turning magnolia and green wood storing questions
Aaron
I'm very new here. So new that I don't even have my lathe yet. I'm still
trying to make the decision, but I think it will come down to one of the
mini/midi lathes.
Anyway, I was over at my Mom's house this weekend and she cut down a
magnolia tree. I got a bunch of pretty good sized branches and most of the
trunk. I didn't know if this makes good turning wood or not. The grain
pattern, especially in the trunk, looked pretty interesting.
So I guess my questions are: Does Magnolia make good turning wood? Is there
anything I need to go do keep this wood "green"? Or will storing the
freshly cut wood in my garage until I get a lathe be ok?
Thanks, Aaron
Ecnerwal
> anything I need to go do keep this wood "green"? Or will storing the
> freshly cut wood in my garage until I get a lathe be ok?
If the garage is good and cold, that will be fine. Freezing does keep
wood pretty well green. If the garage is heated, store the wood outside.
If outside is not frozen, you might need to do something else to the
wood, depending on how long you'll be fiddling about getting a lathe.
I have not turned magnolia, but practically any wood is good to turn,
moreso if it looks interesting.
Lyn J. Mangiameli
Magnolia is great wood to turn. Though usually light colored, it can
develop a mottle tan/grey appearance that some turners don't care much
for, and other turners think is quite appealing. If you go to the WOW
site and look under my name, you will find a picture of what this can
look like in a finished bowl.
You want to coat the ends of the logs as soon as you can to slow the
moisture loss and reduce severe cracking. A wax emulsion like Anchor
Seal (available through most of the major woodturning suppliers under
one name or another) is my preferance, but you can use melted parafin,
paint, or even a thinned glue mixture--the issue is to create a moisture
barrier. If the logs are very long, you can probably leave them intact
and just cut off the ends when it comes time, if they are shorter
rounds, you should try to cut (or split) them in half through the pith,
or even quarter them if you think halves will be much larger than your
future lathe will handle. This again will greatly reduce splits that
would ruin the wood (basically most splits occur because the outer
portions of the log lose water and shrink faster then the inner
sections, when the outer sections have shrunk around what is now a
larger core, they split). The higher the humidity, the lower the air
temperature, and the longer the log, the slower will be the water loss
and the more time you have to take preventative measures and/or use up
the wood. In places like Arizona in the summer, you have don't even have
hours, while western Washington in the winter can be very tolerant of delay.
There's much more to be said, but this will provide a start and others
will surely give thoughts of theri own.
Lyn
Leo Lichtman
Ecnerwal wrote: (clip) Does Magnolia make good turning wood?
************
Yes. I have seen some very attractive turnings in magnolia, including
wearable hats.
************
Is there anything I need to go do keep this wood "green"?
If you have a chainsaw, cut the logs lengthwise down the center (through the
pith) and then coat the ends with a sealer.
************
Or will storing the freshly cut wood in my garage until I get a lathe be
ok?
Probably, but don't wait too long. If you wait for this group to come to an
agreement on what you should buy, the wood will start to check first <BG>
Aaron
at Woodcraft this Saturday and maybe just pick up the Jet mini lathe at the
same time. I guess all of the similar models (General, Delta, and Jet) will
be pretty similar, and I guess the Jet will be as good as any.
I'm in Florida, so maybe the high humidity will help keep the wood moist
until I can get to this.
Here's a pic of the wood I got. Again, I had no idea what to pick out, I
just thought these looked interesting. The longest piece is about 4 feet,
and the trunk piece in back is about 18" high and 6-7" in diameter.
http://home.tampabay.rr.com/reef/DSCN1366.JPG
Oh, on a side note, any one know where to get a good deal on a Sorby turning
kit that has everything a beginner needs at a good price?
Thanks!
Aaron
"Aaron" <amheck...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
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Owen Lowe
"Aaron" <amheck...@attglobal.net> wrote:
> So I guess my questions are: Does Magnolia make good turning wood? Is there
> anything I need to go do keep this wood "green"? Or will storing the
> freshly cut wood in my garage until I get a lathe be ok?
I think it's a wonderful beginner wood in the green - the ribbons will
just fly off the tools.
My philosophy on woods is, if it's free, its worth turning. What's the
worst that can happen? I'll tell you - you have to shovel the pile of
shavings off the floor - on the plus side, you'll get great experience
with all sorts of woods and learn ways to work around and solve
difficult characteristics like tearout, fuzzing, etc.
After my stint at turning magnolia, I'm one of those Lyn mentioned as
not caring for the end appearance of the wood. It lost the even cream
color and turned a grayish mottled. It would be good to paint or stain,
but that's not generally to my liking. For those looking for a whitish,
fine grained material, scavange some Horse Chestnut - beautiful and
very similar to Holly.
_____
Member AAW Chapters:
Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon
Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon
_____
Kip055
>magnolia tree. I got a bunch of pretty good sized branches and most of the
>trunk. I didn't know if this makes good turning wood or not.
Magnolia turns well. It spalts nicely, you might think about covering some of
it and keeping it in a warm damp place to try and induce spalting.
Kip Powers
Rogers, AR
Tony Manella
I'm not a big fan of the finished color of magnolia either, but the magnolia
I have turned is deciduous not evergreen so your wood may be different. The
magnolia I turned was very pale with almost no growth rings visible. It got
the ugly blue stain spalt in a very short time, even though it was stored
out in the cold during winter. It does turn very well when green so it is
great for practice.
Tony Manella
http://home.ptd.net/~ndd1/
Lehigh Valley Woodturners
http://www.lehighvalleywoodturners.org/
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