Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

I checked for toxicity...

GaryG in MD

...and found this in the Wiki article:

"The resin exuded from some casuarinas is edible and was a food source for Aboriginal people."

So that's not a problem. ...GG

Re: Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

YoYoSpin

Sheoak is a great turning wood. Holds good detail, nice orange color, interesting and very consistent grain pattern. Here's an end-grain example:

Re: Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

Barry L Elder

Australian Pine contains a lot of silica as you are finding out. But, they produce beautiful bowls when they are finished.

Re: Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

Don Stephan

I am in awe that you were able to carve that wood. Occasionally I used a bowl gouge for 4 or 5 minutes without stopping, and then could see a low spot on the cutting edge where so much metal had been worn away by the wood.

Have you any experience air drying it?

Re: Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

YoYoSpin

Don, the carving on that yoyo was done with a high speed carbide cutter on a Foredom cutting frame mounted to my rose engine lathe. It can cut through just about anything.

All the Seaoak I have on hand, and have been using over the past several years, was purchased directly from a Queensland Australia exporter back around 1997. It sat in my Colorado Springs 7,000 foot elevation basement (10-15% humidity) for at least 10 years before I turned any of it. So my stash has been bone dry for quite a while. And, this Australian stuff does not have the sand-in-its-pores issues you're apparently encountering with the Florida wood. It turns easy and smooth, with no excessive tool dulling. Here's another Sheoak piece (with Amboyna burl & acrylic embellishments) recently turned from my stash:

BTW, real Australian Pine is "Huon"

YoYoSpin

Tasmanian Huon Pine is absolutely one of my favorites...turns like butter. This wood was given to me by a friend in Melbourne several years ago. I'm told that the tree it came from was over 800 years old, and only grows in a 10 square mile rain forest area in southwest Tassie. Super slow-growing, as shown by the close set rings.

Re: Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

Mike Stafford

I haven't turned many pieces of sheoak and I haven't turned any recently but I don't recall having any of the issues you describe. I am sure there are differences in this wood according to variety, where it was grown etc.

Here is a box turned from sheoak.

Re: Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

John K Jordan

could see a low spot on the cutting edge where so much metal had been worn away by the wood.

Curious as to the metal the gouge is made from. The Thompson tools stay sharper longer for me than other HHS, even with very hard and abrasive wood. (Even turned steel)

You might try one of the Hunter carbide tools if you have one.

As mentioned, some specific trees are much different than others of the same species. I have some very old walnut that dulled a bimetal Starrett bandsaw blade in just a few short cuts.

I love turning very hard woods. They do take much longer to dry. Some moisture meters are not very useful for these. I'd probably use the weight-change method.

JKJ

Re: Casuarina/She-Oak/Australian Pine

Don Stephan

The gouge was either a Sorby or Thompson, not sure which I was using. Hard wood.