new member

[jim carter]

just wanted to say hi. im not new to turning but far from an expert. i like using wood that cant be found anywhere on the market. i use Manzanita, Toyon burl, Ceanothis burl[ which has many different spieces and wood coloring. i use 3 species] and i turned a vase out of a scotchbroom burl i found one time. heres pictures of manzanita boards and a ceanothis burl vase with 3 rings. i bought a lathe for $50 and made 3 tools out of old files with my grinder and belt sander. i will add other pictures when i find them. glad to be aboard. jim

[Dewey Torres]

Welcome Jim,
Glad to have you. You have gotten of to the right start with pics:D

We love pics:D

[jim carter]

i sent a picture of my ceanothis burl coin tray instead of the 3 ring ceanothis which is in this thread and a vase i call the saturn vase. i try to leave some of the bark edge somewhere on most of my turnings. jim

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jim - Welcome to the Creek! Real nice looking work! Sure are some different colored woods! Looking forward to seeing more of your work real soon!

[jim carter]

here is a picture of a giant manzanita. its a bush that grows here in calif. and is considered a hazard becuause of fire danger. people want me to remove it. i have a bird product company becase it one of the best woods for perches also. but the wood itself is beautiful. no 2 pieces are alike and the color variations are great, also attached is a picture of a part of the bush about 5 feet above the ground where 4 branches come out of a single large trunk

[Dewey Torres]

Jim,
I used to live in San Diego and I remember that tree. I didn't know at the time how nice it looked inside though.

Keep the pics coming.

Also...great to talk with another theme turner. I put inlay or marquetry on everything I turn such as you described with the bark.:cool:

[Mark Norman]

Where in Cali are ya? I have manzanita in my back yard. Beautifull stuff, and hard too!

[alex carey]

Good to have you, I too am in California but not near any Manzanita, that's for sure. If I was I would have turned it by now. You certainly have access to some pretty wood.

Might want to be careful using old files as tools. I don't know a lot about it but from what i've read from others here on the forum, the metal is too brittle and is likely to snap from a catch. Just a heads up.

Alex

[jim carter]

i live in fairplay, ca. about 15 miles south east of placerville. thanks for the heads up on the old files, i retired those and bought a set of tools. what i like about turning manzanita is that i can turn any part of the bush down to a !/2" x 4" branch and still get amazing color. a friend of mine got a hole in 1 at a local golf course and he got a plaque that had the date and info on it with a golf T stuck in a hole so he could display the ball. i turned a T for him out of manzanita that he uses now. it was a tricky turn.