Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut "twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than 1 1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it, it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Hi Mac

I have three magnolia bowls in process right now. I have not noticed a
whole lot of difference in the wood from other species with one notable
exception. Since this is the first time I have ever turned magnolia, I have
no idea whether it is this particular tree, or magnolia in general, but the
wood has the distinct smell of rotting fish. I don't mean just a whiff
either, I mean strong enough to turn my stomach while turning. If this were
not a commission job from customer supplied wood, it would be in the burn
pile for sure.

--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad
"mac davis" wrote in message
...
Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch
wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut
"twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than 1
1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it
was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a
few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now
and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it,
it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

I used to live on the Texas Gulf Coast and worked a fair amount of
magnolia: the dead fish smell is not, in my experience, normal - even
with stuff that I kept warm and damp to induce spalting. Mac's
observation about sanding is correct, the stuff tends to be on the
fuzzy side. IIRC, reversing during sanding helped some, but the woood
did require more patience than most.

Kip Powers
Rogers, AR

Mac,
I have turned a few pieces from yards here in SoCal. I enjoyed it and
did not experience the dead fish smell Bill refers to. I found that if I
turned it immediately it maintained a creamy color. However, in a matter
of days dark splotches started to appear in the blanks left behind.
After a while the whole thing was an unattractive (to me) dark brown.
So, turn it quick and let it dry to stop whatever is going on inside it.
David

mac davis wrote:
Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut "twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than 1 1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it, it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Don't know what is going on there. I live in Texas and we have a lot
of Magnolia. It is fun to turn green and has all sorts of surprises
sometimes hidden in the wood. Seems stable with proper technique and
care after turning.

Never yet has it stunk. Maybe it isn't Magnolia.... possible?

It becomes hard and brittle after drying, and tends to be difficult to
turn.

Robert

Robert

Kip and Robert

Thanks for your replies. I see both of you refer to TX magnolia. I am in
eastern PA, and even if it is the same species, growing conditions are going
to be different. It is not a wood that I encounter often, and it does not
have a lot of interest in it, at least compared to what I am used to with
all the maple, cherry and walnut we have here, but I would give it another
try if I get the chance - holding my nose just in case!

--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad
wrote in message
ups.com...
Don't know what is going on there. I live in Texas and we have a lot
of Magnolia. It is fun to turn green and has all sorts of surprises
sometimes hidden in the wood. Seems stable with proper technique and
care after turning.

Never yet has it stunk. Maybe it isn't Magnolia.... possible?

It becomes hard and brittle after drying, and tends to be difficult to
turn.

Robert

Robert

One thing to consider here is that there are two basic types of magnolia.
The type that is usually found where Bill and I live is deciduous (looses
its leaves each fall). I don't know where Mac lives but those turners in
Texas, California and other southern locals may be turning the evergreen
type. I have turned some of the deciduous but never the evergreen. That
may make a difference. The magnolia I have turned had some bad smell but
not as bad as Bill's. My experience with the wood is the same as the others
here. Its fuzzy turned green, dries fairly stable and starts turning brown
in the log pretty quick.
Tony Manella

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch
wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut
"twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than 1
1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it
was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a
few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now
and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it,
it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Tue, 03 May 2005 13:06:24 GMT, "Bill Grumbine"
wrote:

Kip and Robert

Thanks for your replies. I see both of you refer to TX magnolia. I am in
eastern PA, and even if it is the same species, growing conditions are going
to be different. It is not a wood that I encounter often, and it does not
have a lot of interest in it, at least compared to what I am used to with
all the maple, cherry and walnut we have here, but I would give it another
try if I get the chance - holding my nose just in case!

Bill.. no fish smell here, either..
I have to point out that there are a LOT of types of Magnolia...
We tried to find out what type ours was a few years ago.. the more we looked
into it, the more confusing it got...

