Magnolia

[eskimo]

I have an opportunity to pick up some Magnolia logs. I've never turned Magnolia and wanted some opinions on if the wood is worth the trouble of cutting & turning.

Does anyone out there have any experience with Magnolia?

Thanks

 

[kent4Him]

I've turned some. It was okay. Kind of a whiteish pale wood with growth ring lines in it. I wouldn't pay for it, but if it's free, I'd take it.

 

[LostintheWoods]

I had some magnolia burl that was beautiful! Straight magnolia wood is nice, but not really spectacular.

 

[wdcav1952]

I turned a little given my ties to Louisiana (magnolia is state flower). As said above, it isn't special otherwise.

 

[txbatons]

I've turned magnolia and wasn't a huge fan. Kinda plain and open grained. Very soft. I'd use it for segment work. I haven't seen any burl, so I'll take Shannon's word that it's worth using.

 

[GaryMGg]

I have some quarter-sawn magnolia boards I use in box and furniture making.
It's hardness is similar to black walnut; A hardness scale:
http://www.countyfloors.com/about_janka.html
Magnolia machines really well. Some is plain. Many of the boards I have are creamy yellow
with some grayish mineral streaks and occassionally some curl. The curly boards are
wonderful looking -- great chatoyance. Sadly, most of that figure disappears in a pen. []
There are several varieties of magnolia, so it depends on what you get.

 

[redfishsc]

Magnolia is a nice wood for bowls and platters, but not really all that nice for pens. I made a pen 6 mos ago out of magnolia but stopped just before the finishing process and just discarded it. Just plain. A pen isn't big enough to show off the elegant grain magnolia can have.


One word of caution: Magnolia harvested this time of year will have a lot of sap in it. Growing season is not a good time to cut down such trees. The sap will cause the wood to turn an UGLY splotchy gray color.

Personally I would either turn bowls out of it (and quickly, before the sap deteriorates and turns gray), or I would mill it up into 1" thick boards and toss them under a heap of oak leaves for 4-6 months and let them spalt. You just might find a very pen-worthy material then.

 

[jthompson1995]

I've gotten some southern magnolia that had lilac purple growth rings. Angle cut it makes gorgeous pens, though not the easiest to turn.

 

[eskimo]

Thanks for all the ideas. It's a large Southern Magnolia (the kind that drops its leaves in the winter). I should have enough to try all of your suggestions. Spalting, angle cutting & maybe a bowl or two. I'll post pics when I'm done.

This is a great example of what this site is about.

Thanks again.

 

[great12b4ever]

I have had some of the heart wood of magnolia that has some very nice grain and coloring in it. Makes a decent looking pen, especially if it is cross cut or bias cut. I sometimes use this as contrasting wood on segmented work. If you don't want it, send it to me[}][]

Rob

 

[redfishsc]

If the magnolia is nice enough to make pens out of, it will have an outrageous "novelty" factor, especially for "southern bells" that are browsing your pens.

Same with dogwood and crepe myrtle. Dogwood with heart/sap combos look nice, but crepe myrtle is just sorta light brownish peach color, nothing fancy.... but people like the fact that they are made out of their favorite tree.

 

[Jamie]

I made a few pens for friends that have a magnolia tree in their yard. It reminded me of holly, easy to turn and absorbed finish.