• The forum upgrades have been completed. These were moderate security fixes from our software vendor and it looks like everything is working well. If you see any problems please post in the Forum Technical Support forum or email us at forum_moderator (at) aawforum.org. Thank you
  • March 2026 Turning Challenge: Olla! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to David Wyke, People's Choice in the February 2026 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Tim Connell for "Black Locust Basket Illusion Series #4" being selected as Turning of the Week for March 16, 2026 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

turning LVL?

J

Jesse Tutterrow

Joined
May 5, 2017
Messages
137
Likes
17
Location
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Working on adding a beam to my workshop. Today I cut it to length and had a 12 x 12 inch piece left over. Has anyone tried turning LVL? I was thinking of a platter blank which would give me concentric rings. (LVL = laminated veneer lumber sort of like plywood but each layer has the grain going the same direction)
 
Jesse,
A guy from our woodturning club brings in cutoffs regularly. Most of us have turned them. They turn pretty well and occasionally we can get a very attractive piece. That said, they are no substitute for a nice hardwood log. Consider them for practice pieces, with an occasional surprise “hidden inside”.
Jon
 
The glue in the beams/glue lams/ OSB (oriented strand board) pieces is harder than the woods, and will dull the tools very quickly. There tend to be a lot of voids in them, but it does work.

robo hippy
 
Jesse Tutterrow said:
Working on adding a beam to my workshop. Today I cut it to length and had a 12 x 12 inch piece left over. Has anyone tried turning LVL? I was thinking of a platter blank which would give me concentric rings. (LVL = laminated veneer lumber sort of like plywood but each layer has the grain going the same direction)
Click to expand...
What Robo said. Expect to sharpen A LOT!
 
You can get some interesting grain patterns with laminated lumber, it is slower turning and knocks the cutting edge down pretty quick.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top