# Is Lime any good for turning.



## boysie39 (20 Sep 2008)

Hiya all, I was speaking to an Arborist and he was telling me that their biggest problem was getting somewhere to dump what they have cut down. They cut everything to 3/4 ft long so it's easy to handle branches up to 3" the shread. At the moment they are cutting Lime and if I want to I can take as much as I like he will cut to whatever size I ask, So is it worth taking or not ,has anyone ever used it ? REgards Boysie


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## TEP (20 Sep 2008)

Mornin' (early) *Boysie*.

Lime is great for turning, (cutting, predominantly used by the carving fraternity) it takes great detail and is so easy to work. BUT it is like working with a piece of blank paper. It has very little noticeable grain or figuring, so IMO I would only use it for making hollow vessels/bowls and such like that I was going to colour.

Also you need to vary the colour yourself because again what little features the timber has doesn't do much to help to shade of the colours used.

Another use it lends itself to is making boxes that you can do some 'chip carving', or pyrography as a decoration. Another is using it for lid inserts for a chatter work feature.

PS - If it was me I would grab some, NEVER refuse timber. :wink:


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## cornucopia (20 Sep 2008)

hello, i agree with some of tep's reply but i differ slightly :roll: 
I refuse timber that i know i dont enjoy turning -"life is too short to turn crappy wood" quote from John Jordan- When i first started i took everything and it was good experince and pratice but now i'm more selective.
Lime can have some subtle figure in it, i turned two big bowls from a trunk recently and yes its bland but on closer inspection its not as bad as you think. as tep says it does take carving or aborotech embelishments really easily, on one of my bowls i carved the rim with the aborotech cutter which added that little bit of intrest.
one thing i have found with lime is that my outdoor method of storage doesnt suit it as well as others, it tends to go soft after a year or so.


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## boysie39 (21 Sep 2008)

thanks Tam And Corny , I will wait till next week when he has some walnut and yew, in the meantime I'll organise a large trailer. REgards Boysie


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## Soulfly (21 Sep 2008)

Yes, lime is a beautiful wood for turning and has a lovely creamy white like colour. It is a bit like turning soap. Naturally it is a superb carving wood as you can see with the work of Grinling Gibbons. I would just rough out a load classically shaped bowls, platters and the usual stuff. It can open up a bit though. I'm not really into colouring wood - the result is so often naff looking like stone cladding or pebble dashing in property terms. And yes, sadly I do have to turn down lots of offers of timber. One only has so much time and space to store it, and often these days people want silly money for their bit of tree.


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## Bodrighy (21 Sep 2008)

boysie39":islk4un9 said:


> thanks Tam And Corny , I will wait till next week when he has some walnut and yew, in the meantime I'll organise a large trailer. REgards Boysie



You are not the only one who is sorry you live so far away. Walnut and yew have got to be my two favourite woods. Grab as much as you can. Yew can be turned immediately IME and seldom cracks. I have never had wet walnut so can't comment.

Pete


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## Jenx (21 Sep 2008)

Hiya Boysie ...
I had a rather fine bowl blank of Spalted lime, and it turned nice ( in the hands of a numpty, its fair to say :wink: ), but it did turn out well.

Gave it away before I took any photo's of it unfortunatley. ... it was just a plain 'salad bowl' , nothing fancy, about 91/2" diameter at the finish, and maybe 21/2" Deep.

My old man uses loads of it for his carvings. ( not spalted, just the ordinary stuff )...

I found it easy enough to work with... I guess it would have been a wee bit 'plain' without the spalting, but would have enjoyed doing it just as much, I'm sure.

Give it a go and post up a pic or two of the result ... be good to see it !


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