Name that wood....part 3

[British Red]

We've had some fun on previous threads discussing what particular logs that the lovely local tree surgeons bring us might be.

These two I absolutely know what they are. There are bragging rights available for the person who gets BOTH species

Firewood by English Countrylife, on Flickr

Firewood by English Countrylife, on Flickr

Red

 

[lou1661]

Yew and holly?

 

[British Red]

Well that didn't last long

Spot on mate! Too nice to burn though. I'll put the big bits to one side for a wood worker friend

 

[baggins]

Aw, beat me to it. Need to make it tougher than that BR.

 

[Stew]

Yeah, too easy that one!

 

[British Red]

Surprisingly lovely wood to rock up in the firewood pile though - particularly two on the same drop.

I never realised quite how dense Holly is!

 

[Kadushu]

Someone gave me a well seasoned length of holly to turn on my lathe and it was probably the hardest wood I've ever encountered. Incredibly dense too.

 

[lou1661]

Well that didn't last long

Spot on mate! Too nice to burn though. I'll put the big bits to one side for a wood worker friend

It’s nice to pass interesting timber on to those who make the best of it, that said it would keep you warm!

 

[British Red]

Someone gave me a well seasoned length of holly to turn on my lathe and it was probably the hardest wood I've ever encountered. Incredibly dense too.

I was amazed at the density, a 3' long, 12" diameter log is seriously heavy!

 

[British Red]

It’s nice to pass interesting timber on to those who make the best of it, that said it would keep you warm!

I'm lucky that we are given many lorry loads of hardwood. We live in a lovely area were neighbourliness still counts for more than money. Passing on the interesting stuff to someone who will make something lovely from them seems fitting.

 

[Robson Valley]

ASAP, paint the cut ends of the logs. The correct concept is to try to slow down the rate of water loss from the ends so that it's more like the rate of water loss form the sides.

You can use wood sealer. You can use junk paint, glue, whatever. Anything to seal the ends.

Outdoors, under cover and not cooked in a closed shed, wood dries down to an equilibrium moisture content of about 12 - 15% The rate is about an inch per year. So a 6" diameter stick (drying all around) ought to befit for carving in 3 years.

I fully expect to lose4-6" off each end, no matter what I do to try to prevent cracking.

I'm sure the situation is identical in the UK = some species, you cut it today and carve it tomorrow. Those woods go from cheese to bone as they dry. Alder is used here for masks, mostly. Carvers keep their work in a water barrel until almost finished.

Lots of turners speed things up a little by turning all kinds of "rough-outs" to sit and dry for year(s). (dry, shrinkages, cracks, etc). Then, they get set up again to finish the projects.

 

[Toddy]

Someone gave me a well seasoned length of holly to turn on my lathe and it was probably the hardest wood I've ever encountered. Incredibly dense too.

How did that work out ?
I had pieces of really long slow seasoned holly and they were turned into spindle whorls for me. Every one of them cracked. The quaich that was made from the larger piece also split.
A greenwood worked said to me previously, about a greenwood whorl he'd just made for me, to soak it in a bucket of water, and keep it there for weeks or months just as it opened up, and then slowly dry it out .
I did that, but it too cracked.
Apparently it's renowned for doing so, for having a large shrinkage issue.
I know that it was used for small pieces in furniture, like piano keys, but I don't know anyone who's managed to make something from it that hasn't cracked.

 

[Nice65]

According to the wood poem, Holly burns bright and long.

It can be turned without cracking, I’m not sure how this guy got the bowl here so thin, but it’s very dainty, only a few mm thick.

 

[British Red]

I'll.burn the crown, oddments and bits. I may keep a single straight limb for playing with but will pass the trunk on to someone with more talent

 

[Toddy]

I think that's a rather dark looking holly bowl. Pretty bowl though, nice shape
My spindle whorls, cracked though they be, are very white. So are the lace making bobbins, though they haven't split. I believe they were done from a radially split branch though, so maybe the turner just used the best bit from the cracked lengths... he's long gone unfortunately, but his beautiful work endures

 

[Kadushu]

How did that work out ?
I had pieces of really long slow seasoned holly and they were turned into spindle whorls for me. Every one of them cracked. The quaich that was made from the larger piece also split.
A greenwood worked said to me previously, about a greenwood whorl he'd just made for me, to soak it in a bucket of water, and keep it there for weeks or months just as it opened up, and then slowly dry it out .
I did that, but it too cracked.
Apparently it's renowned for doing so, for having a large shrinkage issue.
I know that it was used for small pieces in furniture, like piano keys, but I don't know anyone who's managed to make something from it that hasn't cracked.

After sitting under a bench for years it was ultimately used for firewood IIRC. Regarding cracking, I've tried soaking cracked cherry wood with no success. If it wants to crack then there's no stopping it!

 

[Toddy]

I know folks who stabilise the timber with PEG, and that seems to work for a lot of them.
It didn't seem to work on the holly though. My Uncle had a bucket of PEG in his workshop that he soaked turning blanks in, and one of my holly pieces went into the bucket. It still cracked.
We were kind of annoyed because holly is a beautiful tight grained white wood. My bobbins are still white even after years of aging.
Sod's law sometimes.

 

[Robson Valley]

I find it hard to believe that shallow bowl is holly. The thickness has to be done in stages = rough out turning then dry for a year+ then finish. Might be the only one of 20 which didn't crack.

The entire genus of holly species (Ilex sp) have snow white wood. English Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is a common plantation here in southern BC, valued for it's density as axle shaft bearings in corrosive atmospheres where steel fails (pulp mill digesters).

 

[TLM]

I have seen coffee cups made out of birch about 1.5-2 mm thick. No splits, apparently they were soaked in brine solution before being let dry.

That would prevent splitting by keeping a lot of moisture in the wood, same effect as with using PEG.

An other option would be leaching with a ketone, like MEK or acetone.

 

[Nice65]

I think that's a rather dark looking holly bowl. Pretty bowl though, nice shape
My spindle whorls, cracked though they be, are very white. So are the lace making bobbins, though they haven't split. I believe they were done from a radially split branch though, so maybe the turner just used the best bit from the cracked lengths... he's long gone unfortunately, but his beautiful work endures

It was much whiter than that, very pale when I first got it. It must be over thirty years old now and has been much handled.

Whether it truly is Holly or not I’ve no way of knowing, but it was hand picked for me by my dad at a stall at his town market. The bark looks right.

I suppose I could always phone and see if the turner is still about.