Iroko no go (well nearly)

[big soft moose]

hi folks

had a bit of a mare tonight - last week i found a plank of tropical hardwood (Iroko i believe) in a skip (part of a door i think) and thought ahh i can make some nice little dishes out of that.

turned the first blank tonight and well , hard ...its like fliping concrete - it just would not cut with a bowl gouge or a parrting tool - even a freshly sharpened gouge taking a very slight cut - no not happening.

next i tried my kel mcnaughton system - this cut a little but man it was hard work - i managed to use the straight blade to true the edge to round but i had to sharpen it twice just to do that.

Eventually i resorted to round nosed scrapers and just sanded out the attendant end grain tearing with 40 grit - but it still took the best part of three hours to do what would normally take a third of that.

at the end of all that its a nice little bowl showing a decent grain pattern and lovely and smooth (after power sanding 40,80,120 then hand sanding 180,240,320,400). I will post a pic when my digital camera battery has recharged.

i have another two blanks to play with so i wondered if anyone has any advice of ways to make iroko easier to turn or any tips on what tooling is best.

cheers

Pete

 

[CHJ]

I somehow doubt that it is Iroko you have got hold of there Pete.
All the dreaded stuff I have handled is easily whittled with a penknife.

Does it splinter easily?

 

[big soft moose]

Does it splinter easily?

oh yes - particularly on the reverse face when i got as far as that - splintered to buggery - i had to rechuck it on both sides to get an acceptable edge (again using the kel system straight blade.)

like i said i dont really know what it is as its out of a skip - its a close grained hard wood and is a 6" wide plank with morticed ends - like you would find in a panel door.

I said iroko because i used to have a door made out of that and it looks similar. It definitely isnt mahogany or hyedua but beyond that i'm clueless - i'll get a pic up tommorow and see if anyone can tell me what it is

 

[sooty]

I too doubt if it is Iroko. I have turned platters and a cake stand out of Iroko and it cuts very well and finishes beautifully.

Phil

 

[cornucopia]

i don't know what it is, but that doesnt sound like an enjoyable 3 hours to me.

 

[loz]

Doesn't sound like Iroko, I have a few pieces and it works like a dream,



Can you find it in here ??

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/

 

[big soft moose]

update to this - it defintely isnt iroko - Ive shown the unturned bit to several "experts" including the bloke at our local timber supplier and the feeling is that it is probably sapelle

no photos of the bowl in question unfortunately as it is with swimbo (and at present we dont live together - wedding is in march)

 

[hpl]

Sapele is also easy to turn, probably easier than Iroko. Could it be Teak? Iroko is used as a substitute for teak and teak is very abrasive, dulls the tools so quickly, especially on faceplate work. I've found that turning the speed down helps quite a bit. It still dulls the tools quickly though. What sort of diameter and speed are you using?

A picture would help.

Johnny B

 

[big soft moose]

I'll get a snap next time i see swimbo (like i said the bowl isnt here anymore) - I suppose it could be teak - i dont normally turn tropicals so its all greek to me, the only thing is that it was out of an old door (out of a skip) would teak have been used for doors ?

it was about 6" dia (initially by the time i'd buggerd up a couple of times the resultant bowl is more like 4" dia) and i had the lathe on 2000rpm ( I think)

 

[hpl]

I'm only guessing, and I'd have thought that 2000 on a 4-6" bowl should be ok. From memory I was turning larger dia but probably more like 1500 rpm. I'm probably entirely wrong on the teak thing.
I've heard of teak being used for pallets where teak is common, so a door, maybe? Sapele would be more likely for a door but it shouldn't be hard to turn.

 

[big soft moose]

I'm only guessing, and I'd have thought that 2000 on a 4-6" bowl should be ok. From memory I was turning larger dia but probably more like 1500 rpm. I'm probably entirely wrong on the teak thing.
I've heard of teak being used for pallets where teak is common, so a door, maybe? Sapele would be more likely for a door but it shouldn't be hard to turn.

I did wonder if it had been treated with something which might make it harder ? or maybe it was just very old and dry ? I dunno. However i wont be in a hurry to turn the other bits as i can think of more enjoyable ways to spend three hours plus

 

[woodfarmer]

I know this is a very old topic that I have come across, but I wonder if the wood in question might be Keruin (spelling may be off).

 

[blackrodd]

I have only seen Keruing(?) used for cills on door frames, which is normally a real "rot" area.
Absolute murder to work as it is VERY gritty and i believe a member of the teak family. (or possibly steel)!
Half a dozen 6' lengths would wreck any hss blades. Regards Rodders

 

[KimG]

I was thinking teak too, blunts HSS tools like nothing else I've turned, but it isn't that hard or brittle, so Keruing or something else is more likely perhaps.

 

[boysie39]

:roll: :roll: try a magnet on it :roll: :roll: :mrgreen:

 

[woodfarmer]

I have only seen Keruing(?) used for cills on door frames, which is normally a real "rot" area.
Absolute murder to work as it is VERY gritty and i believe a member of the teak family. (or possibly steel)!
Half a dozen 6' lengths would wreck any hss blades. Regards Rodders

I have used it on boats as a cheap substitute for teak.

Quite soft and pliable when compared to greenheart