Turning green Willow

[John Miliunas]

OK, you guys can blame Bob (for his oil on pens post) and Barb (for showing us her beautiful vase) for this post. They inspired me, as it were. I finally got around to cutting up some Willow blanks this evening (they were *free*!). Being a very novice turner, what should I expect? I'd like to rough turn a couple and leave them dry (or maybe try the DL method), but I'd like to run a couple others all the way through to finish. Is this even practical? I've gotten some materials down to a bit under a 1/4" before, so I think I can do that. Should one complete the piece, even though it's green? And, if so, what the heck does one use for finish? I can only assume the piece will warp, which I don't mind too much. (Adds a certain character to it.) I am, however, not too thrilled about cracks developing. Any tried and true method to prevent the cracks or both, the cracks and warping? Hey, I know I'm not asking too much here, am I??? :cool:

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi John

I received my first piece of wet willow this past weekend while up in Syracuse. I do know it is soft, and from a piece I saw finished up there, it looks like it tears out easily, but beyond that, I have no experience with it.

As far as finishing a piece from wet to done goes, that is not a problem. It is my experience that it is actually easier to turn wet wood thinner than dry wood. It may still be wet when you are done with it, but it will dry out in a matter of a day or two, and then you can finish it with whatever you want. As far as cracks are concerned, they should not be a problem if you go thin enough. How thin is thin enough? Who knows? ;) It depends on how the wood reacts, etc. I have turned pieces as thick as 1/4" with no problem, although I like to go down to 1/8", and for some pieces I approach 1/16".:eek:

Good luck with it.

Bill

[Anthony Yakonick]

Hi, if your just looking for lathe time willow will be ok but it may frustrate you due to the amount of tearout and you may not have a keeper. Willow is also very "wet" I think it's 90% water and 10% wood. If you turn it to 3/8 or under it should dry when you start sanding and get some heat in it although it will move some when the drying completes. If you can find some soft maple you will be happier with your turning.
Anthony