# Wood ID?



## mike-bolton (22 Jan 2014)

Hi, 

I finally got round to buying a new lathe well second hand after countless problems with the first one I had, its a sip 01360 with a swivel head and I gotta say its a dream to turn with, it also came with a box of logs and bowl blanks which was a bonus and leads me to my question. After turning one of the logs into a goblet which I'm pretty proud of due to it being my second attempt at a goblet it turned out to be a beautiful piece of wood with lovely grain and i was wondering what kind of wood it is I think it may be yew but I'm not 100%


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## Spindle (22 Jan 2014)

Hi

Heart wood looks a little dark for yew, could be walnut or elm.

Regards Mick


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## Random Orbital Bob (22 Jan 2014)

It looks extremely like the Yew I'm used to turning save one small detail which is not enough knots. All the Yew I've turned has dozens of minute knots. But colour wise, that striking contrast between sap and heart wood really reminds me of yew.


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## EnErY (23 Jan 2014)

well I have turned a lot of Yew and im pretty sure that's what it is but perhaps a little more light on the pics may define a better decision
Regards
Bill


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## KimG (23 Jan 2014)

+1 for Yew


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## mike-bolton (23 Jan 2014)

Thanks for replies, I've never turned yew or elm so I dont really know what the difference's are yet. Up until now I've mainly only turned wet birch and oak as I've never had access to any dry wood


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## Kalimna (23 Jan 2014)

Just to buck the trend, and going on the assumption that the picture is a true likeness of colour, I would go with walnut. It would have the same sap/heartwood contrast, and all the yew I have seen has been a little more orange whereas this is more brown. The knots, also, remind me more of walnut than the yew that I have. I don't suppose you could post any other piccies, could you?

Adam S

P.s. The goblet looks very nice, I am still stuck trying to complete a bowl I'm pleased with!


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## mike-bolton (23 Jan 2014)

Here's one with flash so its a bit brighter, I'll try and get some of the logs tomorrow


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## Steve Jones (23 Jan 2014)

Another vote for Yew

Steve


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## Tazmaniandevil (23 Jan 2014)

I've been lucky enough to go through a vast amount of yew since I started, and the stuff I have had is all more orangey in the heartwood and yellow in the sapwood. I have just picked up a bootload of chestnut, and the colouring is very like that. What was the bark like? Yew has a very distinctive bark.


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## jurriaan (23 Jan 2014)

There seems to be a soft spot in the center of the tree, which I don't recall in yew. This pith may well be specific for the wood, but I'd also be interested in the bark, the smell of the wood and how hard it is. 

I say it isn't yew.


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## KimG (23 Jan 2014)

All the yew I've turned has a small pith, sometimes it's quite a large one depending on the nature of the log. Key here though is colour which fits fine with Yew, and grain pattern which is an exact match for Yew. Other key factors would be it's texture when turning, Yew is very nice, easy to cut and leaves a smooth finish (with a sharp tool of course) I have heard it described "like turning cheese". The bark of course would be pretty much the decider, but I see nothing in these images to make me think it's anything other than Yew.


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## Grahamshed (23 Jan 2014)

I have no idea what type of wood it is, though I am learning a great deal from this discussion....... I just wanted to say thats a fine looking goblet for a second attempt and the wood is lovely whatever it is.


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## Paul.J (23 Jan 2014)

Thats a nicely proportioned goblet Mike well done for just your second attempt =D> 
Would looks too brown for Yew and does look like Walnut to me ??


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## Random Orbital Bob (23 Jan 2014)

I must say I'm wobbling a bit on my original assertion of Yew based on the colour too. If that colour rendition is accurate then I agree with the brown versus orange comments. All the Yew I've turned (which has come from several different trees) has really orange heartwood. That is definitely more brown. Also the sapwood is almost an ivory kind of creamy colour.....and texture, amazingly close grained and a joy to turn as Kim says.

