Eucalyptus

[Clancy Courtney]

Is eucalyptus a good wood to turn? A tree was cut in the neighborhood and I pick 4 logs, should I get the rest?
Thanks

[alex carey]

depends where you are and what kind it is. As far as I know most eucalyptus in the US checks quite a bit and isn't anything spectacular. But who knows, maybe you got the good stuff. pics might help.

[Mike McAfee]

Curt Fuller has posted pieces he's done in Eucalyptus and IMO some variety have outstanding qualities!

[David E Keller]

I've only turned some of the Aussie varieties which are beautiful. The stuff I turned did move a lot while drying and was prone to checking as well.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

There are SO many eucalyptus varities. The wood is hard, lots of inclusions, and it moves quite a bit. I like turning it, it has lots of pink colors to it.... That, of course depends on what variety you got. If it's free, it's worth turning. Just be prepared to lose some bowls to movement or cracking. Turn it green, it's pretty hard.

[Pat Keefe]

Eucy's are fun to turn. Cut up the logs into turning blanks, coat with sealent all round and leave for a few years per inch of thickness. Sharp tools and a light touch are required to play with dry Eucy.

Any idea which of the sub species you have?

[Brent Stout]

the eucalyptus that grows in our yard has a very nice reddish colored wood. I’ve cut and dried some of the wood, but it really cracks badly, but it's still worth using for the color. I use it for pulls, or anywhere I can add an accent to a piece. Today I posted “Happy Easter” in the turners forum, which shows a couple of easter eggs that include some eucalyptus wood, the red colored wood in the stripes.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1390939#post1390939

Brent

[neil mackay]

depends where you are and what kind it is. As far as I know most eucalyptus in the US checks quite a bit and isn't anything spectacular. But who knows, maybe you got the good stuff. pics might help.

.....and a lot of the same checks real bad down under as well:) So much so we don't use a lot of it for turning. Although there are some species that are more stable.
If you have access to some then remove the pith seal both ends and the sawn area, leave the bark on and store it out of the sunlight breeze etc and in the coolest place you can find. Then you might succeed in getting a few blanks.

When you do get a dry one with minimal or no checks etc its gonna be hard, real hard and dusty

[Greg Ketell]

Be careful and wear a mask, though. Eucalyptus is a fairly common allergenic species. My friend was hospitalized when he found out he was allergic to it after hand sanding a walking stick.

[Clancy Courtney]

I put the logs I collected on the curb. Thanks for the advice.