Willow Natural Edge

Really good job keeping the wall thickness uniform. All around, Well Done!

Nice curve and nice even thickness, and nice looking piece of wood. I have never turned willow. What is it about turning willow that you don't like?

Bill, I turn a lot of green wood and am used to getting wet but, willow is another level altogether if cut fresh. LOTS of water. It doesn't tolerate scrapers well at all and simply tears and shreds vs cuts. I've found after it's dried just a bit it tolerates them a little better but still not well. For being a soft wood it dulls tools very quickly and needs a very sharp edge to get good cuts so - lots of sharpening. I've been told it has a high silica content. Not sure. The large growth rings means whole sections can come loose along the ring lines. I had the whole bottom come out of one bowl when it was essentially one large growth ring. It can develop lots of hairline cracks but not always. I had two different trees I worked with. One did, one didn't. I've noticed at markets that when people pick it up they're startled a bit by how light it is. The visual weight to size mental image is off so I think they're hesitant to purchase. Maybe it gives it a "cheap" feeling. Not sure. All that said, I've made some very nice vases and a few bowls from it and it can have a very unique and appealing look, depending on the tree. I've found I just cannot get walnut oil to cure on it so I use danish oil which seems to cure just fine. It's tough to get a very smooth sanded finish on it and after DO and some buffing with wax it can still develop a slight fuzz feel from raised grain so I give it a few days post finish and then hit it again with 600 or 400 grit and apply wax. That helps a lot but I think it's still prone to soak moisture from the air. Will see over time..