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It's very soft, tends to be unstable while drying and likes to splinter while machining. Salix nigra (Black Willow) is the only species that is really considered a lumber species.
But free wood is free wood. I have seen some spectular turnings with it, and there is nothing wrong with practice wood.
Dave
But free wood is free wood. I have seen some spectular turnings with it, and there is nothing wrong with practice wood.
Dave
Robert,
I had one interaction with willow that made me remember it almost 20 years later. I was using it to make a pair of feet for speaker stands and found a really beautiful piece. I cut into it and turned off the saw, cursing :wmad:. Darned old sewer!:swoon: Must have backed up again!! So off I went into the house sniffing to see where the sewer had backed up. Hummmmm... NO BACKUP! What is going on? :icon_scra So back to the willow in the shop.
Then it hit me, all in one aromatic burst as I walked back into the shop. OMG! I needed a clothes pin!!
After investigating, seems the willow was harvested from a swamp that was near a treatment facility, which it had stored up for future generations -- including ME!! To put it mildly, it smelled like an old, open septic system!!
Otherwise, it was very easy to work with, was soft and a little prone to tear out if the tools were dull. And the smell was easily covered with finish. :icon_thum
I agree, free is GOOD!
Jim
I had one interaction with willow that made me remember it almost 20 years later. I was using it to make a pair of feet for speaker stands and found a really beautiful piece. I cut into it and turned off the saw, cursing :wmad:. Darned old sewer!:swoon: Must have backed up again!! So off I went into the house sniffing to see where the sewer had backed up. Hummmmm... NO BACKUP! What is going on? :icon_scra So back to the willow in the shop.
Then it hit me, all in one aromatic burst as I walked back into the shop. OMG! I needed a clothes pin!!
After investigating, seems the willow was harvested from a swamp that was near a treatment facility, which it had stored up for future generations -- including ME!! To put it mildly, it smelled like an old, open septic system!!
Otherwise, it was very easy to work with, was soft and a little prone to tear out if the tools were dull. And the smell was easily covered with finish. :icon_thum
I agree, free is GOOD!
Jim
my first experiance was much like jim's. cutting one down (and not near any treatment plant) i turned the saw off sevealr times to check the bottom of my boots. aromatic is an understatment.
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