But......agree...the bark will give it away instantly. Its a dark brown, very flaky, dusty when dry. It frequently has numerous twiggy outcrops with very supple twigs that don't want to break easily and which of course explain the numerous tiny knots. Also when viewed in section, the heartwood often resembles a spiders web as it leeches into the creamy sapwood. Its dense/heavy and just gorgeous on the lathe. Personally I absolutely love it. With a sharp skew you can get a polished finish that needs no sanding in places


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## procell (23 Jan 2014)

I got some yew logs the other day. these pics may help you identify it




Still very green so the colour is probably a little bright still and will change as it dries




As yo can see it still has green leaves on some of the logs




Very distinctive bark


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## winemaker (23 Jan 2014)

nice Yew Goblet =D>


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## Tazmaniandevil (24 Jan 2014)

Still not ruling yew out. The flash could be flattening the colour. I think the bark will be the decider.
This tiny platter is representative of the colours in the yew I have had.


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## tobytools (24 Jan 2014)

Could be laburnum, yew or walnut. 
Either way is beautiful and good job for your second attempt.

TT


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## Random Orbital Bob (24 Jan 2014)

spot on (for likely culprit being yew)....notice how orange the heartwood is and how like creamy ivory the sapwood. I'll dig out a picky in a mo' of some of mine


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## Grahamshed (24 Jan 2014)

Thats a nice bowl Taz. Yew still has to be my favourite wood.


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## KimG (24 Jan 2014)

Another key factor in the original items appearance is the grain pattern, which, if you compare it with any Yew piece, shows the same overall look, whereas Laburnum has a decidedly gold appearance to the heartwood when freshly turned and like all the members of the pea family, displays a complex zig zag like pattern of cells in between the growth rings (easily visible) Note that Acacia, Iroko and Gorse all show the same characteristic. Walnut too has it's own distinctive patterns to the rings, and although I have only turned a small amount of it, the contrast between the sapwood and heartwood was much greater and the grain pattern closer and more complex, the dark wood was also a colder and much darker brown that is shown in the original pics. I am still sticking with Yew, it is far and away the most likely.


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## mike-bolton (24 Jan 2014)

Hi, thank for all the comments, I've took photos of the logs with the bark but I can't upload them it keeps saying the pic is to big so I'll have to leave it for know and see if I can sort it out another time


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## mike-bolton (25 Jan 2014)

Finally! In log form before turning


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## Tazmaniandevil (25 Jan 2014)

I would say not yew. Looks very like the chestnut I collected recently, colourwise. Not sure about the bark though.


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## Random Orbital Bob (25 Jan 2014)

well......the plot thickens because that certainly doesn't look like yew bark. No twiggy bits...not chocolate brown enough...not flaky at all.

edit: Incidentally...just to link the two threads. Here is another thread that I was hoping might shed some light on this one in case it was missed:

yew-how-it-looks-from-log-to-turned-item-t76891.html


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## Neil Farrer (25 Jan 2014)

Think that the smell and weight might give it away, the grain on the original photo of the goblet is fairly wide, in keeping with a faster growing wood, the colour of the heartwood is right.

cedar.


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## mike-bolton (25 Jan 2014)

More pics of the unknown wood in this csse a little trinket box


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## mike-bolton (25 Jan 2014)

Hi,

The logs are fairy heavy for there size and fairly hard, easy to cut but tended to heat my chisel up a bit but that may be due to a dull edge, as for smell it didnt.


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## MMUK (25 Jan 2014)

Looks like it *could* be ash maybe? The unturned log does look as though it's had some trimming down so I'd imagine what bark there is isn't complete.


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## KimG (25 Jan 2014)

The log has been in a shop for sometime by the look of it, it has a waxed end and looks pretty dried out, that would explain the lack of flakes (plus the image is out of focus) the grain pattern again in the second images is that of a softwood, not a hardwood, Ash while it sometimes has a darker heartwood (Olive Ash) is certainly not red/orange like these, I am still sticking with Yew, the second set of items are more like Yew than any other wood.


