# Cherry laurel?



## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

I have a small log my brother gave me to cut some greenwood bowls from. He got it from his neighbor who said it was cherry laurel. I've never heard of that before. It's a nice creamy white that started turning orange exposed to air and heat. Anybody know anything about it? It turns like a dream! I'll eventually have a picture to post of it.


----------



## jdixon (Nov 21, 2007)

I'm not much at identifying different types of woods or even knowing what all the types of trees there are but man can I google!:laughing: Anyways sounds like it comes from the southeast united states. Sometimes listed as a shrub more than a tree but it can also grow pretty large. One thing I saw on the following link is a listing that all parts of the tree are toxic. fruit, leaves, bark etc. Just something to consider.

John

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57865/


----------



## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Thanks for the link, I added it to my list of resources. It sounds like a lot of woody shrubs I've seen, but has no information on the wood characteristics.


----------



## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

This stuff shrinks and cracks like a fiend. I think I've found a way to control it some. I took a block that was resting in a plastic bag a couple of months and turned a bowl with it. Following a clue left by another member about soaking wood in tung oil as it dries to control shrinkage I soaked it good several times. Very interestingly when the tung oil is applied the deep orange suddenly appears and the grain stands out. I'll post a shot when I get it dried good so you can see it.


----------



## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Heres a few shots of the mostly finished bowl and a shot of the first turning and coating of a second bowl.


----------



## toolman Steve (Jun 11, 2009)

Nice job on the bowl. It kind looks like Florida pecan. I'm working on bowl out of some , and I have about 15 pieces /from about 4" - 16 "Dim. Still drying.


----------



## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

I'd love to see it when you are done, post pictures! This stuff is not like any nut species I've seen. It's not a hardwood, almost worse than a softwood, and starts out a creamy color before the change.


----------



## toolman Steve (Jun 11, 2009)

It's still a little wet I am rough turning some and then bagging them in there own chips for awhile.


----------



## AlanC (18 d ago)

I acquired some cherry laurel, I believe. Glossy green leaf, evergreen, white wood, bark is fairly smooth, maybe 1/4” thick, very heavy, very wet. Similar to holly. I’m treating it like green madrona, keeping the green blanks in a plastic garbage can, full of water. I rough turned my first one and boiled it with several other rough turned madrona. After boiling I let the rough turned laurel sit for about 6 weeks before I turned it down. Works nice, very creamy color, dense. Sands to a silky smooth. No cracks. Pretty sure I could turn it down thin, 1/8”, as it is very dense.


----------



## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

There are so many off shrub woods out there that we rarely encounter. I have a piece of 3 inch diameter poison ivy vine up in the shed rafters, a piece of 2 inch diameter blue berry and a 4 inch piece of Service berry also up in the rafters. A buddy already made a pen out of a piece of poison ivy vine for his MIL. She absolutely loved her "poison pen". I haven't made any pens yet, but that seems like it would be a seller.


----------

