Has anyone turned any Plum wood and how did it do?
- posted
16 years ago
Has anyone turned any Plum wood and how did it do?
I have a 12" X 8' peace drying right now myself. Also would like to know how it turnes.
Lee
I rescued a some pieces of a small tree that a neighbor had blow down, and have turned a few pieces. It's darn nice.
The tree I used had had a hard life, so there were lots of bark inclusions, funny growth patterns etc. It cuts easily, smoothes up well, and finishes like a cross between cherry and walnut as far as color.
I had a hard time keeping the bark on it, in many cases had to perform a bark transplant to get the look I wanted.
It splits--easily. I turned it rough and let it dry, and found that I had to put it in a paper bag, and for best results put anchorseal on the exposed end grain. (I do that on the outside only, so that it remains wet and flexible, while the inside of the bowl dries and shrinks.
Enjoy!
Old Guy
Hello,
I've turned quite a bit of Plum over the years. We used to have a large Plum tree in mums backyard when I was a a small lad and I got some of that when it died. Plum works very well and it has very nice colour and at times, wild swirls in the grain.
Like most fruit woods, it is susceptible to checking, but I boil mine and have no problems whatsoever. Plum cuts and sands well and takes a high polish, so you can make it do almost anything you want... If your getting fresh cut Plum, put Anchorseal over the exposed endgrain surfaces ASAP.
If you wait a day or two, you will have a nice surprise waiting for you... Other than that, it's a nice timber to work with and it can make some really beautiful pieces. Getting a large blank can be hard though... :-o
If you would like to read about my protocol for boiling green wood blanks, take a look at these two articles:
A friend of mine cut down a plum tree and gave me the wood. It was not very big but I was able to turn about ten small bowls from the wood. By the time I got the wood home it had already started to check so I turned them immediately while the wood was still green. They warped a bit as they dried but people seemed to like the wood and the warp. They all sold right away.
Ted
I've turned a LOT of plum, mostly green..
It cracks, warps, deforms, etc... I love it.. *g*
Plum has some brilliant colors and swirls in it and really turns nicely when green... turn it thin and it warps, thick and it cracks like glass.. YMWV
mac
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