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Banksia Nut projects

A

Art Deboo

Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
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Location
Cavan Ontario Canada
I am searching for ideas for projects turned from Banksia Nuts.
I have turned the basic type projects such as, Christmas ornaments, clocks, hollow forms, tea lights, and shallow bowls using the length of the nut turned on its side.
I am looking for perhaps a more challenging type of project and would enjoy seeing what others have created from these nuts.
Thanks Art
 
I don't have many photos on this computer but I'll see what I have. I made some goblet stems with them. They are pretty solid in the center so you could make them thinner.
I slice one into 1/4" thick slices and then glued them together. I glued this to a hand mirror blank and then filled the spaces with Black Inlace.
I experimented with bleaching Banksia. It bleaches quite well so I dyed it turquoise and turned a little Tagua nut pearl for the top.
Making boxes is a little tricky because you can't cut into it anywhere that you don't hit one of the seed voides. I either add ring insert made from solid wood or I fill the void with epoxy before making the lid and body lips.
 

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Yea, it was fun and easy to do. Just glue the Banksia pod to some scrap wood. I use a 2x4. I glue it so at least some of the pod is on the table. Then I just use the fence on first cut with the 2x4 against the fence. For the next cuts I set it for 1/4" put the Bansksia against the fence.
What really looks good is to cut the Banksia at about a 45 degree angle of even more angle. The central part (what we would think of as pith in wood) has some really cool patterns when cut at an angle. I don't know what I've done with the photos of the pieces I did like that. They may be back as far as film days. The would be BD (before Digital)
 
I like the idea of the angle cuts even more. I'll have to experiment a little. Thanks for the tip, John.
 
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