Bloody great lumps of wood...

[randlemarcus]

The other half's Dad likes turning wood things in his shed (granted, its a Good Shed, with telly and chairs and things, so I suspect its a haven as much as a workshop, but I digress).

Whats a really nice wood to turn, and from where does one purchase such things? I suspect a lump of 4*4 unseasoned pine might not fit the bill...

[Thevet]

Most hard woods are ok, so not pine, try contacting John Boddy's in Yorkshire, boroughbridge I think, as they stock and supply lots of sutiable blanks for turning, often some very weird and wonderful varieties, appreciated only by turners.

[richyb]

I work with trees and was approached recently by a bespoke furniture making asking if we had any English Walnut trees that were being felled. We didn't but I had a chat with him and its apparently a really great wood to work with. Cuts and shapes very well and has an excellent very unique finish. English Cherry is supposed to be pretty good aswell.

[Stamp]

Strangly, ebay throws up some really nice lumps of wood.
For ease, lime. ( Very bland and boring )
For looks, some exotic hardwood.
To ware out your tools, ebony or maple.
If it has to be a native, try yew ( two tone in a good way ) or walnut.

[juice]

Cedar. Added bonus is that it smells great !

[s3fella]

Depends what he is making, if he wants to make small stuff, carvings etc,with lots of detail, Pearwood is excellent as it is very very close grain.

[Simpo Two]

Yep, fruitwood, the only issue being it doesn't get very big.

But do make sure it's seasoned. I tried turning a pomander once and it was great until it dried out, went pear-shaped and split...

[BB-Q]

There's a ton of free driftwood on the local beach every day. What varieties I have no idea. Most are too big to pick up though.

Edited by BB-Q on Thursday 27th November 21:59