Moyo,
I got some holly a few months back. I've found that to keep that pure white
color you need to turn to finished shape while green. To keep it from
cracking you will need to turn it thin. Of course it will warp then, but I
haven't found any other way to keep the beautiful white color. I tried
putting the fresh cut wood right into our freezer and it still got the blue
stain within a month. For a finish I prefer Krylon Matte Finish which I
then buff with the Beal system.
Tony Manella
ndd1"at"prolog.net (remove "at")
http://home.ptd.net/~ndd1/
Lehigh Valley Woodturners
http://www.lehighvalleywoodturners.org/

"moyo" wrote in message
news
Turned a really pretty "object" the other day out of fresh cut Nellie
Steven's holly. The object was a cross between a bowl with high sides
and a goblet without a handle...pretty much a "whachamacallit". Now,
being an accomplished whachamacallit turner, I'd like to ask another
turner what they would do to the wood prior to turning to insure
against cracking. I told my SWMBO that the object was going to crack
and it did.

moyo