If it helps, we're in central Calif. and the type of magnolia here are the ones
that are typically trimmed to the "lollypop" or "ball on a stick" look.. about
40' high and has leaves all year..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Mon, 02 May 2005 13:20:50 -0700, David Wade wrote:

Mac,
I have turned a few pieces from yards here in SoCal. I enjoyed it and
did not experience the dead fish smell Bill refers to. I found that if I
turned it immediately it maintained a creamy color. However, in a matter
of days dark splotches started to appear in the blanks left behind.
After a while the whole thing was an unattractive (to me) dark brown.
So, turn it quick and let it dry to stop whatever is going on inside it.
David

thanks, David... since we're near Fresno, there's a chance that it was the same
species of magnolia..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Mac, nothing around here keeps its leaves all year round except conifers,
andI don't turn that stuff. ;-) Of course, there is tulip magnolia,
comonly called poplar, and I turn a lot of that. If people don't mind what
they get and are on a tight budget, I suggest poplar. If they are on a
budget and picky, then I suggest tulip magnolia.

The varieties of magnolia remind me of trying to find out what kind of ash I
got a while back. I did not get to see any leaves, and I am not sure it
would have helped. I narrowed it down to - get this - black ash, white ash,
BLUE ash, green ash, and of all things Oregon ash, all common in PA
according to the book I had!

--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad
"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 03 May 2005 13:06:24 GMT, "Bill Grumbine"
wrote:

Kip and Robert

Thanks for your replies. I see both of you refer to TX magnolia. I am in
eastern PA, and even if it is the same species, growing conditions are
going
to be different. It is not a wood that I encounter often, and it does not
have a lot of interest in it, at least compared to what I am used to with
all the maple, cherry and walnut we have here, but I would give it another
try if I get the chance - holding my nose just in case!

Bill.. no fish smell here, either..
I have to point out that there are a LOT of types of Magnolia...
We tried to find out what type ours was a few years ago.. the more we
looked
into it, the more confusing it got...

If it helps, we're in central Calif. and the type of magnolia here are the
ones
that are typically trimmed to the "lollypop" or "ball on a stick" look..
about
40' high and has leaves all year..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Hi Tony

This stuff turned pretty smoothly for me and it was very wet when I started.
It is drying out now, and I really hope that fish smell goes away. BTW, I
got an envelope from you yesterday - thanks for the note too!

--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad

"tony manella" wrote in message
...
One thing to consider here is that there are two basic types of magnolia.
The type that is usually found where Bill and I live is deciduous (looses
its leaves each fall). I don't know where Mac lives but those turners in
Texas, California and other southern locals may be turning the evergreen
type. I have turned some of the deciduous but never the evergreen. That
may make a difference. The magnolia I have turned had some bad smell but
not as bad as Bill's. My experience with the wood is the same as the
others here. Its fuzzy turned green, dries fairly stable and starts
turning brown in the log pretty quick.
Tony Manella

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch
wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut
"twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than
1 1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it
was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a
few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now
and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple
of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it,
it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Hi Mac

I have turned magnolia, I also have a "large" magnolia on my front lawn,
of course large by the standard of the magnolias that are able to
survive up here, and that is probably not the same one as yours.

Depending on who you believe, there are something like 100 to 200
species in the world, shrubs are included in these numbers.
There are about 10 native tree species in North America, if you include
the Anise tree and the yellow poplar, and al kinds of hybrids.

The one I have is the saucer magnolia, and the wood is very light
colored, and soft, turned ok, and I used it with the bark on for some
Christmas tree birdhouse ornaments, didn't have any crack on me.
People must have liked them, they sold every one of them, except the one
my LOML kept for our tree.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

mac davis wrote:

Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut "twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than 1 1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it, it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Tue, 03 May 2005 18:13:05 GMT, "Bill Grumbine"
wrote:

Mac, nothing around here keeps its leaves all year round except conifers,
andI don't turn that stuff. ;-) Of course, there is tulip magnolia,
comonly called poplar, and I turn a lot of that. If people don't mind what
they get and are on a tight budget, I suggest poplar. If they are on a
budget and picky, then I suggest tulip magnolia.

