Holly

[kevin nee]

Hello, I have some Holly, that I am not sure what to do with. I have been thinking of using it in cutting boards as an accent strip. I only have one piece of holly and have moved it a million times. Any issues with Holly in a cutting board. I have turned some and it works well with tools, glue and finish.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

[Lee Schierer]

I used some Holly as an accent in a small keepsake box that I made.
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and as the matting is a picture frame.
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The wood is so white I would be concerned that it might stain easily from food.

[John K Jordan]

Hello, I have some Holly, that I am not sure what to do with. I have been thinking of using it in cutting boards as an accent strip. I only have one piece of holly and have moved it a million times. Any issues with Holly in a cutting board. I have turned some and it works well with tools, glue and finish.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

Hi Kevin,

You might mention the size of your piece of holly. If you are looking for ideas that might help people suggest something. If it were me, I'd turn it! (Even if it is a 4/4 board.)

I love holly and have quite a bit of it, all cut from trees and logs given to me. I cut most of it into turning blanks and air dry them before use. I cut these blanks a couple of weeks ago, ready to stack on my drying racks. The small bowl blanks are about 7 or 8" x 4"
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I like the fine grain and the detail it will take, turned or carved. Makes great finials for Christmas ornaments and such, lidded boxes. The holly finial here is in the #2MT collet I used to hold it for turning.
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I made the handle for one of these rider's crops from holly, turned and carved:
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I've made some conductor's batons from holly, nice because it is relatively light in weight and the white color makes it easy to see. I didn't save many pictures but this one shows a small baton with a holly shaft and a kingwood handle.
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I've seen a lot of it used in segmented turnings for accents - even small pieces are great for that. Some people dye holly, it takes color well. That makes me wonder if it would soak up color if used on a cutting board but I don't have experience with that. I've heard reports of color bleeding in holly from adjacent woods when wet sanding or with certain finishes - if you use it along with other types of wood maybe do a small test?

If you can't decide what to do with it and get really tired of moving it, I'm sure you can get lots of volunteers to take it!

JKJ

[John C Bush]

Hi John,
Great looking crops and batons. How stable are the fine tapers and how do you mount in the lathe. I assume you turn the taper and
part off after final sanding. Do you form a tenon on the "wand" and mortise in the handle to attach? Is pear, apple etc stable enough
to use? If they would bend too much the bassoon player might hit the wrong note!! Thanks for all your posts--always learn something
interesting. JCB

[Andrew Seemann]

Holly berries are toxic, and supposedly the sap is bad too. Not sure if that means the lumber is as well. Myself, I probably would not take the risk.Holly is kind of hard to find and can be expensive, someone will want it if you don't have a use for it. It gets used in musical instruments; harpsichord jack tongues are often made of it for example.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks, John!

The shafts have been very stable if the wood is straight-grained. And well dried, of course, not usually a problem for thin pieces! I look for wood with straight grain and no defects. I've used holly and dogwood - dogwood is heavier but a lot tougher if a conductor/band director wants to tap out the time on his music stand. In fact, one in the picture is a "tap baton" made from dogwood.

I've made some of these in one part, handle and shaft, just like I make "magic" wands but most were in two parts with a tenon on the shaft glued into a hole on the handle.

I never turn thin spindles between centers since there is too much flexing. Holding one end tightly in a chuck works a lot better. For these and things like the wands I usually turn a short #2MT taper on one end and jam it into the headstock spindle. This avoids the spinning chuck jaws and lets me remove and remount the piece as needed with perfect alignment, almost impossible with a chuck. I've literally turned hundreds of wands like this over the years and it's the way I prefer to work. A collet chuck or #2MT collet will work as well. I don't have many pictures of making the batons but I have a lot of the wands.

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I like the two-part batons with handle and shaft better since I use a heavy wood for the handle and it helps with the balance. I usually turn the shaft first as I would any very thin spindle, turn a tenon on the end to fit the handle, and leave a little extra thickness of wood on the end near the handle. I use the same "left hand steady rest" method I use on other thin spindles like this wand:

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The shaft is supported on the tailstock end and I don't part that off until later. The reason for the extra thickness on the handle end is to leave enough to match it up with the taper of the handle. I think this adds a little something - none I saw online for sale were made that way. Part off both ends, leaving the tenon.

Then I turn the handle, held in a chuck, drill a hole for the tenon in the end and shape the handle so it's a little narrower towards the shaft. This picture of a girl helping to make a baton as a graduation present for her fiance, drilling the handle. (She had asked me to make one but I told her it would be so much more special if she told him she helped make it!)

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I fit and glue the tenon into the handle then shape the two together for a continuous taper or curve. This picture of the same batons as I posted earlier shows them from a different angle and may be easier to see the join.

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To keep the unsupported end of the shaft steady while turning I support it loosely with my left hand while holding the tool in the right with the "crossover" support I often use on other thin spindles, sort of like this on a wand:

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Then part off the handle and smooth the end by hand. I like TrueOil finish since it's pretty durable and these will be handled a lot. (And it won't darken some exotics like Cocobolo quickly like danish oil.)

One thing to keep in mind - in my research I learned that professional conductors with many years of experience can be extremely picky about their batons! The length, handle shape, weight, balance, etc. apparently has to be just right for them or they won't use it. I suspect it is just what they've gotten used to over the years. The first one I made was for a guy just graduating from college and the second was for a young woman leading the music in a church - I think both of those were still pretty adaptable!

JKJ



Hi John,
Great looking crops and batons. How stable are the fine tapers and how do you mount in the lathe. I assume you turn the taper and
part off after final sanding. Do you form a tenon on the "wand" and mortise in the handle to attach? Is pear, apple etc stable enough
to use? If they would bend too much the bassoon player might hit the wrong note!! Thanks for all your posts--always learn something
interesting. JCB

[John K Jordan]

Not sure if that means the lumber is as well.

The Wood Database reports "Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Holly."

Other sources say don't eat the berries or the leaves but I don't remember ever reading about problems with the wood. Of course, there may be lots of species where the wood may not be good to eat, except for certain insects and fungii!

Holly makes great firewood too. I did get one holly log that was best used for firewood...

JKJ

[Don Coffman]

I use Holly for 1911 grips ..
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[John K Jordan]

I use Holly for 1911 grips ..
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That looks great! Have you ever used cocobolo for grips? Stop by here some day I and I'll cut some for you.

I have a pistol that shoots either 410 or 45 rounds, a little like The Judge but with the ugliest grips I've ever seen. I have a goal to make some cocobolo grips for it some day.

JKJ

[Philip Glover]

Kevin,

I love holly as an accent wood. It is very easy to work with and finish.
I use it for boats, furniture, and other items which are nautical themed.

Regards,

Phil

[Don Coffman]

That looks great! Have you ever used cocobolo for grips? Stop by here some day I and I'll cut some for you.

I have a pistol that shoots either 410 or 45 rounds, a little like The Judge but with the ugliest grips I've ever seen. I have a goal to make some cocobolo grips for it some day.

JKJ


Cocobolo is beautiful wood, I've been working with a few burls buckeye & myrtle lately. The grips I've worked with are for 1911's I have a few 45ACP's, a 9mm, and a couple 38Supers. Reloading has been a lifelong hobby, it has to be to feed the firearms.
The holly I feel looks great on a blued gun, I have a few in stainless that beg for a dark burl or ebony which I'm trying to zero in on.

Don

[Rob Luter]

I've been watching a Rob Cosman series on making drawers. He's using Cherry for the fronts and Holly for the sides. It makes for a very crisp look.