Wood for turning

ryanbp01 · Post by **ryanbp01** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 1:30 pm

I made trip down to the town brush pile where we can drop off prunings. I came across some sycamore logs which looked pretty good. Has anyone ever used sycamore for turning?

BPR

nuhobby · Post by **nuhobby** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 1:38 pm

I haven't yet, but my brother-in-law gave me a pen turned out of sycamore, and it's lovely.

derekdarling · Post by **derekdarling** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:29 pm

Sycamore is a species of maple, I belive (although I believe a lot of odd things!), so it should be fine for turning. It does have a reputaiton for movement, especially when used for structural beams, so that may be an issue. You might want to wet-turn and leave a generous amount for re-turning once it has dried and warped.

Derek

lightnin · Post by **lightnin** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:57 pm

A most excellent question because I have no idea about most species of wood and their proprieties.
I read every thing I find in an attempt to learn about woods and get confused.
I will certainly follow this thread. I think there are a lot of newbs like me that would love to learn more.
I can't even identify most woods. I plan on doing a lot of woodworking and need to learn much more.
IMHO it would make a great forum category by it's self.
After all... to learn woodworking without learning wood would be like.......

rcoder · Post by **rcoder** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:46 am

Acer is the genus for maple. Platanus is the genus for sycamore. Very different.

Bob in Willcox

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:42 am

lightnin wrote:A most excellent question because I have no idea about most species of wood and their proprieties.
I read every thing I find in an attempt to learn about woods and get confused.
I will certainly follow this thread. I think there are a lot of newbs like me that would love to learn more.
I can't even identify most woods. I plan on doing a lot of woodworking and need to learn much more.
IMHO it would make a great forum category by it's self.
After all... to learn woodworking without learning wood would be like.......

Read here for related discussion.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 8:05 am

Sycamore has an interlocked grain (similar to that of elm or gum) so it has a tendency to chip when planed, so it's likely to do the same when being turned. Sharp tools should minimize any chipping. Plain sawn sycamore is prone to warping while drying, but is rather stable when quarter sawn.

I've not turned sycamore, but I have used it for making boxes as it has has a lovely lacy grain pattern when quarter sawn. The upper box in the attached photo is quarter sawn sycamore. The other one is cherry.

If you're looking for a reference book on woods, there are a couple of editions of "A Guide to Useful Woods of the World." The second edition is in color. There is a follow-on edition -- "A Guide to More Useful Woods of the World."

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derekdarling · Post by **derekdarling** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:14 am

What's the difference between Maple and Sycamore?

Maple Street runs north and south. And Sycamore Street runs East and West:D

European Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) is a variety of Maple, North American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis, called 'Plane' in England), is not.

The wood, however, of both is very nice for both construction and decoration, with the warning about movement. Milled sycamore is best stickered until well seasoned.

eagleta2 · Post by **eagleta2** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:04 pm

Am I the only one that wishes there was an android app to help identify wood? It would be ideal to shoot a pic of a piece of wood that you have and then the app would just tell you what it is....
Just dreaming :-)

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:43 pm

I just finished 3 pen/letter opener sets using sycamore and they came out great. The wood is hard and the finished product looks like pin oak but I had no issues with blowouts. I just packaged up 40 pen/letter sets made from red cedar, red oak, pin oak, black walnut, mesquite and sycamore. My favorate so far is the mesquite. These sets are to be presented as Christmas presents to family members.