What to do with all this Holly

[turff49]

We had to cut a Holly tree down at work and this is what I came out with The blocks were cut from a portion of a log:

 

[Pipes]

sell me some in a nice block o say what you can fit in a box for the 8.05 and I will be glad to help ya out :O) Nice catch by the way !!!





http://affordablepipes.com/

 

[leehljp]

Originally posted by turff49
<br />We had to cut a Holly tree down at work and this is what I came out with The blocks were cut from a portion of a log:

I experienced something with some fresh cut holly that I picked up in late April off the street. I cut most of it into 1 inch by 1 inch by about 18 inches. I then cut about 6 pieces into 6 inch length and microwaved them slowly and turned them into pens. That did well.

HOWEVER, for the wood which I did NOT microwave, I just let it air dry. By late May, I wanted to use some and found that most of it had started to spalt or something - it had turned grayish inside - maybe a fungus. Not a piece that was clear white. I had stacked it with spacers so that it could air dry uniformly under shade. Most of May was rather warm and dry in N. Mississippi.

it could have been the sap / growing season in which it was cut.

Anyway, I would recommend waxing or sealing the ends at the least; or kiln drying if possible. Cut to oversize for blanks - because it does shrink quite a bit. I think my problem would not have happened if the tree had been cut in the fall or winter.

 

[johncrane]

looks like a good find.

 

[turff49]

Sorry for the bad pics of these. I took them with the phone camera. The ends are all sealed on the logs and on the blanks with Anchorseal. I can cut what ever size of blank anyone wants. I'll let you guys decide what it's worth. I turned a NE bowl out of a piece, soaked it in DNA and hve it wrapped in brown paper right now waiting to dry so I can finish turning it. There are a couple of pics posted over on SMC. So far it has maintained it's white color but did develop a crack after it started drying. I sealed the crack with CA and so far it hasn't cracked any more. I'll post pics when the bowl is finished. I'll go to the PO today and pick up a couple of flat rate boxes and see what size of blank will fit in. If you just want pen blanks I'd prefer to cut it into a large blank since it is still wet(green)I'm sure there will be some waste. I guess I should post this down in the sales section now if anybody wants some. Again, I need someone to tell me what to charge as I don't typically sell wood. I'm always open to trade also[]
Brian

 

[leehljp]

Just before leaving the US of A for Japan, I went to the wood specialty store in Memphis (Colco's) and looked at their holly. They had <b>one</b> board about 6" by 2" by 3 1/2 Ft. It was kiln dried and clear, very white. They wanted $200.00 for it. Yep, $200. I will say that this is the store that the contractors for the million dollar homes frequent. Too costly for me! I will stick to looking for trees that have just been cut.

 

[turff49]

Hank,
Don't worry about me charging anywhere even remotely close to a price of that nature. That's insane. I guess it's hard to get a straight board from a Holly tree though. I can just imagine how much twisting must take place in this wood. That's why I left the logs as logs and am only cutting it as used. Or, at least until I start seeing any checking or cracks starting in the logs.
Brian

 

[jodoidg]

Brian,
Send me a PM when you get a box full, I also prefer blocks /slabs.
Thanks
John

 

[Jim15]

Brian I would be interested in some pen blanks when you get to cutting.

Thanks,
jim

 

[Penmonkey]

Just ship it all to me.[}]

 

[turff49]

Guys,
I'll be leaving for a week Monday but when I get back I cut some of this up for those that asked. Just let me know how much you want, what you think a fair price is(I'm cheap)and you cover the shipping. I really don't want to cut pen blanks though and I don't think it would be wise since it is green. I'm afraid the pen blanks would warp right now. But I can cut a large size to fit a flat rate box and then you can cut your on pen blanks. Thanks, Brian

 

[redfishsc]

USE IT QUICKLY!


Holly won't stay white very long in the summer.


It WILL (well, almost certainly) turn bluish-black and blotchy. The sap is deteriorating, I think, when that happens. Happens to magnolia too.


If the tree was cut in winter, it would be a different story. Would likely stay white. No sap movement in the winter.

 

[turff49]

Redfish,
Do you think Anchorseal will stop it. I can cut up the logs and seal the blanks if it will. Thanks for letting me know. Brian

 

[hombre4]

I understand that Holly will do this if not harvested at a certain time of the year and there is no way to stop it.

 

[DFM]

Originally posted by hombre4
<br />I understand that Holly will do this if not harvested at a certain time of the year and there is no way to stop it.

I beleive that Holly that is harvested in the summer will turn grey. Harvest during the winter months is the time of the year to keep the wood white.

 

[leehljp]

The holly that I had turned gray in about 30 days. For the pieces that I microwaved (1 minute on, 10 minutes off for about an hour) those did not turn gray. I made 3 into pens immediately.

If you want to save it, cut it into pieces and put them into an oven at about 150° for about 6 to 8 hours, or microwave them. I am not positive on the oven temp or time, but I would be trying something to save it from turning gray.

 

[redfishsc]

The ONLY , and I mean ONLY way I've found to stop the greying (and I'm talking magnolia since I haven't used much holly, but the theory should apply all the same) is that you need to rough out the bowl or cut the pen blanks YESTERDAY.

Pen blanks should dry fine. Bowl blanks are way too thick to trust, so I'd rough out the bowl and give it a good alcohol soak overnight to kill off any fungus and to more rapidly dry the bowl. Just soak it overnight and take the usual precautions when drying, but it should dry in about half the normal time.

FYI, I alcohol soak ALL of my green pen blanks. I got some green (really, really green) manzanita root from Nolan-- I sliced them up (1" square by however long) and soaked in methanol (careful, it's toxic stuff, dna works fine). Not a single one of them cracked more than just a fuzz around the corners (next time I'll block plane the corners off).


I can assure you that if you follow what I just said, and use the alcohol soak, the blanks stand a VERY high chance of staying white.

And if they do turn out good, remember me when you divvy them up[].

 

[isaacrapelje]

I knew a guy who stored his holly in a freezer after he dried it. He said that it kept it white as a bone. I don't know if it works but he is a wise wood worker. Just thought I would share.

 

[redfishsc]

Sounds like it should work since the critters that decay the sap can't work when they're frozen.

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

Ditto the freezer, it the only way to keep it from turning either green or gray.

FWIW - The best time to cut holly is in the winter