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## Random Orbital Bob (25 Jan 2014)

its certainly a mystery...I was convinced of Yew too based on the turned piece but seeing the log has wobbled me


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## mike-bolton (25 Jan 2014)

Hi,

The fella i bought the lathe off had it listed as an ex demo lathe and had never really used it since he bought it, so im guessing the wood had been sat in the box for some time. Ive had a look through the box and theres plenty of odds and sods, some wood labeled ovangkol, various sized bowl blanks, segmented blanks one thin the other thick, pen blanks (i think) and an unusual looking thing that looks a bit like a bee hive about the size of a pine cone.


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## Grahamshed (25 Jan 2014)

mike-bolton":2qtosui3 said:


> and an unusual looking thing that looks a bit like a bee hive about the size of a pine cone.


A Banksia nut ?


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## mike-bolton (25 Jan 2014)

Hi Graham,

Yeh i think your right, ive just been looking online to see if i could find out what it was and it looks a lot like a banksia pod.

Any ideas what to do with it?


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## Grahamshed (25 Jan 2014)

There are others here who could tell you a lot more but if you watch some Youtube clips you will see that they are VERY messy.


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## Neil Farrer (25 Jan 2014)

I lay a bit bet that it's not yew. The growth rings are too far apart. My next vote would be Douglas fir looking at the two pics of the box.


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## jurriaan (26 Jan 2014)

Can you post a sharp, detailed picture of the bark? I'm thinking laburnum at the moment, but I'm not really sure.


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## Neil Farrer (26 Jan 2014)

jurriaan":rlng3xh4 said:


> Can you post a sharp, detailed picture of the bark? I'm thinking laburnum at the moment, but I'm not really sure.


It's the wrong colour for laburnum, laburnums green and much closer grained, this is orangish.


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## Vic Perrin (26 Jan 2014)

I think I'll go with the Yew vote


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## mike-bolton (26 Jan 2014)

Well the debate is over I've been in contact with the seller and it seem the mysterious logs are actually laburnum, so well done jurriaan that was spot on


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## SteveF (26 Jan 2014)

Grahamshed":jwssdp4a said:


> mike-bolton":jwssdp4a said:
> 
> 
> > and an unusual looking thing that looks a bit like a bee hive about the size of a pine cone.
> ...


i got Sheffield Tony one as part of secret santa gift

he done a fantastic job on it  

Steve


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## KimG (26 Jan 2014)

I think your seller is wildly confused because whatever that wood is, it certainly ain't Laburnum, the bark is totally wrong for the tree and so is the grain. I will post some Laburnum pics later, it looks nothing like any of the stuff you posted up, and I have turned a lot of Laburnum.


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## KimG (26 Jan 2014)

OK, so first off lets consider the bark, some excellent images of Yew bark have already been posted up, here are a couple of images of Laburnum Bark, the log is very old, over 20 years (I don't have anything newer just now) But you can clearly see the very smooth nature of the bark and the small blisters (similar to Cherry) which is a classic feature of Laburnum, as also is the slight papery flaking, though this is more pronounced due to the age and dryness of this lump. Also this is a substantial log, it's 160mm in diameter. 














Next is an example of Both Yew and Laburnum together in a single turned item, the base is Laburnum, the very top is Yew (the white wood is Sycamore) This provides a visual contrast between the two timber types.







This is a close up of the Laburnum and clearly shows the zigzag patterns in between the growth rings that is so characteristic of pea family woods as described in my previous post.






Here also is a finial in Laburnum showing the same. (Sorry about the top bit of the image being out of focus, but you can see clearly the effect in the lower part).







This image is of the Yew top to the first piece, clearly there is no zigzag, the grain has an open yet distinct appearance typical of softwoods.






