Ancient wood Kauri

Re: Ancient wood Kauri

Mark Kauder, Phenix City, AL

>Dominic Greco has made some pens from it.

Mark

Check out the Nova Owners Forum *LINK*

steve antonucci

>There's a guy from New Zealand there who lives for the stuff (Rick Taylor).

Check it out.

Steve

Nova Owner, never turned kauri...


http://groups.msn.com/NovaOwners/ricktaylornewzealand.msnw

Re: Ancient wood Kauri

RevDoug

>I have bought some Kauri from Rick Taylor. He sends laminated cards with the pieces so that you can share the info with anyone who might purchase your wares. I love the stuff. The only issue I have with it is that it is so expensive. I've turned one of the two pieces that I bought. If I can get to it, I'll post it here. One thing that you might keep in mind, there are several varieties. You may want to look at his website and email him with any questions you might have. If I remember correctly, I emailed him 5 or 6 times before I placed my order. He shipped right away.

Try here  *LINK*

RevDoug

>


Wood Spun Round

50,000 year old pens!

Dominic Greco at home in Richboro, PA

>Pete,

I ordered some of the Kauri about a month ago and made some pens from it. These "50,000 year old pens" I turned are featured in a nearby gallery.

The wood comes with a "certificate of authenticity" that certified that it has been radio carbon dated by several major universities in New Zealand. The certificate states that the trees the wood came from vary in age between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago. Sort of mind blowing if you think about it.

As for the wood, it is caramel colored and has a grain structure vaguely reminiscent of mahogany. It is not a very hard wood. I would say it's a lot like butternut or basswood. In other words, use sharp tools!

The supplier suggests sanding to 600 grit, and then adding your preferred stain/oil finish. He also suggests buffing. I took his advice. I found that the pens I made came out looking awesome if I sanded to 400, applied CA glue as a finish, and then sanded all the way up to 12000 (micro mesh). The wood seems to shimmer in the light and has an opalescence unlike anything I've ever seen. It actually appears like the grain gets 3 dimensional. Like a hologram.

Don't get me wrong, this wood is very neat looking. But if you're looking for some burl figure, or anything like that, think again. This wood is more suited for furniture. Straight grained as anything I've ever seen. If I'm going to order some more, it will be slated for some humidors or something in the "flat".

See ya around,

Dominic

Ancient Kauri

Greg Jensen

>I have turned quite a bit of it. It is a nice novelty to turn wood that is between 35,000- 50,000 years old. Kauri is similar to redwood. It is very soft. The Swamp Kauri will tear out badly. You will need to turn with very sharp tool and take light finish cuts. Then sand out the tearout.

Re: Ancient wood Kauri

Pascal Oudet

>I was lucky to turn some swamp Kauri during a class with Graeme Priddle in New-Zealand. a "famous" wood there: when seeing a turned piece, most kiwi people (non turners) will ask:"is it Kauri ?".

not all swamp Kauri are 50000 years old, some are "just" 1000. it's quite a soft wood. Graeme says it's not the best wood for turning as Greg reports, but since every buyer asks for it, he had to have some kauri pieces.

the color highly depends on the age and origin of the wood. it can range from yellow to brown.

it finishes well, but I'm not sure it is worth a lot of $$$.

as far as I know, this is the only wood which is allowed for export out of NZ.

Pascal