Larch

[MattF]

Is Larch any good for turning please it's just I will have access to 14 acres worth soon and some Oak and Holly

Matt

 

[Spindle]

Hi

The little larch I have turned has been OK, very similar to pine / redwood. It's quite easy to get a finish straight from the tool, (no sanding required), if you maintain good bevel contact to burnish the work.
The 'Spindlemaster' type tools supplied by Robert Sorby are particularly good for turning soft woods such as larch.

https://www.turners-retreat.co.uk/produ ... ndlemaster

As for oak and holly - both excellent turning woods, holly is particularly prone to splitting during seasoning though.

Regards Mick

 

[marcros]

holly really needs felling before the sap rises, to try and keep it nice and white. I believe that it is best seasoned vertically (for boards anyway) although I forget exactly why- to prevent staining presumably.

 

[chipmunk]

I've seen some really nice larch turnings where the growth rings have been exentuated to add texture by wire-brushing or sand blasting the softer early growth away. Simple shapes seem to work best.

Holly is a real pig to season - it moves like anything and goes grey unless dried quickly. From my experience for best results turn it while very fresh very thin or cut it into small cross-section spindle blanks (say 2"x2"), end-seal and dry inside by direct heat.

Oak can also be tricky to dry in large sections too but if you rough turn bowls from it (beware leaving wet shavings and dust on your tools because they'll rust very quickly) it seems ok or alternatively cleave it into smaller sections and end-seal and air dry in a cool dry place. Once dried, in comparison to kiln dried oak you sometimes get you'll be amazed how nicely your air dried stuff turns!

Hope this helps. Good luck.
Jon

 

[MattF]

Thank you for all the Advice

Matt

 

[jurriaan]

Of the three woods, I'd use oak - I like the rays. Larch isn't as bad as some other softwoods (pine), but still, it's wet, and leaves a lot of resin on your facemask. I really dislike resin on my facemask (hammer).

Holly is very nice wood, white, creamy, turns like nothing else, but very difficult to dry. I've turned parts from an 16" Holly with relatively straight wood without many knots, and I've seen 6" bowl blanks shrink by an inch in width (but not in length). I've actually thrown away some pre-turned blanks, because they warped so much that finishing them wasn't possible. I've also thrown away blanks that split. It's also difficult to keep the wood white unless you dry it quickly. That, of course, doesn't lead to less splitting

 

[gregmcateer]

Matt,

Ignore all the others - everything you're getting access to is all rubbish - let me know where it is and I'll come and clear it out for you :wink:

Greg

 

[MattF]

Will take your word about it then Greg :wink: all the larch will be coming out eventually and replaced with broad leaf tree's

Matt