Ivy

[Trefor]

Can you successfully turn seasoned or unseasoned ivy?

 

[Tris]

I've carved it when seasoned so don't see why it wouldn't turn. It moves a lot whilst drying

 

[dannyr]

interesting wood - very pliable as cut but can harden significantly when dry.

used for some Japanese tool handles, so impact resistant

 

[Nic Rhodes]

fine for pens, not tried bigger

 

[Trefor]

Thanks, I'll give it ago. It's been strangling a tree for several years, an is now about 4" in diameter.

 

[dannyr]

re "strangling trees" - ivy gets a bad press - yes there can be too much of it on a tree so it weighs it down but it doesn't actually strangle.

It's a great wildlife resource - birds nesting, hiding from predators, likewise butterflies, solitary bees etc overwinter and in autumn there are hundreds of bees and hoverflies taking nectar from our ivy hedge, right now the blackbirds are eating the berries.

It's a great plant - but two places you don't want too much of it - with very crumbly mortar and letting it get too high up walls and under slates etc -- easy answer - trim it, you don't need to eliminate it.

 

[Owd Jockey]

No problem turning it. I got a piece of ivy from a felled Alder that the Ivy had been strangling for years. This piece has been sitting underneath my lathe for about 3 years until I can find a use for it. Its never cracked. I did turn a small piece for the Knob on a restored vintage Stanley Bailey No. 4, which was a joy to turn.