Florida Magnolia compliments of Ian

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  • Dedpedal
    Established Member
    • Feb 2020
    • 255
    • Palm Coast Florida
    • One BT3000 in use and one for parts. Plus a BT3100

    Florida Magnolia compliments of Ian

    A friend lost a few branches from his tree due to the storm and gifted me a few chunks of the trunk. I’ve never seen anyone use this wood,even though it appears to be pretty dense and hard.
    any tips,advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
    be safe everyone!
  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    #2
    Magnolia makes for nice bowls but it needs to be dried. Bowls are usually sized to the general and left about 1 1/2" thick, left to dry in a paper bag over several months in the attic or dry place, then turned to size.

    Magnolia can be made into pens and accept stabilizing with color for nice colors.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

    Comment

    • capncarl
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2007
      • 3564
      • Leesburg Georgia USA
      • SawStop CTS

      #3
      Magnolia is a gnarly tree so it is unusual to find a limb straight enough for boards. I use Magnolia often in my Tiny Trees and Mushrooms. It’s not my favorite, it is as white as Birch, usually quite uneventful. If you have any branches on that limb there will be some nice character there. It does have a tendency to split badly but the splits don’t usually transverse the entire limb/log. Like Lee said, I’d coat each end with several coats of latex. Since it was recently cut I think I’d cut several inches of each end and coat the fresh cut, hoping to cutting off the dry ends and allow the limb dry slowly. Regardless if it does split there will be plenty of usable wood for pens. If you have plans to make some planks our of it I’d go ahead and split it now, it might relieve the splitting. Cutting disks out of the limb will leave you disappointed because of splits

      Comment

      • Dedpedal
        Established Member
        • Feb 2020
        • 255
        • Palm Coast Florida
        • One BT3000 in use and one for parts. Plus a BT3100

        #4
        I think I’ll be taking Hanks advice and turn some blanks then paint the ends and stash them in the attic for awhile.

        Comment


        • capncarl
          capncarl commented
          Editing a comment
          After you cut the blanks I think coating the ends is useless. Coating is to slow down the drying in hopes the wood won’t crack, cutting the blanks will allow the wood to dry quickly. Cutting the wood will also stop a lot of the cracks because it is not a circular mass any more,
      • fruitsatisfied
        Banned
        • Nov 2022
        • 1

        #5
        The wood is too hard, the orchid cannot live. They need a high degree of rotting and humidity.
        Last edited by fruitsatisfied; 11-21-2022, 03:10 AM.

        Comment


        • dbhost

          dbhost
          commented
          Editing a comment
          Please explain. I know Magnolia is quite hard, but not sure what you mean otherwise.
      • dbhost
        Slow and steady
        • Apr 2008
        • 9209
        • League City, Texas
        • Ryobi BT3100

        #6
        A good amount of the turnings I did early on when I got my HF lathe was of Hurricane Ike stormfall Pecan and Magnolia. Yes it has to dry, thoroughly I made candlestick holders, and bowls with it. Rough out your blanks a bit more than an inch in excess and leave them to dry for a year or so depending on how thick they are... Never seen it used for dimensional projects, but I imagine it could be...
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        Comment


        • capncarl
          capncarl commented
          Editing a comment
          I have seen antique furniture that was made of Magnolia. It was always stained, so in reality it could be any kind of wood since it is naturally white. I suspect that left unstained it would yellow or take on all matter of dirty handprints no dust.
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