Owen Lowe wrote:

In article ,
"Dr. Deb" wrote:

Anyone ever turned magnolia. I have a piece from the root ball and was
wondering how it would turn.

Hi Doc. The Magnolia I've turned has been rather blonde, fine grained
and *easy* to turn (at least while green). The one piece on my desk - a
pencil cup - has turned a light brown (oil/varnish finish) with a
moderate growth ring deliniation. This piece contains the pith in the
1/4" thick bottom and doesn't show any signs of cracking. The wood took
the fillets next to the top and bottom beads very cleanly.

http://users.easystreet.com/onlnlowe/misc/magnol.pencilcup.JPG

My only problem with it was that it seemed to iron stain very easily-
made blue/black smudges - clean the tools and your hands before touching
the bare, damp wood.

I enjoyed shooting the ribbons off the blank with a roughing gouge - had
fun just seeing how far I could make them go - and how long I could get
one unbroken (I bet it was at least 10' but maybe even up to 20' or so).

_____
American Association of Woodturners
Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon
Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon
_____


Thanks Owen, can't wait until tomorrow when I can try it for myself.

Deb