buckeye wood

[Gordon]

A friend has a buckeye tree he is going to take down. He asked me if Buckeye wood, not burl, is good for turning. I don't know, do you?

 

[KenN]

Gordon,

I've not turned buckeye and will be interested in other's experience, but you should ask your friend if he can wait until the tree is dormant to cut it. I don't know where you live; here along the Northern tier of Missouri, that would be mid to late November through February. The "sap is down" and will give you a head start on drying as well as a good chance that the bark will stay on natural edge turnings. It may be an illusion, but it seems to me that live trees I've cut in winter are more stable than summer-cuts.

I'd wish you good luck, but it sounds as if you've already got some.

 

[Andy Hoyt]

I turned a rather large goblet from a chunk of Buckeye from Ohio a while back.

Thoroughly enjoyable. Here's a pic.

 

[S. Clark]

Buckeye is a very nice wood to turn. It is on the soft side and there is a tendency for it to tear on the end grain, but it is well worth working with. Use very sharp tools on this soft wood, though it responds well to sanding. When cut and turned green, it has fairly uniform shrinkage and retains a light yellow color. There is very little differentiation in sap wood and heart wood. Deadfall wood tends to have blueing in the sap wood which can be used to dramatic effect against the darker yellow heart. If finished with oil, the wood will be darker than if finished with water base products.

This tree has become a favorite of mine to work with.