The varieties of magnolia remind me of trying to find out what kind of ash I
got a while back. I did not get to see any leaves, and I am not sure it
would have helped. I narrowed it down to - get this - black ash, white ash,
BLUE ash, green ash, and of all things Oregon ash, all common in PA
according to the book I had!

yep.. sort of like defining the species of oak or pine...
or fur?? we're about to head for the nearby forest and hunt turning and
firewood.. mostly pine and fir, with some redwood and sequoia..
The price is right, though... the permit was $60 and good for 10 cords.. lol



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Tue, 03 May 2005 22:12:57 -0400, Leo Van Der Loo
wrote:

Hi Mac

I have turned magnolia, I also have a "large" magnolia on my front lawn,
of course large by the standard of the magnolias that are able to
survive up here, and that is probably not the same one as yours.

Depending on who you believe, there are something like 100 to 200
species in the world, shrubs are included in these numbers.
There are about 10 native tree species in North America, if you include
the Anise tree and the yellow poplar, and al kinds of hybrids.

The one I have is the saucer magnolia, and the wood is very light
colored, and soft, turned ok, and I used it with the bark on for some
Christmas tree birdhouse ornaments, didn't have any crack on me.
People must have liked them, they sold every one of them, except the one
my LOML kept for our tree.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo


that sounds a lot like this wood, Leo...
of course, I only have small stuff from pruning it, but I played around and made
4 or 5 bench pegs tonight.. *g*

mac davis wrote:

Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut "twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than 1 1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it, it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
we're about to head for the nearby forest and hunt turning and
firewood.. mostly pine and fir, with some redwood and sequoia..
The price is right, though... the permit was $60 and good for 10 cords..
lol



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Boy, would I love to get a permit like that here! There are some state game
lands just about five miles from my parent's home, where I grew up. In
fact, I used to spend lots of time back there swimming at a great swimming
hole when I was a kid. But they are fairly stuffed with wild cherry trees,
and virtually every tree is covered with burls, some huge - like they would
take two men and a boy to carry off. Lots of these trees fall every year,
but touching the wood is verboten. Every time I drive by I think of the
operational difficulties of obtaining some of this wood. I would need black
ninja pajamas, night vision goggles, spotters with radios located several
hundred yards away in each direction of the road (so I could turn the saw
off if a car came along), and a place to park the truck out of sight. Maybe
we should organize something from our club! Of course with my luck, some
bureaucrat from the state is going to read this and think I am serious. The
next DVD will be filmed on how to make license plates on the lathe!

--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad

It's good to see your posts here again. I hope you two will be 'bring
backs' for other accomplished turners who were 'turned off'. No amnesty
needed!

I continue to believe that there is a place for a news group type
woodturning forum.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

"Bill Grumbine" wrote in message
...

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
we're about to head for the nearby forest and hunt turning and
firewood.. mostly pine and fir, with some redwood and sequoia..
The price is right, though... the permit was $60 and good for 10 cords..
lol



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Boy, would I love to get a permit like that here!

I don't know for sure, though I suspect that the permit is for "gathering,"
as it is here. Tops from logging and deadfall. Cutting? Verboten.

On Wed, 04 May 2005 13:26:06 GMT, "Bill Grumbine"
wrote:


"mac davis" wrote:
we're about to head for the nearby forest and hunt turning and
firewood.. mostly pine and fir, with some redwood and sequoia..
The price is right, though... the permit was $60 and good for 10 cords..
lol

Boy, would I love to get a permit like that here! There are some state game
lands just about five miles from my parent's home, where I grew up. In
fact, I used to spend lots of time back there swimming at a great swimming
hole when I was a kid. But they are fairly stuffed with wild cherry trees,
and virtually every tree is covered with burls, some huge - like they would
take two men and a boy to carry off. Lots of these trees fall every year,
but touching the wood is verboten. Every time I drive by I think of the
operational difficulties of obtaining some of this wood. I would need black
ninja pajamas, night vision goggles, spotters with radios located several
hundred yards away in each direction of the road (so I could turn the saw
off if a car came along), and a place to park the truck out of sight. Maybe
we should organize something from our club! Of course with my luck, some
bureaucrat from the state is going to read this and think I am serious. The
next DVD will be filmed on how to make license plates on the lathe!