Here are two pieces of Yew in macro showing the end grain, again note the absence of any zigzag patterning and the colour (colour though is not a good guide, especially in photographs and even more so in the digital age when the colour of an image can be totally different depending on what white balance setting is used and any post processing)







This too is a very key feature of Yew, note the centre of this sawn bit of Yew, the pith has several dark small crack-like marks radiating out from it, this is VERY characteristic of Yew, particularly in logs of 4 inches or more, Now go back and look at the very first image in this thread and note the appearance of the base of the goblet, it is identical.






Here again is an image of Yew, note in particular the kind of pattern the growth rings show when turned, this is very much a characteristic of Yew, it is quite distinctive. Note the difference in colour here, I used a different white balance and it has substantially affected the overall appearance, the grain pattern however remains the same and is key.






Here is another example of Yew grain, this was freshly cut (albeit from a well seasoned log) just minutes before I took the shot.






Here again is a shot showing both Yew and Laburnum together, the laburnum is slices of end grain and these are called Oysters and were once a common feature of fine furniture decoration.






Finally a close up of the Oysters showing very clearly the distinctive zigzags of Legume timbers, note also that this feature is also in the sapwood.







Looking again at the images of the turned items and of the log, it is clear that the possibility of it being Laburnum is quite out of the question, it fails in every respect to match the characteristics of the wood either turned or uncut, the waxed log bark was fissured much like the fresh Yew log images posted, the older log though did not show so much flaking, but these flakes are quite fragile and could easily have been worn off in storage etc, so that is not key.

The open and distinctively graceful swirls of grain on the turned items are absolutely characteristic of Yew, though for sure, other softwoods could look similar, the colour is a very poor guide, not only because of the variable in photography, but even timbers vary in colour too.

So, while I can be without any doubt at all that this is not Laburnum, and I certainly still think it is Yew, I could not be absolutely certain unless I was able to see it in the flesh, it most definitely is however a softwood of some sort with Yew being the most likely based on the appearance of both the finished wood and the bark on the log.

I have been turning both these timbers for over 30 years and am more than familiar with their key characteristics and variabilities, so I am not without any experience.


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## jurriaan (27 Jan 2014)

http://www.baumkunde.de/Laburnum_alpinum/Borke/ for a good picture of laburnum bark which made me think of it. I think pictures of like quality of the original item as these last of yew would clear up a lot.


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## Random Orbital Bob (27 Jan 2014)

Well done KimG. I have to say that post was a veritable "Sherlock Holmes" of woody detective work. Great photos and thanks for taking the time. That was definitive for me I have to say.


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## mike-bolton (27 Jan 2014)

Hi, 

Been through the box of wood again and come across a couple of logs that have different bark on them compared to the others


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## Random Orbital Bob (27 Jan 2014)

That looks very like Laburnum and very unlike Yew....how mind numbingly confusing!!! Is it just possible that there is a mix of species in that box he left you and that the one you turned is a different species to the remaining logs in the batch?


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## KimG (27 Jan 2014)

The bottom one is Laburnum, note the blistered appearance and smoothness, also the colour (this is also an aged log) is very similar to the ones I put up. Also note the dark heartwood, Laburnum goes very dark with age.
The first log is trickier, these are not great photos as the focus is poor, (not likely your fault Mike, Phone camera?) the bark pattern is indistinct, but at first glance it looks like some kind of fruit wood.


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## mike-bolton (27 Jan 2014)

Yeh i know the pics are not very good I tried uploading the with an iPhone the first time but it wouldn't upload as the size was too big even after cropping the image so I had to use my phone which the quality is not as good but kept the size low enough to upload them


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## Random Orbital Bob (27 Jan 2014)

Try this...it works really well resizing whole batches of pics

http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm


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## mike-bolton (27 Jan 2014)

More pics of the same variety of the first log but with better bark pattern. 

Thanks bob I'll give it a go next time I can't do too many things at the moment as I'm using a tablet tethered to my phone so as you can imagine its not ideal as I only have a set amount of data usage


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## Woodmonkey (27 Jan 2014)

sorry to wade in late, but those are definitely yew for sure.


