The Torreya Bowl

Torreya is a very interesting wood. Globally, there are 6 species in the genus, 2 of which are found in the United States. This species, Torreya taxifolia, is restricted to a small glacial refugia on the border of Florida and Tennessee. Although tiny isolated populations exist elsewhere, it is considered endemic to the Apalachicola Buffs region, and is classified as a Critically Endangered species. Given it's extreme decline due to habitat destruction and disease, as well as it's slow growth and resistance to replanting efforts, Torreya taxifolia is often described as the rarest confer in North America. I am extremely honored to be given the opportunity to turn a piece of this special timber.

The turning itself was very challenging to me, and I tried my best to do the wood justice. Torreya is extremely soft, prone to deep tearout, varies greatly in density, and is not friendly to sandpaper. I kept my tools as sharp as I could, used a lot of shellac between passes, and worked very lightly and slowly. The best cuts I got on the exterior were with a spindle detail gouge and shear cuts with a 3/8" bowl gouge. The interior cut best with a 3/8" bowl gouge for the top 3rd, and a Hunter Badger for the bottom two thirds. Even with all of this, I still suffered some minor tearout on the interior.

This is the first time I've used butterflies and patches on a bowl. I had a jig for the two largest butterflies, but the other 7 and the 2 patches, I had to cut out of the curved surface with a router, and then shape the inlays to match the contour of the bowl. The jig was much easier! Although there is certainly room for improvement, I'm pretty happy with the final product. I think it will be a bowl that I will treasure forever and look back upon as a milestone in my turning journey. Here are a few alternative views, including a crappy cell phone shot of the interior:

Looks fabulous! The inlays really add to the look of the piece; cracks notwithstanding - IMHO! I need to try this technique...
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!

Beautiful! .. and thank you for the background info on this type of wood that I've never knew as well as your detailed description on turning it.

Barry Larson said:

I need to try this technique...

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Thank you Barry! Give it a go The jig method is the way, unless you're working with a super thin wall. I just found that Mark Stebbin has a bunch of good information on inlaying pewa, and has a nice selection of jigs and inlays for sale:

Dennis Ramos said:

background info on this type of wood that I've never knew

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Thank you Dennis! It's a very cool wood. Maybe not the best for turning, but cool nonetheless. Interestingly enough, a different species of Torreya (Torreya nucifera, aka Kaya) is the preferred wood for the board (goban) used in the traditional Chinese game Go. From what I understand, the soft wood is friendly on the hands (high level matches can last 5+ hours), and the dents that accumulate in the board are badges of honor. I don't have any experience with this, but I can appreciate it

It is a beauty Michael, it needs to be held, the tactile feel of that shape and the look of the wood makes you to not put it down again.

Back to the debate about turning crappy wood! Interesting rebuttal Michael! I like the butterflies, the squares look odd to me. Maybe if everything would have been square patches….or all butterflies. Opinions are like a-holes……

Leo Van Der Loo said:

It is a beauty Michael, it needs to be held, the tactile feel of that shape and the look of the wood makes you to not put it down again.

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Thank you Leo! I tried to make it as round as possible, with a subtle recurve near the rim. Like holding a nice big pot

Russ Braun said:

Back to the debate about turning crappy wood! Interesting rebuttal Michael! I like the butterflies, the squares look odd to me. Maybe if everything would have been square patches….or all butterflies. Opinions are like a-holes……

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Thanks Russ. Like a-holes, haha. I would have preferred all butterflies, too. I wish I had taken a photo of the pre-patched area. There were a couple of big fissures and lightning bolt shaped cracks in the endgrain. I needed something bigger than the butterflies could handle (that, OR the orientation of the butterfly would have been off). The patches gave me an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone; they were difficult though--which is why each patch is made up of multiple subpatches haha

Michael Anderson said:

small glacial refugia on the border of Florida and Tennessee.

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Err, that should say small glacial refugium on the border of Florida and Georgia. Not Tennessee

Michael Anderson said:

Bluffs region, and is classified as a Critically Endangered species. Given its extreme decline due to habitat destruction and disease, as well as its

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I should proofread before posting. Oof.

Nice job on the butterflies. looks like it's smiling and looking at you in the top photo. The knot looks like an eye