Turning fig??

[Joe Kieve]

I recently pruned my 2 large fig trees and ended up with some 2"-3" diameter pieces. Should I save some for turning or is it too soft and just needs to go in the burn pile?

[Mike Cruz]

I don't know how much/what kind of turning there is to do with a 2-3" branch. At 3", you MIGHT be able to get some pen blanks out of it. I have no idea what the wood looks like.

Soft? I wouldn't worry about that. Once a turning is done, no one (customers) know how hard the wood is. They can feel how heavy or light it is, but don't know the difference between hard and soft. Pine is soft and many turn it. I just hate the sap, so avoid it.

[Toby Bouder]

Hi Joe, I don't know anything about fig wood, but you may want to try some mushrooms like this one that I made from honey locust:
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[Dan Hintz]

Or goblets...

[Mike Cruz]

Maybe I'm missing something, but how would you turn a goblet from a 2-3" branch? No matter how you orient the wood, the pith would have to run through it. And even then, a 3" branch will not yield much of a goblet...

[Dan Hintz]

You offset the pith slightly so it doesn't travel through the stem... it can make for an interesting design on both the goblet itself and the base. Google pith turned goblet and you'll see plenty of examples. But sure, 3" isn't much... except for the pen blanks you mentioned earlier, there's not much wood for anything other than artistic playing.

[bob svoboda]

A while back I turned some bottle stoppers using trimmings from our Ficus-It was easy to work with and looked great. The pith did not seem to cause any problems.

[Joe Kieve]

Thanks for your comments guys. I did save a few pieces to make pens; anchorsealed them and just waiting for them to dry. Will report back after I've turned some of it.
Thanks again.

joe

[Rob Matarazzo]

Dredging up this old thread to show some results. This past summer I had to cut down a fig tree that belonged to my mom, who passed away about five years ago. I saved some of the wood so I could make something as a remembrance. Since the wood is pretty soft, a pen seemed like one of the few things that would work. I turned the pen this morning and this is the result. I stained the wood a bit as the natural color was very light. The only issue was that I found a void when I got it down close to the final dimension. I filled it with sawdust and ca glue. Gives it character, I guess.



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[robert baccus]

I don't know how much/what kind of turning there is to do with a 2-3" branch. At 3", you MIGHT be able to get some pen blanks out of it. I have no idea what the wood looks like.

Soft? I wouldn't worry about that. Once a turning is done, no one (customers) know how hard the wood is. They can feel how heavy or light it is, but don't know the difference between hard and soft. Pine is soft and many turn it. I just hate the sap, so avoid it. Mike--I know you are a log turner but many things are fun to turn from 3" wood. I do suggest a hard closed grained wood like youpon or holly to turn fine detail.

[Wes Ramsey]

If you don't get any turning wood out of the trimmings you can get some good fuel for a smoker. Fig is great for smoking chicken and lamb. One thing to be aware of though is that fig sap contains a type of latex and is a strong skin irritant. I'm not allergic to latex, but I cut one down several years ago wearing shorts and 2 days later had welts and blisters all over my legs from the sawdust. The scars lasted more than a year. I can't imagine what it would do if you inhaled it! But from reading and experience, the smoke from the wood does not cause any breathing issues any more than other smoke.

[Peter P. Brown]

Thanks for your comments guys. I did save a few pieces to make pens; anchorsealed them and just waiting for them to dry. Will report back after I've turned some of it.
Thanks again.

joe

Fig turns great! I've got some in my shop. I think as a general rule, most fruit trees are good for woodworking.

[robert baccus]

It's hard to beat pecan for smoking. A word of wisdom from an old forester--any white plant sap is probably poisonous to some degree. Had one that sent me to the ER. But many are dangerous--even houseplants.