A very pretty bit of wood

[IanW]

Just have to show off this bit of Lace She-oak. I picked up a chunk of it out of curiosity (not a cheap pick-up, either!), and lo & behold, lurking in that grubby bit of wood was a couple of saw handles.

Not the easiest stuff to work with - the 'lacy' bits are softer than the surrounding reddish wood, and will pick out if you don't use very sharp tools. However, with care, & using every grade of sandpaper in turn, it takes on the same beautifully tactile finish as most of the other Casaurinas I've come across, and looks most spectacular.

This saw is a 16 tpi dovetailer, 15 thou plate.

Cheers,

[pedrogb]

Hi Ian
Love your work, that looks fantastic, almost a shame to put a big sweaty paw on it...

Well done
Pedro

[TobyC]

Excellent work Ian,
I've only recently become aware that you were an accomplished saw maker, and through 'Berlin' that you were a knowledgeable saw 'doctor'. That is a beautiful saw, and a beautiful piece of wood. You should show us more of your work.

Toby

[Arry]

Absolutely stunning !

[Wongo]

Noooice!!

[tdrumnut]

Beautiful work Ian - it certainly shows that it was made with love

Cheers Rumnut

[IanW]

.... it certainly shows that it was made with love

Cheers Rumnut

And, I confess, with one or two expletives as I discovered how much work it took to get the desired level of finish!

Toby - I have put up quite a few saws over the last few years - the other forumites are probably rolling their eyes & saying "Not another one!".

But I just had to show this one off because of the purty wood. I'll be keeping an eye out for some more of it, but it's not all that common. According to some sites on the internet, it is a 'defect' that is found in about 1% or less of the Western Aust. She-oaks. If it occurs in the Eastern Casaurinas, it must be even less common. I've seen very small areas of vaguely similar figure in C. torulosa, around branches, but not large enough pieces to make a saw handle from...

Cheers,

[silentC]

You're getting quite good at that, Ian

I shall think twice next time I chuck a lump of casaurina in the fire...

[John Saxton]

Nice saw Ian, of course the Lace Sheoak sets off the balance to enhance the aesthetics.

We are so lucky in this country where we have access to beautiful timbers such as you have shown here.

Well done on another fine tool.

Cheers

[ARealBoy]

Wow!

Ian that is truly spectacular. Well done!

Mick.

[IanW]

......I shall think twice next time I chuck a lump of casaurina in the fire...

Silent, at least LOOK at it first, and if it's pretty, put it aside....

Yairs, I really wonder if any stupendous wood went to heat the boilers at the Malanda butter factory back in the eraly 60's. We had a contract to supply them with firewood, & must have cut thousands of cords of She-oak for them over a 5-6 year period. My father & uncle considerd it a weed because it grew prolifically after ring-barking the Eucalypts to open the forest up for grazing.

Times change - my brother can't drop a single tree now without a permit....

Cheers,

[dusteater]

Now that I will have a bit more time on my hands ,starting this summer ,I`m hoping to mill some of the dozens of dead Sheoaks on our place ,so I`ll be keeping any of the lace aside for special projects,

[Woodwould]

Very smart indeed!

[silentC]

I really wonder if any stupendous wood went to heat the boilers at the Malanda butter factory back in the eraly 60's.

I've saved a number of bits of nice wood from various fires, including some nice tiger-grained river redgum and bits of burl. The she-oaks grow like weeds around here too but they take a long time to get big enough to do anything with.

Probably a lot of the stuff we admire now was considered inferior back in the day.

[IanW]

....Probably a lot of the stuff we admire now was considered inferior back in the day.

You're not wrong there! The old guys I knew hated wild-grained wood & avoided it or used it out somewhere of sight so they could leave it off-saw or only rough-planed. They preferred well-behaved stuff you could deal with easily - time is money!