At a recent 'Art in Wood' event I picked up a piece of dry butternut that was about 8" x 16" by 3 1/2" and cut two bowl blanks from it. The pith had been maybe 1/2"-3/4" from the surface and well centered on the blanks. As an experiment I turned a bowl in each orientation (pith at top and pith at bottom).
For those who have never turned butternut, this stuff tears out as bad as any punky, spalted wood I have ever turned. I definitely had to break out the 80 grit gouge! Like well spalted wood, the appearance made it worth while or the second bowl would not have been turned.
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Turned pith at top, notice the rays inside the bowl and the pattern in the bottom. Middle picture shows some of the chatoyance the wood displays.