AWGB Woodturning Forum

Damn-it now I am going to have to do that for my granddaughter! laminates are quite fun aren't they.

In case anyone has Harry Potter fans to satisfy this is an actual elder wand (ask a fan!).  That is the wood is real dried elder from the garden (white and hard and works well, albeit with a weak pith centre that I have removed).  The phoenix feather core is more improvised, though it is a real core that goes right through.  It is a glued sandwich (obviously before turning) of yellow, red & orange pre-dyed veneer (but phoenixes are hard to come by, and probably do not like having their feathers removed!).  I have made these before but this one has an overcoat of 'iridescent' blue paint before the final superglue finish.  The handle is stained black and I have used a small brass cap at the handle end.  The paint is an experiment that confers a certain magic - it is fairly translucent but does dull the veneer colour (you can see the unpainted colour on the end). The blue looks more spectacular on the handle but is similar in fact.

Turning is straightforward.  I have seen much more elaborate designs but the core is new I think.

as some of you suspect this is not a wood but is in fact a Monocot, specifically this is Cocus nucifera more commonly called red palm.


easy to remember the palms chaps as they look nothing like wood...

Some of the eucalyptus I have worked in the past has had a similar fibrous structure, as indeed do various palms. One other potential clue is the fine shavings fell upwards to the air filter, very light weight.

Still nice ring box from very cheap bits of timber at the end of the day, though I should have turned the box insert the other way round. Got late today so will finish polishing it tomorrow.

Agree with David  as a Zoom user no problems with talk over etc max I have had is 37 but for a 1 hour brief all able to contribute with Q & A  and its not rocket science to set up.