A friend just returned from a Montana hunting trip and was thoughtful enough to bring me a couple cottonwood and aspen logs for turning. These species are not available in NC where I live and I am just wondering what to expect. Anybody here ever turned those species?
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Cottonwood and Aspen
- Thread starter Wally Crawford
- Start date
I have been turning a fair amount of cottonwood lately. It turns well. Its not particularly hard, but not particularly soft either. It often has good figure, frequently has natural staining, often has darker heartwood depending on the size. It sands to a pretty good sheen naturally, takes a nice finish.
It does NOT seem to stain well...went down this experimental staining path a few times. I tried it with cottonwood each time, as a treecutter friend had a TON of cottonwood he needed to get rid of (too many wood piles, neighbors complaining), so I've been taking a lot of it. It just does not stain well. It finishes fine with standard finishes, but when it comes to stain the fibers of the wood, even with a pre-stain conditioner, just do not absorb the stain in any way resembling consistent or even. So I wouldn't stain cottonwood.
Aspen is similar, its not a harder wood, its a bit softer. With the aspen I've turned, it doesn't turn as well as the cottonwood. But, it does have this internal staining around the heartwood that is quite nice. Being slightly on the softer side its very easy to turn. I had a tough time getting it to take spar or poly finishes well. Don't know if it was just the particular species or not. IT was very, very dry wood. It took my more standard shellac + acks finish fine, but that's not a particularly durable finish.
I don't think I have any of the aspen pieces around, but here are some of the cottonwood pieces I've turned recently:
I like the cottonwood for its variation and figure. Almost every piece I have has some figure, most has some natural staining. Just makes for more interesting wood, I think. It takes a finish very nicely.
It does NOT seem to stain well...went down this experimental staining path a few times. I tried it with cottonwood each time, as a treecutter friend had a TON of cottonwood he needed to get rid of (too many wood piles, neighbors complaining), so I've been taking a lot of it. It just does not stain well. It finishes fine with standard finishes, but when it comes to stain the fibers of the wood, even with a pre-stain conditioner, just do not absorb the stain in any way resembling consistent or even. So I wouldn't stain cottonwood.
Aspen is similar, its not a harder wood, its a bit softer. With the aspen I've turned, it doesn't turn as well as the cottonwood. But, it does have this internal staining around the heartwood that is quite nice. Being slightly on the softer side its very easy to turn. I had a tough time getting it to take spar or poly finishes well. Don't know if it was just the particular species or not. IT was very, very dry wood. It took my more standard shellac + acks finish fine, but that's not a particularly durable finish.
I don't think I have any of the aspen pieces around, but here are some of the cottonwood pieces I've turned recently:
I like the cottonwood for its variation and figure. Almost every piece I have has some figure, most has some natural staining. Just makes for more interesting wood, I think. It takes a finish very nicely.
Dave Landers
Beta Tester
Cottonwood ranges from fantastic figure with great chatoyance, to bland and boring and plain. Pieces with the good figure are great. I do find it somewhat challenging to turn - it does like to tear out. So it takes sharp tools and good technique (the bland pieces are great for gouge practice. I find that the figured wood takes dye really well - I usually do a dark color like red first, then lighter like yellow on top - that really brings out the figure as the dye soaks into different areas of the figure differently.
Aspen can have some nice color variations, especially around knots. It's soft and likes to tear out, so it also can be challenging to turn well. Again, sharp tools and good technique. I find it's pretty stable around the pith, so I like doing end-grain hollow forms around the pith.
Aspen can have some nice color variations, especially around knots. It's soft and likes to tear out, so it also can be challenging to turn well. Again, sharp tools and good technique. I find it's pretty stable around the pith, so I like doing end-grain hollow forms around the pith.
Renowned lamp shape turner Peter Bloch used aspen. According to him it has the best translucence of all woods.
www.woodshades.com
A large easter egg box I turned from aspen
About Peter — Woodglow
www.woodshades.com
A large easter egg box I turned from aspen
I turned a cottonwood burl that a friend dropped off years back. I was going to throw the wood out as I thought it was too soft to turn. Glad now that I didn't.
Saddly I took it to our club for show and tell, and when I went to take it home, it had a lot of the bark broken off. This has happened a few times and I no longer bring natural edged pieces for show and tell.
Saddly I took it to our club for show and tell, and when I went to take it home, it had a lot of the bark broken off. This has happened a few times and I no longer bring natural edged pieces for show and tell.