Eucalyptus Success?

[Kathy Marshall]

Turned this HF on saturday. This is the same eucalyptus (red gum) that warped and cracked a bowl I posted a few weeks ago, aka "the football bowl".
This is an endgrain turning from one of the smaller logs. It's about 4" x 4 1/2" (guessing, haven't measured it yet) and the walls are about 1/8 to 3/16". The log had cracks at both ends which I thought might not go to deep, well turns out they went all the way through http://www.woodturnersresource.com/yabb2files/Templates/Forum/woody/shocked.gif. The biggest cracks are filled with epoxy and black glitter, smaller ones are just CA.
Knowing this eucalyptus as I now do, I knew I would have to turn it to finish size and as thin as I could, all in 1 sitting. I finally finished it at 3am last night http://www.woodturnersresource.com/yabb2files/Templates/Forum/woody/shocked.gif.
When I went back to the shop today, lo and behold, it was exactly as I had left it. No warping and no further cracking. Put on a coat of DO and the 1st coat of many of WOP.
The hole is large (about 2 1/2 - 3") but with all the cracks I really wanted to be able to see what was going on inside (full of cracks including the large ones) and it really helped with the hollowing to be able to see what my EWT was doing. I turned the rim concave so I could add a collar and possibly a lid later on if I choose.
Thanks for looking!
C&C's Welcome.

[Bill Bolen]

You're really getting this hf thing down fast Kathy! I really like the flow of the outside curve on your chosen form. Nice job. Cracks are always a concern but you have done a nice job with your filler. Might as well emphasise them rather than trying to hide...Bill...

[Jim Burr]

Cracks schmacks...looks good!

[Michael James]

Love it! Nice job on the piece and the photo!
mj

[Harry Robinette]

Kathy
really nice form and I like what you did to the cracks.Just as you think you know how a wood well act,They will SURPRISE you .

[David E Keller]

Another nice form and some really nicely colored wood. I like the cracks... I think they add something.

[John Keeton]

Nice form, Kathy. I imagine the low humidity in AZ really plays havoc with green wood! You did well with this piece.

[Rob Schuman]

Purdy.....
.

[neil mackay]

Kathy,

Red gum is a great timber but it does move.... allot :( you need to find some old fence post, house beam etc, 'old' read ancient :) and then its fairly stable. But as hard as any hardwood gets down under and we get some real hard wood. Most Eucalyptus very poor for turning as they move, split and generally fail in the blank stage . :(

All in all a good save from what can be a very difficult and challenging timber.

[Josh Bowman]

Kathy, you have a good eye for form, keep at it. The cracks add charactor, I like them. Also nice wood and grain.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice curves and the colors in the wood are so pleasing I didn't really even notice the cracks when looking at it.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice piece Kathy. I like the form and looks like you took care of the cracks just fine.

[Wally Dickerman]

Very well done Kathy. I admire you for sticking to it. In Australia there are over 700 varieties of eucalyptus. Good for a lot of things. Koala's live on the leaves, eucalyptus oil, lumber, burls (usually hard) and more. The variety that grows in Phoenix is one of the nasty kinds that aren't good for much, and that includes turning. With all of the mesquite available, why don't you forget the eucalyptus. As the saying goes...life is too short to turn crappy wood.

Wally

[Rob Cunningham]

Really nice form Kathy. The filled cracks add a lot of character to the piece.

[Don Alexander]

i have to respectfully disagree with Wally :o certainly understand why some folks feel that way , but
in my opinion you miss out on alot of spectacular stuff if you always go for the "good" wood

of course one of the things you miss out on is "pucker factor" :D

i really like this piece, Kathy, you did a great job turning the cracks into character too

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone!

So far so good, when I got home tonight it looked just the same as I left it.



Very well done Kathy. I admire you for sticking to it. In Australia there are over 700 varieties of eucalyptus. Good for a lot of things. Koala's live on the leaves, eucalyptus oil, lumber, burls (usually hard) and more. The variety that grows in Phoenix is one of the nasty kinds that aren't good for much, and that includes turning. With all of the mesquite available, why don't you forget the eucalyptus. As the saying goes...life is too short to turn crappy wood.

Wally


Wally, I do like turning mesquite (nice color and grain and pretty stable even when turned green), but there's just something about this eucalyptus that calls to me, I really like the color, it turns like butter (at least when green) and it sands and finishes nice. For me, it's worth the challenge to see if I can end up with a piece that's a keeper.
I've got plenty of "good" wood to turn when I want to turn something that i can depend on but the eucalyptus is good for practice and there is always the chance that I'll get lucky with the finished piece.