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A coworker brought me a branch segment cut from his sycamore some years back, appears to have spalted a bit. Is sycamore worthwhile for turning? If I cut this up for pen blanks, is there anything special I need to consider for turning?
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Bill in Buena Park -
Thanks Dan. I'll give it a try and see what results.Bill in Buena ParkComment
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I love sycamore. The medullary rays, which are the best part of sycamore's visual appearance, show up best in quartersawn wood, by far. I'm not sure how well the rays will show up on something as small as a pen, which, of course, will only have two tiny streaks of truly quartersawn wood running the length of the pen.
If there is an area bisected by the spalting pattern, I would try to make a pen blank that is half spalted and half solid wood - might be a more insteresting visual pattern that way. For something as thin as pen walls, I would treat the spalted areas with thin CA glue before turning and periodically again while turning. And do be very careful of that spalted sawdust - serious lung infections can ensue.
If you have a large enough branch to get even a small quartersawn bowl or platter blank, I would try to make a little open-faced platter or shallow bowl (with the quartersawn wood showing up along the flattish interior surface as well as the bottom).
I don't have any pics of sycamore turnings, but here is a piece of quartersawn sycamore veneer I have, just to give you an idea of the lace-like pattern that the quartersawn wood displays:
To give you an idea of scale, the pictured area is about the size of a sheet of notebook paper. I think it's worth it to cut even a small quartersawn blank if possible. And, if you do, please show us a picture of your turning when you are done!
Joe
Edit: The pic above is unfinished veneer. The lace patterning shows up even more dramatically once you oil the wood or apply a finish.Comment
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