Joshua Tree Blank

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RunnerVince

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Dec 18, 2019
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My dad's neighbor had a Joshua tree removed several years ago, and I finally got around to cutting a chunk of it and bringing it home to make into blanks to see what they'd look like.

The "wood" is so porous that I thought it might dye well without a vacuum or pressure pot, but alas it was not consistent. I think with a vacuum dye would take exceptionally well though.

Aside from the poor dye job, it's not well-suited for turning without stabilization, which is how I thought it would be. And beyond that, it doesn't do it for me appearance-wise. Maybe with a better dye job I'd like it more.

Anyway, if anyone ever wondered about Joshua Tree, there's my take on it.
 

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mark james

IAP Collection, Curator
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Medina, Ohio
If I had the opportunity... (without stabilization):

1. No dying for the first trial.
2. I would coat the rounded blank in CA.
3. Turn, and re-coat every few cuts.
4. Continue to coat in CA and turn to dimensions.

Interesting timber. 🧐 I hope it does well for you. Thanks for sharing.
 

Drewby108

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Apr 30, 2022
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Spokane, WA
That looks less like wood and more a bundle of hairs. I would almost think it needs a good full stabilization to really shine. Interesting and thank you for sharing!
 

KMCloonan

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Jun 13, 2017
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Round Lake, Illinois
Yes, it looks like a bundle of Fibers. Mark's suggestion will work to see what the turned blank could look like.

If you were going to do more than a couple, you may want to look into stabilizing.
 

RunnerVince

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Joined
Dec 18, 2019
Messages
276
Location
Ogden, UT
If I had the opportunity... (without stabilization):

1. No dying for the first trial.
2. I would coat the rounded blank in CA.
3. Turn, and re-coat every few cuts.
4. Continue to coat in CA and turn to dimensions.

Interesting timber. 🧐 I hope it does well for you. Thanks for sharing.
It turned down ok without stabilization, but yeah, once you got within about 1/8" of final dimension, you'd want to start coating with CA. Still, it's SOOOO porous, I'd be prepared to use a ton of CA. For me, I'll hang onto the blanks I have until I'm in a place and financial position where I can stabilize...or look into having someone else stabilize them for me. I'm still not sure I like them enough to even bother with it.
 

RunnerVince

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Joined
Dec 18, 2019
Messages
276
Location
Ogden, UT
Yes, it looks like a bundle of Fibers. Mark's suggestion will work to see what the turned blank could look like.

If you were going to do more than a couple, you may want to look into stabilizing.
I thought right from the start that it'd need stabilizing, but I wanted to see what it would look like without.
 

penicillin

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Feb 27, 2019
Messages
1,036
Just a note of caution:

Be aware of the regulations around joshua trees in your area. You could be breaking the law and subject to fines if you are caught. What about picking up a piece that fell off and is laying on ground? Ya' got me there. I have no clue about that.
-> Proving that your piece of joshua tree was obtained legally could be a potential issue. (Low risk, maybe?)

In California, there was an emergency regulation making it illegal to cut any joshua tree without a permit from the state government. Even cutting down a dead tree or one that was damaging your house required a permit from the state. That emergency regulation expired 9 May 2022, and I am not sure what regulations apply now. Look at this and see if you can figure it out:

 
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sorcerertd

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Sep 30, 2019
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North Carolina, USA
Wow, that does look "hairy". They are kind of an odd palm, yucca, cactus combination in appearance. I'll bet it would be pretty interesting stabilized, especially with a little mica between the fibers.
 

RunnerVince

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2019
Messages
276
Location
Ogden, UT
Just a note of caution:

Be aware of the regulations around joshua trees in your area. You could be breaking the law and subject to fines if you are caught. What about picking up a piece that fell off and is laying on ground? Ya' got me there. I have no clue about that.
-> Proving that your piece of joshua tree was obtained legally could be a potential issue. (Low risk, maybe?)

In California, there was an emergency regulation making it illegal to cut any joshua tree without a permit from the state government. Even cutting down a dead tree or one that was damaging your house required a permit from the state. That emergency regulation expired 9 May 2022, and I am not sure what regulations apply now. Look at this and see if you can figure it out:

The tree was harvested in Utah, and as far as I can tell, there are no regulations for residential plants. But thank you for the heads up. Proving it would be a hassle.
 
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