Cedrus libani

Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.
There are two distinct types of Cedrus libani that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties:

• Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani subsp. libani or var. libani) - grows in Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, northwest Jordan, western Syria, and south central Turkey.

• Turkish cedar or Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani subsp. stenocoma or var. stenocoma) - grows in southwest Turkey.

I have used for this turnin' the varieties of Libaniit
Was cut around February 2013,

have lost a lot of weight during spring-summer,

but still around 45 kg when i put on lathe. 

i never did so big turn till now,i was scared, 

couldn't know what speed to start it, 

or how many screws I should have put, 

how long screws must be to be save...

I used around 12 screws 3 cm deep inside Wood,and tailstock well pressed.

it was not regular cut, unBalanced..so to start speed was around 150 rpm

The bark was quite attached,

but after a while a big piece came off 

hit me right in the forehead..

Fortunatly i had Helmet with visor...

i decided to take it out completly 

Smell was incredibly good, but stinging

i ain't sand any paper on lathe on,

becouse it seem to me cedar get too hot easily 

 and then begin to cracking

The day after i spend almost four hours just to sand starting from 120 till 320...

brushing with some straw oil just to take out its colours.. 

at the end is 51 cm diameter for 26 cm tall,
Some parts ain chipped,
and i like the idea to have rough top,
becouse nowadays i found a really very well WoodTurner named John Hodgson from Scotland...
i really admire his kind of turning....
here the link to his website

http://www.john-hodgson.co.uk/

Cheers

Paolo

WoodTurning after Work

I was often much tired when i was working in a woodworking shop
 at the end of the day was no way to start the lathe..

now my woodworking guru named Parride have a problem with brain,
he is taking some time in hospital,
i'm in a hope time for this,

but becouse of that i found another job in pick up fruit, specifically pears..
it's quite hard, you have to be really fast and at the same time
you must dodge clouds of mosquitoes really hungry around you,
pull up many boxes crammed with pears,
and...
the first three days were quite hard,
but since the fourth day i came home as fast as possible to turn some wood..

i had a root of poplar,
a really old slab of walnut, owned by the grandfather of the grandfather of mu guru Parride...
and obviously some pieces of box elder...

in the last five years i gathered a lot of different wood, everywhere,
even from the side of the highway to south Italy...It's a crazy things i know,
coz I could even be reported if the police had found the Japanese saw in the car....

by the way here some pictures:

Cheers

Paolo

i'd like to have you listen this piece of song called Two Step by the DMB....

Old Acer Negundo Tree

Acer negundo is a small, usually fast-growing and fairly short-lived tree that grows up to 10–25 metres (33–82 ft) tall, with a trunk diameter of 30–50 centimetres (12–20 in), rarely up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) diameter. It often has several trunks and can form impenetrable thickets.

     

Other variant names, some of which are regional, include: In Canada it is commonly known as Manitoba Maple and occasionally as Elf Maple.Other names include Ash Maple, Ash-leaf Maple, Black Ash, California Boxelder, Cutleaf Maple, Cut-leaved Maple, Negundo Maple, Red River Maple, Stinking Ash, Sugar Ash, Three-leaved Maple, and Western Boxelder. In Russia it is called American Maple (Russian: американский клён) as well as Ash-leaf Maple (Russian: клён ясенелистный).

I'm a lucky man,
in the place where i'm living there are plenty of BoxElder tree,
used like ornament to the public garden...
Lately a lot have been cut,
i found a very old one,

and i have filled the garage
there is no place for whatever else,
is even hard to walk
and to clean after some turning...
it's a mess..
but how can i leave it out???

that have been cut for used to heat..
it was all done in irregular pieces,
and that was really pity, becouse if i had all the trunk in my hand i could have saved more nice pieces..
It have a lot of colours, from white sapwood to brown heart,

ain't turn a single piece of wood since end of july,

i never though that could happened,

but some woodworking, and now fruit picking took a lot of time,
finally decided to use this boxelder,
ain't that something???

Cheers

Paolo

Another German style Table

I made this table five years ago,
with all the meticulousness and zest that I had at that time
It was for my home, our dining table...
I selected the best Wood i could find,
ten boards of Black Walnut...
Compared with Claro Walnut is much hard to find it, but i was lucky
an 80 years man named Mazzoni, which worked on selling wood,
had all those boards stowed in his werehouse since '90 he said..
i worked like his gardener for about two week to get it...
and i borrow a WoodWorking Machine from a woodworker close to home,

i had like 10 hands of shellac on it, by brush...
on every hand i was too happy on how wood showed up each hand..

nowadays i realized how different i could have done,
above all on top's pattern...
but....that is....

I have decide to sell it, and for this i'm restoring it
becouse now get some money is much more important...

100x100 cm closed
178x100 cm open..
legs are made with claro Walnut,( couse i wan'it in one piece of wood...)
as the central panels of both extensions...

This table instead,
Another big German style table,
it's gave me to be restored...
It's really old, around 150 years at least table owner said
and for that work i need the experience of my guru Parride
to restore it....
Wood was quite damaged,
i have renew the top join two claro walnut board on the external,
i used wengè to inlay the square pattern top and both extension,
remade both the extension guide,
and closed all the wormhole..
the most hard part was fix the guide,
wood was pretty awry,
extracted the guides did not fit easily..
i done my best, then sanded till i felt ok....more level as possible...

here it show below extension,

it was used some cloth and a animal glued,

which here is called "garavella", rabbit glue..

Hope i can make myself on lathe soon...


Cheers

Paolo

Alemagna style table done

Finally i complete this table,
which is called here Alemagna Style..

I have to coloured it becouse was on commission,
used walnut colour's aniline mix with water..
and at the end of the process two-component polyurethane paint,
both as a primer and as a finishing

it took me almost three month...
waiting wood movement,
i done really good job...i can say at least once...
Sold for 1.2 thousand euro...
which gave me some breath...

Thing was i need for that project at least four pieces of a 12 cm diameter leg,
all in one piece, no glue parts join
the only wood i could find was fir,
seem strange, but is true...

Fir and Spalted walnut...

i have another Alemagna style table along the pipeline..
i made it five years ago, for my very home...
but times are really dry,
i decide to put a little more hand above it,
make it clean, with another finishing..
and try to get some more fresh air...


Cheers

Paolo...

it's a hell of a thing..

It's a hell of a thing...
a wood hat...
..hell of a thing..


hat is made of Metasequoia,
Easy to turn, but in other hand Easy to broke...
I finished it in a couple of hours,
sanding with 180 paper between age line where wood is much soft,
amidst winter grow line to creating those folds which make feel hat more trustful...

i feel i still have more work to do for a great realistic hat,
but i think i know other two step need it to....improve a bit...

but for now i'm really satisfy,
i use it a lot, walkin wherever...
i'm not shy about it..
make me proud i could realize it...

Cheers

Paolo

Walls

Claro Walnut

    it's really old stuff, it came from a farmer garage, a man met when i was turning in Parma..
he talked about 35 years old...(who really know??)

Claro walnut, it was cut on agoust 2012....From Pubblic library garden

This is a gifet from Claude Arragon, from the Truciolara,
i was there to buy a creunsen bench grinder,
after the incident with the old one, i took big steep...

it's merisier...
wild cherry...

i couldn't take a good picture of this piece,
the flash hit the White,
it's some kind of maple, i don't know which one is it..
if someone reconize it please lt me know...

Cheers

Paolo