butternut tearout

Re: butternut tearout

Peter Teubel

>Yes....for the most part. I've turned a fair amount of butternut and some would be ok, but most are tear-out prone. Personally, I just don't turn it anymore. Not worth the hassle (IMHO).

Re: butternut tearout

George Balock

>Pete,

I've only turned butternut once, and I'll never turn it again. The tearout is awful. Even after sanding I thought that the surface felt fuzzy. Buffing helped some, but it was not up to my normal finish. To accent the grain, I rubbed some black shoe polish into it.

George

you guys just saved me some bar oil

Mike Schwing from Md.

>I friend called me about a fallen butternut in his backyard. I hadn't done anything about it yet, and now don't plan to! Thanks.

Give it to a carver!

Jay in Ohio

>Keith,

Carvers love the stuff! Its soft enough to cut easily, hard enough to keep form well, and tight closed grain to accept and hold detail. So give it to a carver if its already cut up; if not, you can always give it back to Mother Nature.

~Jay

Re: Give it to a carver!

Dick Hines

>I guess I am the only one who likes butter nut. But I also like coootnwood. Sure there is tearout but that is what the old 60 grit gouge is far.

Re: Give it to a carver!

Ace Foster in Ben Lomond 95005

>I've turned a few pieces of butternut over the years and have always been pretty happy with it. Cottonwood, tho', is pretty easy to resist.

Re: butternut tearout

Phil Joines Krum, Texas

>I've turned a bit of it. Try shear scraping with a sharp gouge to get a clean finish.

Don't be so hasty!!

Dominic Greco in warming Richboro PA

>Keith,

Butternut is a cousin to Walnut. It's creamy color contrasts nicely when combined in a bowl with walnut or mahogany (like as in the pic I've attached below). But it's also one of those woods you either love, or hate. I'm one of the people who don't mind it at all.

I wouldn't turn it down so fast! At least get a couple of small pieces. This tree is on the verge of dying out due to intense insect/disease damage. It's getting more scarce all the time. I know wood carvers who would give their right...eh,...arm for this wood. Cut some up, let it season and sell it on EBay.

I've turned several small bowls from Butternut and found that using a trick Russ passed along works wonders.

Using sharp tools (gouges, shear scraper), get the surface as smooth as you can. Shear scraping works wonders. If you get a problem area (when it won't cut cleanly), it is caused by the soft fibers bending, rather than breaking. If you make up a mix of 50% mineral spirits, and 50% varnish (the kind with alkyd resins), you can coat the area. Let it dry for a day, and you'd be amazed at the surface you can get! It cuts like a different wood then. Wet sanding with the same mix will give you such a smooth surface, that it will look like porcelain.

Besides, what have you got to loose? :>)

See ya around,

Dominic