I have written about Cucumbertree extensively in a previous post, so I won’t repeat it here.
This turned out to be something of an experiment although that wasn’t what I expected or intended.
I’ve had this Cucumbertree blank for some time, although I couldn’t say exactly how long as I didn’t note that (I probably should have done that will all of my blanks). I knew it was green when I bought it, but I was reasonably sure it had dried by now. It is also possible that I bought it more recently and don’t remember it. However it happen, there it is. Suffice it to say that I expected it to have dried but I decidedly had not.
Cucumbertree Interior Slanted
At the point that I knew it was still green, I could have elected to rough turn it, seal it, and let it dry to be final finished later once it had dried completely. But instead I decided to try something that I have read about but never done: I finish turned the piece and then used Shellawax as both a finish and a sealer that should slow drying to a pace that will prevent checking and warping. Griffin Exotic Woods in the high and dry desert of Colorado uses Shellawax to seal all of their wood so I thought it would be worth a try. I use Shellawax all the time as the final finish but this was the first time I would try it, instead of white glue or Anchor Seal, as a sealant and a finish.
As one would expect from a somewhat wet wood, the Cucumbertree cut easily with long curling ribbons. However, as easy as it is to cut, even slightly green wood really resists sanding to a nice smooth texture, especially along the end grain which is where the water loss is occurring. It took some serious work but I achieved what I wanted. By the time I reversed bowl, not even 30 minutes after cutting the outside and bottom, it had already warped a bit out of round and there were very small checks in the side walls. Now that was fast! I cut and sanded the interior as quickly as I could, which was pretty quick because the green wood cuts so easily, and for some reason even the end grain areas on the interior were not difficult to sand smooth.
Cucumbertree Bowl Reverse Slanted
Now I could coat the sides and interior with the Shellawax and buff it to a shine. The reversing to remove the foot was quick, less than five minutes, and the piece was finished.
At this point I will watch the finished piece to see how much, if at all, it warps or changes as it continues to slowly dry. I’m hoping that it won’t change, perceptively, as at all. Time will tell. Could be that tomorrow morning it will have a huge crack! Anyway it turns out, I think this will be an interesting experiment as I have two or three more pieces of Cucumbertree that might be slightly wet I may continue to experiment.
As always, all cuts were made with Easy Wood Tools and the blank was turned on my Robust American Beauty lathe. All sanding was done with Green Wave paper from Packard Woodworks. As previously mentioned the finish, and in this case sealant as well, is Australian Shellawax.
Cucumbertree Interior
The blank was a 6″ x 2″ and the finished piece measures in at 5.75″ by 2″.
The coloration of this piece is interesting. Cucumbertree, which is a Magnolia, is generally very plain and pale yellow throughout. The purplish brown color on the base and in the interior to a lesser degree is due to some degree of spalting, or fungal decay. This process is very natural and very common, and especially with pale woods the effect is considered a plus as it makes plain wood more interesting. Every piece of Cucumbertree that I have ever worked with has this discoloration present and I expect that one would have to turn it sopping wet to prevent it from occurring. And one more plus side to the fungal decay process, as it was still a bit wet, the wood had a strong perfume smell, quite pleasant actually, that I have never noticed when the wood is dry.