Having just started turning I am rather raw. Turned one or 2 things up and no trouble (very amaturish) I have just been given some YEW and I am finding it very difficult especially the centre tside seems ok but the centre seems very hard indeed and I keep getting very nasty shocks as I turn
I visited the UK and Scotland this summer and the only thing I brought back was three blanks of yew which I bought in Norfolk near Fakenham where my dad was born and I spent a year of my life long long ago.
The wood was very dry, turned well with a little catching. The end result with just a tung oil finish is beautiful as the wood as a very prominent grain. Take it easy, use very sharp tools.
I don't think its is as hard as white oak but close.
Yew is a beautiful wood when it is finished. The foliage is poisonous to animals so you never see it on farms in the UK. For some reason (pagan?) it is often seen growing in graveyards. I am not sure whether the wood or dust from sanding is poisonous but it would be as well to take the usual precautions.
Mick
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