is damson a good wood for turning

[williams1185]

i dont usually post that much but as the question is damson a nice wood for turning ive been able to get some trunks around 200mm diameter thanks in advance , ian

 

[rob1693]

I presume so most fruit woods turn up really nice

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I believe plum is prone to splitting so get the ends painted with something quickly.

 

[MF1000]

Nothing worse than your plums splitting

 

[williams1185]

Great I've already sealed the ends and got it covered so fingers crossed just a waiting game now thanks for the replies

 

[Roland]

Damson is nice. Better than plum in my opinion. Turns well. Looks good.

 

[Richard_C]

I have used a lot of Greengage which I assume is similar. Really nice to turn, sometimes spectacular grain. The pith can be quite large and soft so you might not get as much out of it as you would want - you won't know until you start to cut it.

 

[Owd Jockey]

I've turned a few pieces of Damson, mainly smallish in size. If you can, I have always used the lower trunk and root-ball, for me it was always the best place to find the plum-coloured bits. However, it is quite a dark coloured wood, that tends to mask the plum colour over time. You can see this in the first photo, with the heartwood quite dark. The second photo is a small piece from a root-ball that may get used for a knife /tool handle and shows some purple-ish ting, the third photo is a small squat vase from a Damson root-ball that has darkened over the last 3 years. Similarly, with the fourth photo of a small Damson trinket box.
Still if the wood is free, have a go.

 

[williams1185]

thank you for the pics i managed to get the trunk as well it was short but about 16 inches across they split it in two for me the colours very much like in the pics its still very wet got it under cover where the air can get around it thanks , ian

 

[alex robinson]

Great I've already sealed the ends and got it covered so fingers crossed just a waiting game now thanks for the replies

I would be surprised if you can dry bowl blank sizes pieces without splitting. I would go for the 2 stage turning approach and get them roughed out ASAP. Beautiful timber though, so worth the high splitting rate

 

[williams1185]

thanks for the replies the wood is soaking wet at the moment see how it goes in a few weeks , ian

 

[alex robinson]

thanks for the replies the wood is soaking wet at the moment see how it goes in a few weeks , ian

Wetter the better. Get it roughed out before it has a chance to crack. If you loose some of the bulk, often the movement just causes it to warp rather than split.

 

[williams1185]

ah right ok so wet suit and wellies then better sharpen the chainsaw and break it down a bit more got quite a lot to sort got about a half ton bags worth !