Holly wood

[Fred Belknap]

I have a couple of holly logs from a neighbor yard. I was wondering if I needed any special drying and finishing procedures. The green wood turned nicely.

 

[hockenbery]

My suggestion is to turn it soon.
When I tried keeping Holly in a half logs for longer than a few weeks it would get blue stain.
NE Bowls and HFS never got blue stain and roughed out bowls for drying seemed to avoid it too.

regarding finishing. You want the white... a water based poly will keep the white.

 

[Jeff Jackson]

What has worked so far for me is to is boiling the green wood after it has been sawed into blanks. I'm no scientist, but it seems to release the bound water in the wood because the water turns into a deep green. When I pull the blanks out the outside of the wood is green but the inside is white (and I've compared them to one's that weren't boiled).
I've also been told that holly cut in the fall and winter have less discoloration due to sap content.

 

[Fred Belknap]

Thanks guys. It is in a trailer in the dry and covered with a plastic tarp. So far no blue stain.