Anyone turned Juniper or Pinon?

[Greg McClurg]

I'm new at woodturning and have access to a small amount of juniper and pinon. I know they are very hard, but are they any good to turn?

thanks,
Greg

[Curt Fuller]

Hi Greg, I've turned both. Juniper ( the western variety I'm guessing you're referring to) is nice wood to turn and has some beautiful colors. It's soft and can tear if you're tools aren't sharp. Smells great too. Pinon on the other hand is sticky, nasty, miserable stuff. It has some nice grain and a lot of color variation. But plan on a lot of clean up when you're done. With sticky, sappy pines I've found that sanding is best done with the help of a heavy dose of WD40. It provides a good solvent for wet sanding and makes your sandpaper last more than one revolution.

[Nate Davey]

I've just moved to New Mexico, so will be giving it a shot

[Terry Vaughan]

An interesting thing about juniper is that whatever it is that makes it smell can come out. If there is a crevice or hole in it, after a while you might see little needle crystals forming in there. I don't think this affects the use though. It's nice stuff for turning. Good colours when fresh.

Terry

[Barry Richardson]

240017 Funny you should ask, I just turned my first juniper a couple weeks ago. It was a stump with multiple branches I got from the tree trimmers. The heart was a bit sappy, but not as bad as pine. The wood was a bit tough and stringy, but not too bad to work with. My main problem was keeping this piece together while I turned it, hence the bowties; 5 in all. And duct tape around the outside while I turned the inside. Didn't worry about finishing it too finely, as I was going for the rustic look, just a couple coats of poly, and still has some stray tool marks. I would definitely turn juniper again if I find any, I sell this stuff at arts and craft shows, and people love this "primitive" stuff. About a foot tall and 10" dia.

[Jim Burr]

I have some juniper root balls that are waiting for my courage to build up. Sent a couple to a well known turner and he is sending the second block to someone he really doesn't like. Hard are a rock and tool sharpening every few minutes

[Greg McClurg]

Thanks for the input everyone. I guess I will try my hand at it. Can't learn if I dont' try.