- Joined
- Mar 20, 2009
- Messages
- 3
- Likes
- 0
Does anyone have any experance turning Cottonwood? Is it worth grabbing some of my friends tree thats comming down?
About that first sentence. They suck finish at the same greedy rate.
They also stink pretty bad.
In my experience Cottonwood is anything but bland. Here is I posted to a thread on another forum about Cottonwood plus a link to a really nice piece of wood.
http://www.velvitoil.com/WoodturningsbyBarbaraGill/cottonwoodplate.html
"I have found that you should not be aggressive when roughing out green Cottonwood, even with sharp tools. As has been said when you finish turning the piece, go slow and use very sharp tools. One of these days I am going to rough turn a hollow form from dry Cottonwood and then spin oil all the way through it. I will then put the piece on a shelf until the oil cures. I think this will make finish turning it easier.
The oil trick might also work with a bowl. You would have to brush on a lot of oil to the point at which it is standing in the bottom. Then cover the opening with Saran Wrap and tape it securely. Then put the piece back on the lathe and let her rip. The end grain is where most of the trouble originates. With Cottonwood, the oil soaks completely through the end grain when you finish a completed bowl so the spinning would work with a thicker piece."
How thick is the tree bark?
Woodcarvers carve figures, whimsical houses, and other items from the cottonwood bark itself. The bark is aslo sold by woodcarving supply houses.