Red Eucalyptus Turning Question ?

Dan Mosley

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1,169
Location
Palm Springs, Ca
Has anyone turned Red Eucalyptus ??? I cant remeber if I have asked before but someone called me today that is going to cut down a large tree going at their buss and will save some of the trunk pc's for me if I want them.
I was told they would leave them in 4-6ft lengths and diameter are up to about 18-24".
I read on another site that Red Euc cracks and checks very easily but there is not enough of a explanation to determine how they sealed or cut them. What I think is i would keep them in whole log form and seal them x 2 with anchorseal - put in a shaded cool area along the house and watch them. I do not have any room for any other strorage like a shed etc.....

Anybody have any experience with Red Euc ???
 
Interesting Dan, I'll in L.A. in January....hmmmm:rofl:. I've heard that Euc has long thin grain and as a result...it's split city until sealed and sealed quick. Any chance of some of that relocating? :D;)
 
I agree with Don. It's great wood to turn. It likes to crack, but don't let that stop you.

Cut the pith out and seal it, and it should store outside OK. I've got some that's 3 or 4 years old in my woodpile. There are some cracks, but there's still a lot that can be turned.

Bowl 032 - 03 800.jpg HF030 - 02 800.jpg Bowl 067 - 04 800.jpg
 
That's some good looking wood and turnings Vaughn. We don't have anything like that here. But, I'm sure we have stuff that you guys on the left coast don't. It's funny (at least to me) how you see wood from other places and wished it grew here. I'm sure we have stuff that grows in these parts that other people wished they could get hold of.

Sorry to hijack Dan, but that's some good looking wood!
 
...I'm sure we have stuff that grows in these parts that other people wished they could get hold of...

You got that right. :) I picked up most of a whole tree of red eucalyptus, and I traded a number of pieces with buddies in other parts of the country who had wood (like walnut and box elder) I can't find easily out here.

And Dan, let me know if you end up with more of it than you can handle or need help cutting up the bigger pieces. My 24" chainsaw and I could make a day trip out of it. :D
 
Thanks to all for the comments and at least I know it is worth turning - Vaughn's work is nice stuff and now I know ill take what i can when they call in the next day or so......................
The tree or trees are being cut down in Highland, Ca - I will ask when they are cutting it down..........These tree service guys are pretty good about calling when they are cutting down trees - I traded them last time a $30.00 and a couple nice bowls for a truck load of large Walnut trunk Pc's of wood...........If you guys are serious about it I will ask about meeting them in the future when they cut down more wood and we can all split it up or all come home with what we can carry..............let me know if your serious and ill ask...........Dan
 
...I've heard that Euc has long thin grain and as a result...it's split city until sealed and sealed quick...

Keep in mind there are about a bazillion varieties of eucalyptus. Some is great, and some is downright evil. The red ironbark stuff is one of the great ones. The yellow stringybark stuff isn't worth the chainsaw gas to cut it up. (IMO, of course.)

...The tree or trees are being cut down in Highland, Ca - I will ask when they are cutting it down..........These tree service guys are pretty good about calling when they are cutting down trees - I traded them last time a $30.00 and a couple nice bowls for a truck load of large Walnut trunk Pc's of wood...........If you guys are serious about it I will ask about meeting them in the future when they cut down more wood and we can all split it up or all come home with what we can carry..............let me know if your serious and ill ask...........Dan

I'm game if it works into my schedule (which is pretty open these days). It'd be worth some driving to nab some good wood. (Highland looks like it's about about halfway between your house and mine.)
 
Dan, There numerous red eucalypti, most are useless except for fire wood, you will know if its the fire wood variety as it will most likely open up like a rose.
But give it a go, remove the pith seal the ends and the cut area, place in a cool dry area away from any sun and wind etc and see how you go.
 
Neal, the only kind of red eucalyptus I've seen around the LA area (that I knew about) was the ironbark variety. (The bark is dark brown to black, and rough like pine bark.) Do you know of other red varieties around here that I (we) should watch out for? All of the yellow varieties I've turned have ranged from bad to really bad, but I'm pretty uneducated about the different eucalypts we have around here.

The red ironbark stuff I cut up a few years ago has held up pretty well. I did leave a few full round log sections (with sealed ends), and I think all of them have split from the pith, although most of them only split in one or two directions, so there will still be a fair amount of salvageable wood. Among the non-pith blanks I cut and sealed, most of them have only minor checking, although a few of the bigger ones have become two or three smaller blanks. ;)
 
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