Richard Raffan turns spalted wood unknown to him.

[@firebeard]

Your talking through how to cut the bead on the underside was very helpful, thank you. My lathe is in an open fronted shed, it was snowing here when i woke up this morning so I am waiting for the day to warm up a little before i go out to do some practice.

[@jorisdemoel3821]

You may not have clue what the wood is, it is a very nice bowl with interesting figure, and the nifty tricks make it extra worth watching. Thanks for another amusing and educational video.

[@NBCRGraphicDesign]

Here for the lingo, as well as the turning..... "I pushed too hard and CLEAVED out that center .. " Please never change!! Thanks for letting us look over your shoulder and sharing your thoughts with us along the way.

[@Ethan-gy1dx]

Thank you Richard!

[@Mckmake]

Masterclass!

[@kenvasko2285]

Always fun to watch but more fun when I do it!

[@Phil_Cleaver]

Richard, we are sharing the same source material. I have a very similar piece that I believe is plane tree from Campbell along Blamey Cres. It even has the same blue staining.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm prety cerftain it isn't plane. I turned tonnes of that in the '70s.

[@barbaralester5344]

For what it's worth, the blue staining is the result of Beetle kill, which occurs in pine in Colorado. Maybe its caused by the same process in Australia.

[@michaelmcdermott2178]

I'd call it Lovely Wood, once you'd finished with it. Thanks!

[@mikecanfield8541]

Given the relatively thin bark and lenticels, along with relatively light color and fine grain, I should think this wood is birch or related. Is that likely in your part of the world, Mr. Raffan?

[@KelvinARobinson]

Looks like Norfolk Island Pine to me.

[@Winterbourne_Workshop]

As soon as I saw the wood I thought sycamore but not sure if it’s grown in Australia.

[@kirkbruce8]

Looks like Cottonwood. Cottonwood typically has that blue stain and fuzzy grain.

[@KelvinARobinson]

So does Norfolk Island Pine

[@MarklTucson]

Very interesting to see how you addressed this unknown piece of wood. Is there ever any advantage to flattening the bottom before turning the piece round? It seems like that would make rounding a piece like this easier because the bottom would then be more smooth and less bouncing would occur. ... or does that not work well because one doesn't have a good handle on what the overall diameter will be?

[@totterdell91]

The bark looked a lot like birch

[@sorenstruckman9516]

Or aspen. The staining and thick inner bark make me think that's more likely. If it is also very soft.

[@jonathanives2196]

If you were in Europe I'd say it was white poplar (from the bark pattern)

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

A possibility.

[@emgiwoodworks]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Poplar would be my guess as well from what I've seen. If it really is Poplar it would have to be a fairly soft wood, a bit brittle, light in weight and while turning it smells somewhat 'sweet'.