother wanted the bowl at any cost so I guess, I made both happy as the young girl, was most happy with a nice pen she could use, everyday at school...!
I actually had another problem, and that was, my wife wanted it also, not because she is short of bowls of all sizes and shapes, in the house but because, she adores any of the wood turnings I do so, she had to let go of that one, and I made another one from the same wood for her but, I never got any resin pocket so, to make it more identical, and without her seeing, I carved out some wood, in identical faction as the "original" one so, and unless she reads this post, she was/is content...!:wink::biggrin:
Oh....! the things I do...!
Cheers
George
