Firstly, a couple administrative notes: I just wrote to the board to say I will be delayed in my return to Vermont, so can not host the May meeting, but starting in June I have offered again to have our regular monthly meetings
at my shop in Jericho. You will see notices elsewhere confirming this. Also, starting Wednesday, June 6th, and each successive first Wednesday, I will have again my informal “sawdust sessions”. These will start at 5:00 and run until no-one can think of anything more to talk about! They are very casual and can be about anything anyone wants? We
help each other with any problems, and I encourage anyone who wishes to do a demo as well. Sometimes refreshments are available too!
I have mentioned it several times, both here, and at Woodchuck meetings, and have brought several pieces of it back to Vermont. One of our most abundant trees down here is the Norfolk Island Pine.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria_heterophylla). Not a true Pine at all, it is a member of the genus
araucaria, of which there are many species spread all across the southern subtropics. It got its name from the Brit’s when they discovered, and claimed for themselves, the Norfolk Islands in the South Pacific, naming them for Norfolk, England.
One of its nicknames is “living Christmas tree” which may explain why it was brought to Florida originally, and that was to give early settlers a holiday tree as a proxy for the spruces and firs that would not grow here. Photo # 402 shows this shape quite well. It also was planted extensively as a landscaping tree, and now it, like so many other trees here, is classified as invasive and, depending on who you talk to, a big nuisance. Because it is very fast growing ( the
tree in photo # 402 is over 30 feet tall, and only ten years old!) it is still used for filling space in an otherwise barren
lot, which most new building lots are because developers clear every living thing from their plots, so they can “start anew”!
Like our conifers in the North, Norfolk Pine is not a great turning wood, but is a bit harder than our softwoods…..
a hard softwood?…..and turns quite cleanly. However, two other characteristics help make it a very popular raw material for our turning projects. When freshly cut the color is uniformly light tan in color, but in just a few weeks it will start to spalt beautifully. Technically, it is not spalting at all, but a staining process, but everyone uses the word
‘spalt ‘ anyway. Our local Norfolk Pine “guru” is Franck Johannesen, of whom I have spoken many times. (A search of his name will produce scores of hits.) It is at Franck’s shop (and tool store, a Dealer for Oneway, and lots of other tools and accessories) where we meet several times a month, and where all our wood inventory resides. Photo # 399 shows a stack of Norfolk Pine quietly “spalting”. Some of this pile is several months old and ready to turn, and some has been freshly added. It is easy to see which pieces are ready, and which need more time. The end of the log will be very mottled when ready.
The other characteristic that makes this tree popular with turners is the sharp contrast of the color of the branches. They are a bright reddish color, and will darken only slightly with time.
Photo # 397 shows an endgrain bowl turned to show the sliced branches clearly. Since the branches grow on a slightly upward bias, it is easy to make them conform to the slope of the bottom of the bowl.
Photo # 396 shows a lidded vessel, also turned end grain, but in this case it was turned “upside down” so the slope of the branches conforms to the downward slope of the top of the vessel.
Photo #395 shows a vessel that was turned side grain. Again, the slope of the branches conforms, more or less, to the circumference of the vessel. This photo also shows the lovely dark staining/spalting.
Generally, we prefer our Norfolk Pine logs to be in the 6 to 15 inch size range, for vessels, bowls, and travel mugs, etc., but sometimes we have to take whatever they drop off!
Photo #400 shows some “leftover” pieces that nobody wants……yet! They are well over two feet in diameter, and have a lot of space between the rows of branches. I have slabbed a few chunks off and brought them home to spalt, hopefully to make some big shallow bowls or platters. Stay tuned!
I will bring a couple of these larger blanks home to Vermont. A final note on the Norfolk Pine: I may have made mention of this guy before, so forgive the possible repetition??
While many turners work with Norfolk Pine, Ron Kent took it to a new level. The thing that has made his pieces museum “quality” is his finishing. He “bathes” his pieces multiple times in tung oil. Tedious and time consuming, his technique makes his work translucent. Here is his website(http://www.ronkent.com/ronkent.php). For further information, and a million more pictures, go to YouTube, Pinterest, and any of the other image sites. There are a lot of Norfolk Pine turners out there!
For now, cheers!
Russ Fellows
(802-343-0393)
(Skunkmen@gmail.com)
Last modified: June 16, 2018
