Is Holly Any Good For Woodworking?

[The Shark]

Hi Guys,
A relative of mine is about to fell a largeish holly, and he wants to know if it will be of any use to make things with in the future.
I know woodturners use holly, but have never heard of it being used in the flat woodworking world. Before I advise him to cut it up for firewood, I wondered if anyone had any better ideas?

Thanks

Malc

 

[big soft moose]

Hi Guys,
A relative of mine is about to fell a largeish holly, and he wants to know if it will be of any use to make things with in the future.
I know woodturners use holly, but have never heard of it being used in the flat woodworking world. Before I advise him to cut it up for firewood, I wondered if anyone had any better ideas?

Thanks

Malc

how big is it ? and where is he ? - if its sizeable (ie over 10" dia), and within a reasonable drive of the ox/wilts area i'd be interested in having it away for turning puposes (in exchange for some beer vouchers natch)

that aside i think you can use it for flatwork , but drying it without losing a large ammount to spliting will be the challenge (as a turner i'd use it green which would negate the issue)

 

[Doug B]

Malc.

The guy from the saw mill where i buy my Holly from recommends it`s quarter sawn to help negate splitting, (it is a bugger for it) & seal the ends really well

It`s lovely to work, i made the tote & knob for my No 4 1/2 from Holly & it looks great.

A lovely wood, well worth trying to season, particularly if it`s free.


Good luck with it.


Doug

 

[wizer]

Holly is often used for stringing or other decorative inlays. I've never seen a whole table or cabinet made from it. But would be interested to see if something has. Doug's plane looked really good and I imagine something larger, even a jewellery box would look really interesting.

 

[tekno.mage]

Holly is horribly difficult to dry without splitting and distorting, but well worth it if you can manage it. The wood is very pale (almost white) and very fine grained.

Leave logs as long as you practically can. Split through the pith and seal the cut ends well. Leave to dry out of direct sunlight and somewhere cool with gentle ventilation (ie not a very draughty place!) Cross fingers and hope to get at least some decent wood out of it!

I have had success with smallish pieces by cutting the logs into turning blanks (max 3" x 3" x 12"), sealing the ends and burying the pieces in a bucket of dry woodshavings, change the woodshaving weekly until they no longer get damp from the buried pieces. Result was fairly gross distortion but no splitting. Use pale coloured woodshavings as holly stains easily.

tekno.mage

 

[ondablade]

I've a smallish (maybe 15in dia) holly to take down as it's died up one side. It has a hell of a lot of branches which seems to be fairly typical - these presumably give rise to lots of knots??

 

[tekno.mage]

Hi ondablade,

Yes, all those branches will mean lots of knots and interesting swirly grain around them - unfortunately, the knots also give rise to splits while drying :-(

It's best to seal any knots as well as the ends of the logs.

tekno.mage

 

[jpt]

Holly is great for turning but as others have said can be a pain to dry.

On larger pieces I split it down the centre and seal the ends, on smaller branches I leave as long as possible.

For best results in keeping it a nice white colour store it on end, like sycamore, and away from other wood.

john

 

[The Shark]

Hi Guys,
Thank you very much for the replies, much appreciated.

BSM, I am sending you a pm.

Malc

 

[SBJ]

this is what you can do with holly.

http://www.johnmakepeacefurniture.com/j ... chair.html

 

[John. B]

Exquisite!

But I'll bet a penny to a pound of sh#t John Makepeace didn't do the drying :?

John. B

 

[SBJ]

Exquisite!

But I'll bet a penny to a pound of sh#t John Makepeace didn't do the drying :?

John. B

I don't think that many cabinet makers dry their own timber, so i'll pass on your bet thanks.

 

[woodbloke]

I don't think that many cabinet makers dry their own timber, so i'll pass on your bet thanks.

I agree with the comments thus far on holly. Many topendy makers still dry their own timber...the Barnsley 'shop for one and the late Alan Peters for another. This means that if they buy in good time as and when the opportunity presents itself, they have an unending supply of top quality air dried timber - Rob

 

[miles_hot]

I've a smallish (maybe 15in dia) holly to take down as it's died up one side. It has a hell of a lot of branches which seems to be fairly typical - these presumably give rise to lots of knots??

If you turn try boiling it and then drying - apparently this helps...

Miles

 

[big soft moose]

I've a smallish (maybe 15in dia) holly to take down as it's died up one side. It has a hell of a lot of branches which seems to be fairly typical - these presumably give rise to lots of knots??

If you turn try boiling it and then drying - apparently this helps...

Miles

how do you boil a 15inch log tho - i cant see the wife being too happy about me using the stock pot

or did you mean turn it green , then boil the finished form ?

 

[tekno.mage]

I've heard rumours of boiling holly in log form helping to prevent splitting. Best done out of doors in a large (old) metal pot over a gas burner. Apparently it is quite a smelly process and leaves a nasty gunk in the pot that is very hard to remove. I've also heard you have to boil the log for several hours for best effect.

I presume it works (?) by forcing the sap out of the wood and replacing it with water. I've not tried it myself as yet (lacking a suitable gas burner & large enough metal pot I'm prepared to sacrifice). The person who told me about it had tried using an old electric tea urn - and reported success in that the log dried without splitting - the tea urn was never the same again!!!

I've heard that in the more distant past large logs were left "soaking" in some of the rivers around here to wash the sap from them before they were planked (on a water powered planking mill - still in occasional operation).

Don't bother with the soaking in water and washing-up liquid method - I know someone who tried this with holly - it didn't work. Leaving a holly log to soak in the stream for a few weeks doesn't work either - I've tried that - it still split.

tekno.mage

 

[miles_hot]

I've a smallish (maybe 15in dia) holly to take down as it's died up one side. It has a hell of a lot of branches which seems to be fairly typical - these presumably give rise to lots of knots??

If you turn try boiling it and then drying - apparently this helps...

Miles

how do you boil a 15inch log tho - i cant see the wife being too happy about me using the stock pot

or did you mean turn it green , then boil the finished form ?

The article I saw talked of turning to green thickness (i.e. 1") and then boiling - it turns it black but this discolouration is cut away when turning to final thickness (after the wood has dried following the boiling - 3 weeks??).

Good image on the 15' log bubbling away in woody hell

Miles

 

[big soft moose]

Don't bother with the soaking in water and washing-up liquid method - I know someone who tried this with holly - it didn't work.

that works better if you use alcohol instead of water - but the soapy residue doesnt help when it comes to finishing

imo all these tricks are well and good but you cant beat turning it thin while green then just letting it warp. (tho part turning then drying slowly does have a reasonable succes rate too)

 

[denmans]

I have a few cuts of holly, which I am seeing how to turn into irregular bowls. I like the ghostly whiteness of them, with subtle graining. (yes it's cracked). What finish would best preserve this?
What effect would wood bleach have?