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## jurriaan (27 Jan 2014)

I couldn't agree more :lol:


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## Tazmaniandevil (27 Jan 2014)

Those ones certainly look like the yew I have had in the past. Still not sure about the original log posted though.


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## mike-bolton (27 Jan 2014)

Hi,

Those last three pics are the same wood as the one made from the goblet and trinket box


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## procell (27 Jan 2014)

The bark on those is nothing like the yew logs I have as shown in pictures earlier in this thread. The ones I put up are definitely yew as they still have the leaves on them.
I know its not but the bark on the pics above is very similar to Eucalyptus logs I have.


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## Random Orbital Bob (27 Jan 2014)

Now lets not get confused.....those recent pics I would say are 99.99% certain to be Yew. They're clearly quite old and dry so a lot of the twiggy bits have scuffed off but the colour, texture and flaky nature is very indicative of yew. Pair that up with the original turned items, goblet etc and its a wrap I'd say.


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## Grahamshed (27 Jan 2014)

Kim
That was a great post and series of pics. Thank you.


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## KimG (27 Jan 2014)

Thanks Bob and Graham, I wasn't trying to be clever, but having asserted so many times in the thread that the original Goblet and boxes were Yew, and Mike being told it was Laburnum, I had to make a case! It was good fun actually and this has been a very interesting thread.

I think that Mike's seller had obviously sold him a mixed bag, among which, as we saw were definitely Laburnum logs, so a slight misunderstanding there for sure, the last images Mike has posted are very much the type of bark you would see on a mature Yew. 

But the absolute clincher is Mike's last post, the Goblet and trinket boxes were made from exactly the same wood as these logs, no way are those pieces made from Eucalyptus, it is a plain and very bland looking pale timber with very little to commend it visually, whereas Mike's turnings have all the character of Yew, tied in with these logs then we cannot but conclude that Yew it is.

And while I'm at it, nice turnings Mike!


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## procell (27 Jan 2014)

Sorry Kim I did not mean to suggest it could be Eucalyptus. I even wrote " I know its not"


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## Random Orbital Bob (27 Jan 2014)

No Procell I don't think Kim meant that.....you were thinking out loud weren't you. Its an interesting thread because it really reveals the huge variation you get even within the same species. There are some obvious "tells" that focus the search down but even then, it can be quite tricky to nail the species 100%. It also shows that belt n braces are the best way ie leaves, bark and turned item will give greater clarity (add smell to that as well).

Another thing I love about wood....its a brain teasing puzzle as well as beautiful!


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## mike-bolton (27 Jan 2014)

Thanks kim and everyone else who has chipped in (pun intended). I'm by no means an experienced turner, ive only been at it a couple of months so I've still got a lot to learn but after posting this thread I've certainly learnt a thing or two about yew and laburnum thats for sure 

Thanks again


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## Grahamshed (27 Jan 2014)

What surprises me is the amount of 'things' we are seeing turned from Yew. This is probably purely in my head but to me Yew are huge old trees found in ancient cemataries and churchyards but rarely anywhere else. Obviously not true but where is all this yew coming from ?


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## Random Orbital Bob (27 Jan 2014)

It's hedges Graham....loads of Yew (old and big enough to turn) is found in ancient garden hedging as well as church yards etc so there is a reasonable supply. Also if you visit any ancient castle (Warwick) for example, the grounds are riddled with the stuff as it was used in long bow making. Generally the stuff you get isn't that thick in girth mind so you tend to see more between centre turnings than bigger bowls. Goblets, candlesticks etc....lanky stuff that's turned along the grain.

Keep yer eyes on this months turning contest for another long, thin piece of Yew from my stable


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## Grahamshed (27 Jan 2014)

Ahhh. I will have to keep my eyes open for that. Must find a site / book with pictures so I will recognise it


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## Random Orbital Bob (27 Jan 2014)

LOL


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