Got Eucalyptus??

[Bill Hunt]

I do, but now what do I do with it? How does it turn? no one I've talked to has turned it. The butt section in the photos is 30"
we had to cut sections off the main piece before my tractor would lift it and still bent my boom pole.

Any info is appreciated
BillP1010203.jpgP1010204.jpg

[John Keeton]

Kathy Marshall has turned quite a bit of it, and I suspect she will chime in. I am not familiar with it, but she seems to like it.

That is a big ol' log!!!! Congrats!

[Dennis Ford]

There are many varieties of Eucalyptus, one thing that they have in common is that they get very hard when dry. I suggest that you try some while it is wet.

[Kenny Jacobson]

Here in So Cal we have lots of Blue Gum and Iron Bark Eucalyptus. It checks pretty quickly, so I seal it with anchorseal right away. You may want to cut the pith out right away. The species I use are pretty dense and have a high silica content (I think) so I need to sharpen my tools fairly often, but I don't get any end-grain tear-out (which is nice). The heartwood usually darkens in time. Sometimes I get some nice figure with distinct alternating light brown/dark brown banding. Other times the I get a fairly blah creamy brown.

Here's a Blue Gum Eucalyptus with sap wood and heartwood:
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Here is an Iron Bark Eucalyptus hollow form with the pith right in the center (it's checked a little, of course):
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Here is a little necklace pendant made from Blue Gum Eucalyptus:
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[John Beaver]

We have a lot of it around here (Southern California). Here are my observations...

Some types have more figure and color then others. From what I can tell, yours will look good when wet, but kind of looses it's figure and contrast when it dries. You will want to finish with an oil that helps emphasize the figure. It has lots of oil in it so it does polish well.

Dennis is right in that it gets very hard to turn when dry, and it cracks pretty easily. It can be difficult to turn wet also. I have tried turning it thin while wet, and have had about 50% success on the movement and cracking.

I would definitely cut it into blanks and seal it right away - It won't last too long as a whole log, and I've even had sealed blanks crack. Because of the nature of my work, I have stopped bothering with it, but for non-constructed bowls it can work fine if you treat it carefully. I have had the most success with shallow bowls.

Lastly, some people can have reactions to the oil in it, so be aware when you first turn it.

[Jon Nuckles]

I haven't turned it myself, but I was reading David Ellsworth's book last night and he warned of the high silica content and frequent sharpenings it required.

[Kathy Marshall]

Ditto what the others said. There are hundreds of varieties of eucalyptus and I've only turned 4 or 5 of them. The ones I've turned all had in common, turned very nice when wet, definitely harder as it dries, some to alot of movement and prone to cracking ( some more so than others ). The color and grain can vary quite a bit, but the ones I have done have all had nice color from a dark salmon to a golden salmon to orange striped.My best results have come from turning quickly to finish size, get oil on it right away then store in a plastic ziplock for a few weeks (opening the bag to exchange the air every other day or so).I'll post some pics when I get home tonight (or just look thru my posts).

[Bill Hunt]

Thanks to all of you who responded. That gives me enough info to know that I need to get to work quickly and save as much as I can. I'll also take it to our turning club meeting next month to share it.

Those of you along the east coast, hunker down. We live in the southern hurricane zone and even though I don't wish a hurricane on anyone I'm just glad this one is missing us. I've still got wood stored under cover from Katrina and don't need any more.

Again thanks very much.
Bill

[Nathan Hawkes]

After seeing some posts on another forum (not woodturning), I believe what you have is referred to as "Stringybark". You might do a search on that as to its characteristics. I've turned one piece that slightly resembled it, which was very hard indeed.