Uses for Holly ?

[Claus]

My friend had a pretty big Holly tree taken down and asked me about the best way to have the boards milled, or is it even worth sawing. Other than white wood inlays I really don’t know what holly might be good for. The sap, wood color, cutting season issues aren’t important as its already been cut.

Should he cut planks, 2x4’s, turning blanks? What is holly like to work with? Any ideas for specific projects that would take advantage of its properties? Have you made anything really cool with holly?

Thanks for any input.

 

[creasman]

Holly turns beautifully. It is fine-grained and stable. It can also be ebonized to create dark/black inlay.

I've heard it can be finicky to dry w/o having it turn blue/gray. What I'm told is that it's best to cut in the winter when the sap is down and then stack and dry it in a well-ventilated place that is out of the sunlight. Others who regularly saw and dry lumber can comment more on this.

As for size I'd say cut it to whatever size meets the intended use. Milling it 2" thick will take longer to dry, but you can always cut it down further later if you don't need the 2".

Just my two cents.

 

[bbrown]

Holly will quickly get blue streak discolorations. This is a fungus that creeps in unless you are careful to immediately seal the end of the logs prior to milling. As Jim stated, it is best to cut the tree in winter to avoid this.
I use a lot of holly for inlay. It is the whitest of woods and creates a nice contrast with darker woods such as walnut or mahogany. Holly can be hard for woodworkers to find. I sell inlay strips on my workshop website....https://www.mainecoastworkshop.com/inlay-holly

 

[Rwe2156]

I'm not sure about holly in the southern US.

Cut a big limb off one on my property & it turned yellow. It was in the winter. A friend who has a sawmill gave me a piece he cut from a local tree and its white as a sheet!

It it works out, you've got some $$'s there.

 

[Graywolf]

I have made a saw handle and a few chisel handles out of it it tools really well, I think it’s beautiful. I can’t see why it couldn’t be used in any ornamental way.

 

[creasman]

I made these float handles from holly. In my case I cut a small tree (maybe 2" diameter), put a length in the basement and forgot about. When it came time to make the handles I cut off 6" sections to turn. This was my first experience with using holly this way. What I learned was:

• Even though I had not taken any precautions like sealing the ends there were really no cracks. I've done the same with other species and I usually lose several inches at the end, sometimes the entire length.
• It was a joy to turn. Almost no sanding was required and it takes a crisp edge.
• The wood is tight-grained and stable. The floats have a tang that is driven into the handle (after first boring a slightly smaller hole). There has been no slipping or cracking.

 

[AgingHippie]

Holly is traditionally used with teak on boat decks. Maybe it’s time to build that boat…

 

[Jerry C]

I had a holly tree processed and dried by Scott Smith a few years ago. The tree was cut in cold weather and processed within a week or so of cutting down. Scott processed it as soon as I delivered and dried it in his solar kiln....after a month or so the wood was ready. The cost was reasonable...I got my money's worth just by seeing a real hardwood operation and talking to Scott....you should have it cut and processed just to have the experience. You will probably not get a lot of clear white holly but you will learn why kiln dried hardwood comes with a premium.

 

[Perverse Imp]

Anyone work with Japanese holly? Very hard and quite beautiful. Seasons to a reddish color, similar to mahogany, with the finished hard texture of pearwood. Here in the Raleigh/Durham area, it is typically a home builders shrub.
Always wanted to make a small block plane with both red and white (yellowed) hollies.
Sorry, Claus, didn’t mean to divert your thread.

 

[Bgossett635]

Holly is a nice easy wood to turn. I have been lucky and acquired a few spalted pieces. Absolutely beautiful.

 

[Bgossett635]

I made these float handles from holly. In my case I cut a small tree (maybe 2" diameter), put a length in the basement and forgot about. When it came time to make the handles I cut off 6" sections to turn. This was my first experience with using holly this way. What I learned was:

• Even though I had not taken any precautions like sealing the ends there were really no cracks. I've done the same with other species and I usually lose several inches at the end, sometimes the entire length.
• It was a joy to turn. Almost no sanding was required and it takes a crisp edge.
• The wood is tight-grained and stable. The floats have a tang that is driven into the handle (after first boring a slightly smaller hole). There has been no slipping or cracking.

View attachment 209358

Nice! I made a lathe tool handle out of some crepe myrtle. It looks very similar to your holly handles.