Holly wood - any good?

[Wizard9999]

So, is Holly wood any good (please no comments about the supriority of European film noir to American made blockbusters)? If so, what for? And also, how big would the trunk of a Holly have to be before it would yield any wood worth using?

Terry.

 

[Mike G]

You don't need much of it to make one of these:

http://www.johnmakepeacefurniture.com/john-makepeace-furniture-designer-maker-millennium-chair.html

 

[Wizard9999]

Yet to look at your link Mike as we were typing at the same time, but in part I may have answered my own question, just had a recollection that Rob had used Holly in his Nakashima box. Found his thread and yes, that was what he used for the divders.

Anyway, I am now the proud owner of a roughly 2m x 200mm diameter Holly trunk for the princely sum of nothing more than being polite to the tree surgeons working next door. From what Rob said it sounds like I need to get my bandsaw up and running soon so I can do something with it. But as it is not up and running yet, how long is it safe for me to leave it in full trunk form?

Then, based on Rob's thread I can then look forward to a display of contemporary dance over the next twelve months :eusa-dance: :lol: .

Terry.

 

[Rob]

Holly is highly sought after by Turners Terry. It's a very blonde wood , almost an iridescent quality about it. Absolutely beautiful and very tight grained so good for retaining detail too.

It's a bit of a splitter though so until you get the bandsaw up and running you need to leave the bark on and paint the ends with pva or emulsion or wax. Anything that will slow down the moisture loss. You need to do that right now! Holly can start splitting within 10 minutes of felling!

Keep it in the round for now, paint the ends and place it in the coolest, most out of the sun place you can find (your garage would be ideal). Summer cut wood is even more prone to radial cracking due to the additional heat so it needs attention straight away.

 

[Rob]

This finial and dish are Holly in this lidded bowl with the lid walnut. Holly often gets used when turners want a strong contrast between light and dark, such are it's "pure" white wood qualities. This piece isn't that great as an example of holly in fact. The grain is clearly visible, the finial was tighter grained. But in real life it almost glows. It truly is a delightful wood and one of my favourites.

 

[Wizard9999]

Holly is highly sought after by Turners Terry. It's a very blonde wood , almost an iridescent quality about it. Absolutely beautiful and very tight grained so good for retaining detail too.

If only I knew somebody who did wood turning :lol: .

It's a bit of a splitter though so until you get the bandsaw up and running you need to leave the bark on and paint the ends with pva or emulsion or wax. Anything that will slow down the moisture loss. You need to do that right now! Holly can start splitting within 10 minutes of felling!

Done, ends now painted a lovely shade of white, I even paited over a couple of bits on the trunk where the the bark was coming off. No visible signs of any splitting yet. I actually have a bit more than I thought as the 2m section if the main part of the trunk before it split into two, amongst the skinny bit of ash I 'secured' for fire wood there were also what look like the two upper sections of trunk from above where it split.

Keep it in the round for now, paint the ends and place it in the coolest, most out of the sun place you can find (your garage would be ideal). Summer cut wood is even more prone to radial cracking due to the additional heat so it needs attention straight away.

Now, that may be the only issue. It took the tree surgeon and his mate to lift it and as I look across the kitchen table SWMBO is not looking that strong!

Terry.

 

[Rob]

:lol:

Are you coming out for a beer with me, Phil and Ian tonight? If you are I could nip over and we can move it together if you like. Dunno what time we're going....

If only you knew a wood turner

 

[chataigner]

Lovely wood for banding/stringing, the very light colour contrasts well with just about anything.

 

[Woodbloke]

I bought a couple of freshly felled bits in the round from Stourhead around Feb 2013, and converted them immediately into roughly 20mm boards on my big bandsaw. Not recommended :twisted: btw as the wet sawdust drastically affected the tracking and I ended up breaking a blade.

However, once both were converted they were strapped up righty-tighty with a couple of webbing clamps on each stack and placed somewhere nice and cool....but they still warped, twisted and split like a breakdancing zombie on ecstasy.

That said, once all the warping and splitting and bending was out of it's little system, what was left was fantastic. Hard, very pale grained and stable so I've got a nice little stash ready for more boxes. The last thing I made with it was this:



...Japanese style panel gauge, with a standard one side by side to show a size comparison.

It's lovely stuff, but comes with several very large caveats - Rob

 

[Wizard9999]

Most helpful Rob. Fingers crossed that out of the whole trunk there'll be something useable.

Terry.

 

[Dalboy]

A little late but. Holly is great for turning especially for fine detail the finial on this box is holly
Same box different finials both holly