Is Magnolia wood workable for furniture?

[bobby g]

A friend mentioned tonight that he has been air drying some fairly large magnolia boards for about 3 years now. Is the wood useful at all? How does it work?

bobby g

 

[JRD]

I would assume so.

Several years ago I used Magnolia in several turnings and for a few pens as well. It's seems to be reasonably strong, the grain is not really outstanding.

Jim

 

[Jeff]

No personal experience here. Here's a primer about the wood. It seems doable for interior work.

http://www.connectedlines.com/wood/wood42.htm

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/17120

 

[scsmith42]

Bob, you bet it's usable! Don Patterson (Tuchwood) just made a magnolia table for the Nature Research Center from their magnolia. I have some 20 inch wide magnolia boards in the shop that Don and I are about to use to make a separate piece for the museum too.

It would be best to sterilize the boards though before using them.

 

[MarvinWatkins]

OK, that's got me curious :icon_scra... why would you have to 'sterilize' magnolia and not other woods?

 

[scsmith42]

OK, that's got me curious :icon_scra... why would you have to 'sterilize' magnolia and not other woods?

Marvin, all woods that have been kiln dried are sterilized at the end of the drying cycle.

Although it is possible to safely air dry many species, some woods - such as magnolia - are a little more susceptible to hosting powder post beetles or other unwanted pests, and it's best to err on the side of caution when obtaining air-dried versions of these woods.

Many woodworkers will purchase air dried wood and then sterilize it themselves in their shop. FWW had an article about a year ago about how to build a simple home sterilization chamber.

 

[William Roscoe]

Marvin, all woods that have been kiln dried are sterilized at the end of the drying cycle.

Although it is possible to safely air dry many species, some woods - such as magnolia - are a little more susceptible to hosting powder post beetles or other unwanted pests, and it's best to err on the side of caution when obtaining air-dried versions of these woods.

Many woodworkers will purchase air dried wood and then sterilize it themselves in their shop. FWW had an article about a year ago about how to build a simple home sterilization chamber.

I use a solar kiln so I don't have a way to get the temp up any more than about 140 to 150 degrees. Do you think that's enough to kill those powder post beatles??

 

[scsmith42]

I use a solar kiln so I don't have a way to get the temp up any more than about 140 to 150 degrees. Do you think that's enough to kill those powder post beatles??

William, you should be fine. USDA recommends heating the lumber to a minimum of 133F for 30 minutes for sterilization (measured at the core of the lumber), and in the summer time a solar kiln definitely exceeds this spec.

 

[William Roscoe]

Thanks Scott. Sometimes a few of those critters will find their way into a load and I sure don't want to burn lumber at that stage.

 

[MagGeorge]

Thanks for the links, Jeff. I am learning. Based from the resources, it is pretty much usable.