Lidded boxes from small holly trees?

[Jeff Johnson]

I'm a fairly new turner, and haven't done boxes yet. I have a copy of the Raffin DVD, so I have a good idea of the steps. I have several small holly trees (under 5 inches) that I cut down a few weeks ago, and was wondering if they would work well as box material; using the whole cross-section of the tree, cutting them rough while green, paper bag them, wait a couple months, then go to final cutting.

Would they dry properly? It seems that they'd shrink without so much warpage, or are they likely to split?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jeff - I haven't worked with Holly but when dealing with green wood I have found that any time you leave the pith in - you have a very good chance that it will crack - starting at the pith. Doesn't mean that you can't get this to work but you need to be aware that things are likely to warp and check on you.

Key to roughing out an item is to keep the walls a consistent thickness (and thick enough so you have some wood to work with later) so that the turning will dry evenly. There are many different ways to dry rough outs but if you are going to use the paper bag method make sure that the turning is surrounded with shavings and the bag is closed to prevent rapid drying - which is what causes all the cracks.

Should you end up with pieces that are cracked - you can still turn them and use the fill of your choice to highlight those areas and add some color to the overall piece.

Good luck with this! Looking forward to seeing the results!

[Ted Calver]

Jeff,
+1 on Steve's comments. I like turning green holly and try to rough it as soon as it is cut because this usually precludes the blue stain fungus from messing it up. I've had good luck with turning small items (including a number with pith-in) and then microwave drying them for ten cycles or so (short times..depends on your microwave) and letting them finish dry in a paper bag. When turning end grain like a box, if you saturate the pith with thin CA it helps reduce radial cracking. I haven't tried the DNA method on holly yet but I'll bet that would keep the blue stain away also. I think you will still get some distortion/warpage from drying so make sure to allow for it in your rough out.

[Richard Madison]

Jeff, Why not just try it and see what happens? I rarely pass up an opportunity to turn a different wood, regardless of what I have read about it. Often the result is good. But I do suggest that you avoid the common palm tree. Results pending on that one until after it dries a year or two.

[Ken Glass]

Jeff,
I use American Holly for Finials. It is a very dense hardwood used for detail and carving. The grain is very tight and dense. I turns very well and you can cut very small details. It should work well for a small box. If green rough it, soak it and dry it and then finish turn. Good Luck.