Ever turn pine thats been drying for 30 years?

Re: Ever turn pine thats been drying for 30 years?

Gil

>No, but I have turned walnut that's been drying for 50 years. Did the pine burn you and come off as saw dust? I turned some vertical grain ash that was drying for 30 years and got burned by it.

-Gil

Re: Ever turn pine thats been drying for 30 years?

Mark Kauder. Phenix City, AL

>Got you both beat - I have a Heart Pine Beam from a building built in 1852. BOY IS IT DRY.

Made some pens and a pen box out of it. Had to use the 100+ gouge more than I like.

Mark

Re: Ever turn pine thats been drying for 30 years?

john Lucas

>I managed to get some heart pine from the old train shed in Nashville. I don't remember the age but it was at least 75 years. It turned great. On the other hand I turned some cherry that had been sitting in the loft of a barn for 50 years. Every time I turn it my head instantly clogs up and tears come to my eyes. It's nice stuff with really tight grain but even wearing a dust mask it still bothers me.

Re: Ever turn pine thats been drying for 30 years?

Spence in Rhode Island

>Have a couple of short planks 85 year old cherry. Talk about hard! But turns like a dream. Have to dig it out of the stash and do another piece soon.

Regards

Spence

Old Maple stump... at least 30 years!

steve antonucci in NW NJ

>Burning hot sawdust with the best edges. Had to wear a leather glove on my left hand to turn it.

Harder than calculus. Still have a few pieces, very little interest in turning them. Maybe another 30 years in the loft will help.

Steve

Re: Ever turn pine thats been drying for 30 years?

Raymond Overman in SC

>I tried to turn a platter out of a beam that came out of a cotton gin that my great great great grandfather helped build in the 1840's in Sampson County, NC. My great uncle gave it to me before he passed away. It has a strong turpentine smell and is fat lightwood.

The wood isn't hard at all and has a waxy feel to it but it comes apart even at the lowest speeds on a lathe. I ended up turning a few pens with it for my grandmother and mother and giving up on a larger piece. Very light touches with a very sharp skew or I ended up shaving off a chunk.

I still have a large piece of it. Maybe one day I'll brave putting some of it back on the lathe.

Re: Ever turn pine thats been drying for 30 years?

RonZ

>Pine is one of the few woods I can't turn

How about 50,000 year old wood?

Dominic Greco at home in Richboro, PA

>

Still turns like new wood. Of course, having it been buried beneath a sand bog for those 50,000 years sure helps to keep it fresh! :>)

See ya around,

Dominic

Well.....???? :)

Mike Rubes, Apex, NC

>Hi Dominic,

You can't post a message like that without more information! What's the deal on this prehistoric wood? Any pictures? What's the story?

Enquiring minds want to know!!

Mike

Feeling 50,000 years old in Apex, NC...

Re: Well.....???? :)

Leo Van Der Loo

>Hi Mike, I have some of that old wood, and you might as well turn some redwood, it's soft and light-weight wood, I just made a picture of a couple small chunks I still have, with the New Zealand official stamp on it.

I do have relatives living in New Zealand and they have buried wood in some swamps on their farm as well, wet firewood (grin).

Now I also have relatives in Australia and some of their wood I wood (pun intended) like to get my hands on.

Have fun and take care

Leo V

Consider the LDD soak...

David

>Soaking a fairly porous piece of wood could bring it back to near green working qualities.