SOLVED by a Texan: Norfolk Pine

[CHARLIE]

What kind of tree is the tall one?  Tom, if you know, hold off a bit. If ya don't know, have at it. It's the only picture I have, so don't ask for closeups.
HINT: KiwiCharlie probably knows this one.

 

[Texas Ranger]

Norfolk Pine

[Tom]

Yep I'm pretty sure I know.  I have sawed them and have some of othe wood out in the Barn.  That picture may not get too many correct answers without some hints.  Like a weed tree in S. Florida.

[CHARLIE]

Sheesh! My first time and y'all got it right in less than 5 minutes!   You're right, it is a Norfolk Pine which originally came from the Norfolk Islands around New Zealand. This particular pine tree is located on Hutchinson Island off of Fort Pierce, Florida. Story is that a man thought they would make good sailboat mast, but after bringing them to Florida, he found the wood wasn't strong enough. Right now, wood from the Norfolk Pine is popular with woodturners. At the 2001 AAW Symposium there was a man from Florida selling chunks of it from $20 on up to over $100+ depending on the size. Here is a picture of how it looks turned. The turners are turning it end grain so the 'ray' of knots show around the vessel.

The tallest one of these vessels is 4' and the walls were turned so thin that you could see light through them.  

[Tom]

I have to go saw one in the next few days down in Baldwin, Fl.  A man was given a 10 ft. length of one from someone down south as partial payment for a debt.  He doesn't know what he will use it for but had heard that the multitude of small limbs made for some pretty boards.  It's not often we see anything like this up here in North Florida.  I think it will grow but nobody grows it.

I'm going to try to talk him out of  a board or two but wish I could get the whole log.  He really wants me there to cut some cedar and pine so he may not care if he has the Norfolk Island pine or not.  I'll see.  I wonder if I got the slabs from him if they may be useful as glued-up bowl blanks.  Hmmmmmmm.

Pretty bowls Charlie

[CHARLIE]

Tom, I think you would lose the affect if you glued up some Norfolk Pine boards for a bowl blank. What turners are doing is mounting a log on the lathe and doing endgrain turning to create the bowl or vessel. Of course the bigger the log, the bigger the lathe you have to have. Try to talk him out of a couple of chunks of log. Keep one for yourself and give one to Mr Shippey.  

[Texas Ranger]

Charlie, it was a wild stab.  Florida is the only place I have seen the Norfolk as a full sized tree.  We can't grow them here in Texas for some reason, but I recognized what I thought was the right limb pattern.

Got lucky, is what I did.

[Texas Ranger]

Beautiful bowls!  Would be worth the effort to grow them just for that.  I do a little turning, and spalted magnolia has seen my best efforts.

[Tom]

Your pretty cotton-pickin' lucky if you guessed that from the limb configuration in that picture.  I'd say that was some mighty handy deductive reasoning.

Show us some of your bowls

[CHARLIE]

I get a big kick out of planing down a rough board or turning a log destined for the fireplace and seeing the beautiful grain that pops out. Sorta like opening a Christmas gift. I imagine sawing a tree into boards is much the same thing.