Yeah, we've been thinking about getting one for years, for camping firewood..
now we can also go "blank hunting"
The permit is good until August and covers a lot of the 2 local parks, Kings
Canyon & Sequoia... fallen wood only, clean up your own mess, etc...

insert plug
Oh.. I bought another copy of your DVD today for one of my kid's birthday..
/insert plug



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mac davis wrote:

Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch
wood every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut
"twigs" and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been
more than 1 1/2" diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it
was green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a
few foot long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper
bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now
and so far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it,
it's cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing


IF it is Southern Magnolia, all you will get is a dead white bowl with about
as much interest as Black Gum.

IF, on the other hand, it is Japanese Magnolia (especially the root ball) it
is wonderful stuff to turn and comes out looking like old ivory with nice
grain patterns.

Learned this the hard way. Still have a lot of Southern Magnolia lying
around. Got it before I realized there was a difference.

Deb

Hi Bill,
Magnolia does turn nice when wet, dry its a little difficult but not too
bad. Again sorry the envelope took so long.
Tony

"Bill Grumbine" wrote in message
...
Hi Tony

This stuff turned pretty smoothly for me and it was very wet when I
started. It is drying out now, and I really hope that fish smell goes
away. BTW, I got an envelope from you yesterday - thanks for the note
too!

--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad

"tony manella" wrote in message
...
One thing to consider here is that there are two basic types of magnolia.
The type that is usually found where Bill and I live is deciduous (looses
its leaves each fall). I don't know where Mac lives but those turners in
Texas, California and other southern locals may be turning the evergreen
type. I have turned some of the deciduous but never the evergreen. That
may make a difference. The magnolia I have turned had some bad smell but
not as bad as Bill's. My experience with the wood is the same as the
others here. Its fuzzy turned green, dries fairly stable and starts
turning brown in the log pretty quick.
Tony Manella

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
Having a large magnolia tree in the front lawn, I burn a LOT of branch
wood
every year...

Since it's been too warm for a fire lately, i saw a stack of freshly cut
"twigs"
and put one on the lathe out of curiosity.. couldn't have been more than
1 1/2"
diameter and off the tree a week..

It seemed to turn ok and was very white.. didn't sand very well, but it
was
green.. *lol*

Anyway, I did a few spindles to decorate the kindling pile and turned a
few foot
long sections for "blanks for something", which I put in paper bags..

I've been watching the spindles in the kindling pile for 3 or 4 days now
and so
far no splitting or obvious warping.. weird..

Is this a common thing with magnolia, or did I just pick a lucky couple
of
branches??
If I turn green plum, almond, pine, etc. and don't immediately bag it,
it's
cracked badly by the next morning..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Thanks Arch. I always read, but I don't always have a lot to say...


--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad
"Arch" wrote in message
...
It's good to see your posts here again. I hope you two will be 'bring
backs' for other accomplished turners who were 'turned off'. No amnesty
needed!

I continue to believe that there is a place for a news group type
woodturning forum.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

"Dr. Deb" wrote in message
...
mac davis wrote:
SNIP
IF it is Southern Magnolia, all you will get is a dead white bowl with
about
as much interest as Black Gum.

IF, on the other hand, it is Japanese Magnolia (especially the root ball)
it
is wonderful stuff to turn and comes out looking like old ivory with nice
grain patterns.

Learned this the hard way. Still have a lot of Southern Magnolia lying
around. Got it before I realized there was a difference.

Deb
===========
Deb,
Sounds like good stock to practice painting, dying, gilding, etc.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX