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Alternative to Holly?

Mark Hepburn

Mark Hepburn

Artist & Chef
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Can anyone think of a good alternative to holly for turning small boxes? And perhaps point me to a source?

I want to turn some smallish boxes (about 3 - 3 1/2" diameter) and find that holly is great because of its tight, uniform grain and consistent, neutral color. It's pretty hard to find these days in anything but a small spindle blank.

Thanks!
 
aspen has a similar color, but has interlocking grain, and as with holly it will mold........holly is used for finales also, u could substitute English boxwood for finales
 
Thanks Charlie. The search is on... :)
 
basswood could be used for boxrs instead of holly also....finish with baby powder
 
Charlie, I had considered basswood briefly but really know almost nothing about it other than it is a preferred carving wood. Why the baby powder?
 
:D

Ya never know, maybe I might get a case of the red @$# working with basswood?
 
basswood is very soft, start sanding with 220 grit.....baby powder will whiten the wood which is sort of aged white......check out Bonnie Klein......she does some beautiful basswood boxes with embellishments
 
Hey Charlie thank you. I will do that.
 
Try Tamarind, it has a tight grain and turns beautifully. Usually it is spalted but there is some clear. Magnolia is also another choice.
 
It is not light in color but Black Cherry makes a nice box. I love turning Cherry and dry down my own spindle blanks from log sections. 3" is not a small box IMHO.
 
charlie knighton said:
basswood is very soft, start sanding with 220 grit.....baby powder will whiten the wood which is sort of aged white......check out Bonnie Klein......she does some beautiful basswood boxes with embellishments
Click to expand...
almost forgot, after turning, hit it with some sanding sealer before you sand it with 220
 
If you don't mind green holly, we are having all of our Yaupon Holly removed. After 30 years, the boss lady says that she is tired of looking at them. Yaupon Holly is typically an understory tree that is much smaller than American Holly. I had planned to save a few of the larger pieces and could save some for you if you are interested. I could Anchorseal it and bring it to SWAT. Price is FREE.
 
Bill Boehme said:
If you don't mind green holly, we are having all of our Yaupon Holly removed. After 30 years, the boss lady says that she is tired of looking at them. Yaupon Holly is typically an understory tree that is much smaller than American Holly. I had planned to save a few of the larger pieces and could save some for you if you are interested. I could Anchorseal it and bring it to SWAT. Price is FREE.
Click to expand...

Bill,

SOLD! So I'm all in for SWAT now. And I'll be bringing my pickup to boot!
 
Try Hornbeam. It is a much harder and denser wood than Holly. Some of the Hornbeam I have is nearly as light as Holly (although I also have some that is darker). You'll want to see the pieces first to make sure they are the lighter pieces. My brother gets if for me -- he lives in the Chicago area.
 
I’m a little surprised no one has mentioned bleaching a similarly grained wood to get the whiteness of holly. I haven’t done any bleaching (oxalic acid - not Clorox) so maybe it won’t work in this situation?

For smallish boxes I’ve found a number of really nice yard woods like lilac, camellia, laurel, rhododendron, and mountain mahogany that work really well; very tight grain and sometimes striking coloration.
 
Hi Bill,

I hadn't thought of that either. Truth is, I've never bleached wood but sounds like something I should have at least some knowledge of and, with all the other small blanks I have, that may be an option that is sitting in my shop already.
 
Owen Lowe said:
I’m a little surprised no one has mentioned bleaching a similarly grained wood to get the whiteness of holly. I haven’t done any bleaching (oxalic acid - not Clorox) so maybe it won’t work in this situation?

For smallish boxes I’ve found a number of really nice yard woods like lilac, camellia, laurel, rhododendron, and mountain mahogany that work really well; very tight grain and sometimes striking coloration.
Click to expand...

Bill, just a quick question about bleaching. Is this process done on blanks or finished work or some intermediate point?
Owen Lowe said:
I’m a little surprised no one has mentioned bleaching a similarly grained wood to get the whiteness of holly. I haven’t done any bleaching (oxalic acid - not Clorox) so maybe it won’t work in this situation?

For smallish boxes I’ve found a number of really nice yard woods like lilac, camellia, laurel, rhododendron, and mountain mahogany that work really well; very tight grain and sometimes striking coloration.
Click to expand...

Owen, I see that oxalic acid is pretty much readily available, so I'm going to look into that. Thanks.
 
to bleach....most use 2 part bleach....and it is getting harder to find this stuff/......turn to final thickness, sand thru your grits, bleach, u must cover the bleached surface, I have used a water-based poly to cover, sand with 2000 grit a month later

fitting top to bottom will be a problem with the bleach and poly adding thickness to ur box
 
I thought about mentioning bleach, but it's a more difficult option than it once was. Oxalic acid won't remove much color. It is primarily for removing weathering and other stains. You won't find the two part bleach because the manufacturers have all dropped it from their lines as far as I have been able to determine after a lot of searching. I found a paper on the Forest Products Laboratory website that enabled me to make my own two part bleach. I have an article on the WoW site and might copy it over here in the How To forum. My only concern is people not taking safety seriously enough when handling strong chemicals.

As Charlie mentioned, the bleaching is a surface treatment so oaky do very light sanding to remove raised grain.
 
Mark Hepburn said:
Bill, just a quick question about bleaching. Is this process done on blanks or finished work or some intermediate point?

Owen, I see that oxalic acid is pretty much readily available, so I'm going to look into that. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I use a two part wood leach by kleanstrip. It only bleaches to top surface and the bleached are can be sanded away if you go outside the lines.
There is good article in a past journal on making your own. February 2013

I tried some oxalic acid and did not get it to work worth a darn.
Kleanstrip is only available in gallon sizes now. Probably a lot easier and cheaper to use the recipe in the journal.
 
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hockenbery said:
I use a two part wood leach by kleanstrip. It only bleaches to top surface and the bleached are can be sanded away if you go outside the lines.
There is good article in a past journal on making your own. February 2013

I tried some oxalic acid and did not get it to work worth a darn.
Kleanstrip is only available in gallon sizes now. Probably a lot easier and cheaper to use the recipe in the journal.
Click to expand...

Thanks Al. Checking on their website, I see that the Kleanstrip is discontinued by the manufacturer. I'll check the journal's back issues and see if I can grab that article.
 
Bill Boehme said:
I thought about mentioning bleach, but it's a more difficult option than it once was. Oxalic acid won't remove much color. It is primarily for removing weathering and other stains. You won't find the two part bleach because the manufacturers have all dropped it from their lines as far as I have been able to determine after a lot of searching. I found a paper on the Forest Products Laboratory website that enabled me to make my own two part bleach. I have an article on the WoW site and might copy it over here in the How To forum. My only concern is people not taking safety seriously enough when handling strong chemicals.

As Charlie mentioned, the bleaching is a surface treatment so oaky do very light sanding to remove raised grain.
Click to expand...

Bill,

You're right to be concerned about people's lack of concern for personal safety. But, a big, bold disclaimer in all caps at the beginning and perhaps a couple more sprinkled in should be plenty. Ultimately we are responsible for our own actions. If you print that article it would be a service to many who do take safety seriously.
 
Thanks Hugh. I do turn a bit of sycamore and have some on hand. May try bleaching.
 
Mark Hepburn said:
Thanks Al. Checking on their website, I see that the Kleanstrip is discontinued by the manufacturer. I'll check the journal's back issues and see if I can grab that article.
Click to expand...
That is a bit of bad news!

The wood kote Dick gave a link to spears similar to the Kleanstrip.
 
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OK, at Mark's urging, I Now have a tutorial posted in the How To forum. I can't take any pictures to show examples with my right arm in a sling, but maybe in a couple weeks. I am extremely pleased with the results and the best news is that the cost is far less than the wood bleaching kits ... Before they disappeared. For about $25 I have two gallons (one gallon of lye solution and one gallon of hydrogen peroxide). For the same amount of Wood Kote Lite N Up the cost would be $160 plus shipping plus a $30 Hazmat shipping fee. It's labeled for professional use only so I don't know if that entails additional restrictions to buying it.
 
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