Is magnolia wood good for anything?

[Pete Lamberty]

The neighbors are having a very large magnolia tree cut down. I took a piece of the trunk I was thinking that maybe I could slice it up on my band saw and then let it air dry. Maybe if the wood looked good I will make something out of it. Any ideas? Thanks. Pete

[Donnie Raines]

Mangnolia is not all that stable...at least from what I have read and to some extent what I have seen. The grain seems to be very tight and retains a lot of tension. Thus, boards cup and twist.

[Jamie Buxton]

As I understand it, the poplar lumber we buy in the lumberyards comes from a variety of related trees, and one of them is a magnolia -- maybe tulip magnolia?

[Donnie Raines]

As I understand it, the poplar lumber we buy in the lumberyards comes from a variety of related trees, and one of them is a magnolia -- maybe tulip magnolia?
You know what....I confused cotton wood with Magnolia....two diffrent trees all together.

Scrap my prior statement....... :rolleyes:

[Pete Lamberty]

Thanks for the replies. I was ready to throw it into the firewood pile after your first post, Donnie. It may still end up there if it only looks like popular, like Jamie says.

[Donnie Raines]

I would keep it....the thicker you cut it the longer it will take to dry. Also, you can get in touch with the folks at Suffolk Machinery on a blade that is appropriate for cutting green lumber. Cut it, seal up the ends and forget about it for a few years....then report back then. :cool:

[Michael Stafford]

I put "magnolia bowl" in the search engine and came up with 6-8 beautiful examples of bowls turned from magnolia. I cannot speak to magnolia lumber but when you see some of these bowls and the rich color the wood provides you may find a "round" use for your wood. ;)

[Jim Becker]

As I understand it, the poplar lumber we buy in the lumberyards comes from a variety of related trees, and one of them is a magnolia -- maybe tulip magnolia?
Tulip Poplar/Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) is a member of the Magnolia family, but it is likely not the same thing as an ornimental that is probably the tree in question. I've seen magnolia (the ornimental varieties) used for turnings but can't remember seeing any flat work with the speices.

[Byron Trantham]

Pete,
Who cares what it looks like. This sounds like a feat opportunity to practice preparing wood for use. Get the re-sawing down, the drying down and now you can tackle something that may be more "beautiful" in the future. ;)

[Scott Banbury]

If it's olderit will have absolutely beautiful interlocked figure in a small band of heartwood down the middle. The rest will be creamy white but also interlocked, showing off with whatever finish you put on it.

[Pete Lamberty]

Thanks for the ideas guys. This tree was a decorative tree Jim. I looked up magnolia bowls on the web like Michael suggested and did find some. The wood does look very nice. And like Byron said, what do I have to lose? I might as well cut up the trunk and at worst it will just be a learning experience. But I think I will get some nice wood out of this. The piece I have is about nine inches in diameter and two and a half feet long. It isn't alot but it will be an easy first time experience. The wood is very dark in the middle and very light at the outside, just like Scott said. So I will report back in about two years and show everyone some photos of a small project. Thanks again. Pete