Butternut Interior
My Butternut blank was of the right general color appearance but it was certainly much harder than the 740 Janka Units listed for Butternut in the Wood Database. There was no fuzzing when I cut it although there was a significant amount of fiber lift when cut across the grain. It didn’t tear out but the extremely coarse texture didn’t respond well to cross grain cuts. It took well over TEN pieces of sandpaper at 60 grit with concentrated and focused area sanding to bring the interior and exterior to an acceptable smoothness.
And my Butternut had a delightfully sweet and spicy scent, sort of like walking into a bakery that even my husband noticed when he walked through the shop. But the Wood Database reports that Butternut has no odor.
Butternut Side View
In my experience, this Butternut behaved most like Mulberry, certainly not a soft wood. Hmmmm, I am forced to think that what was sold to me as Butternut was not the same wood as profiled in the Wood Database, J. cinerea. I do not know if “butternut” is the common name of another tree that grows in the southeast but that seems one possible explanation.
At any rate, if what I worked with really was Butternut, then thanks, no thanks, I would decline to work with it again in the future. The amount of effort was much to great for the reward. The “Butternut” bowl is attractive enough but for the effort expended and the materials cost associated with making it, the Cherry and Claro Walnut bowls I made in the same batch were easier to make, cost less in supplies, and are as equally beautiful, and perhaps more so in the case of the Claro Walnut.
The more I turn the less patience I have with turning blanks and species that test the limits of my patience. This is meant to be a hobby, not work. Blanks and species that make it feel like work are not going to have a welcome reception in my shop in the future.
All that said, I don’t think that I worked with really was Butternut so take my tirade for what it’s worth; probably not much as I am probably ranting against an entirely different wood! I have other blanks labeled as Butternut and I will be curious to see if they handle the same as this blank did.
All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool system on my Robust American Beauty lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck, while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks. Final finish is Shellawax.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!