Wood question......

[Bob Wright]

I have stopped and picked up logs placed at roadside from fallen limbs or felled trees. These I bring home, dry and used in the making of my wooden cars. Usually the wood is one of the mnore common variety, oak, maple, elm, etc. Recently I brought home several logs on unknown species. I picked a twig with leaves on it also. When I got home I looked it up and determined the wood to be green hawthorn.

I've cut several billets from it, sealed the ends and put it in the rack to dry. The wood is really heavy, and appears very hard. The little information I have says its rot resistant, very hard, and used for tool handles and fence posts.

So, what do I have? Anybody ever work with it? I'm at least a year away from using it. It is light in color, but darkens with exposure to the air.

This was made from red elm (slippery elum, oldtimers called it) given to me as a log:



This from a log of sycamore that was being pruned:



And persimmon wood, from a felled tree in my neighborhood:


Bob Wright

 

[GunnyGene]

Never worked with hawthorne (green or otherwise), but my wife planted one a few years back that tries to take my head off every time I mow :roll: . Funny thing about hard vs. soft woods. Some called softwood are actually hard as nails and vice versa.

Great looking models, btw.:D Something I've never been good at or even wanted to be. Don't have the patience for it.

 

[RugerHound]

Wow! Those are great! Excellent woodworking Bob!

 

[SAJohn]

I especially like the persimmon.

 

[Cholo]

Bob, your cars are simply amazing! I also like the persimmon.

 

[southernfarmer1021]

Beautiful work!!!

Have you ever made anything out of Osage orange?

If you don't have it you would invest in "the woodbook" by Romeyn Hough. It Is a historical and definitive reference on native Us wood...including full color plates of actual wood specimens cut in all three major planes.

That book does not have green hawthorn but discusses three other hawthorns- it states that is a hard, heavy, close grained wood. Does not list any common wood workin uses.

 

[Bob Wright]

I have some osage orange curing in the rack right now.

Trivia lesson:

Osage orange is also know as bowdark, bodock or similar names. The bowedark comse from a corruption of bowed arc sort of French word, meaning the wood was used for making bows.

Osage orange trees were used by the Deadrick family, an early Memphis family, to border their plantation. From this came the name for the Orange Mound community of Memphis.

And, many years ago, a friend of mine has a .22 rifle, a "Tom Mix Special" with a stock made of osage orange.

Bob Wright

 

[Bob Wright]

And more trivia from my wealth of such information:

A formula for cough syrup: Place three or four pieces of bark from either a black chery tree or "slippery ellum" tree in a five quart pot. Fill with one gallon of water. Boil down to about one pint and let cool. Strain into a glass bottle and cork. (Some folks preferred to add an ounce of whisky to a tablespoon dose.)

Bob Wright

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I have some osage orange curing in the rack right now.

Trivia lesson:

Osage orange is also know as bowdark, bodock or similar names. :D :D The bowedark comse from a corruption of bowed arc sort of French word, meaning the wood was used for making bows.

Osage orange trees were used by the Deadrick family, an early Memphis family, to border their plantation. From this came the name for the Orange Mound community of Memphis.

And, many years ago, a friend of mine has a .22 rifle, a "Tom Mix Special" with a stock made of osage orange.

Bob Wright

AHHHHHHHH Bob,
I think in our part of the country it is called "bois d'arc." Also called bow wood :D :D :D

Many modern archers assert the wood of the Osage orange is superior even to English Yew for this purpose, though this opinion is by no means unanimous. The trees are also known as "bodark" or "bodarc" trees, most likely originating from a corruption of "bois d'arc." The Comanches also used this wood for their bows. It was popular with them because it was strong, flexible and durable, and was common along river bottoms of the Comanchería.

We have a street called "bois d'arc." very close to us. Lots of folks can't pronounce it.

A very small range.

 

[Mobuck]

osage orange=hedge in the Midwest
used for posts and the much too common "name log" yard ornament
Dad used to make tool handles from hedge for such things as splitting mauls and grub hoes.

 

[jimbo1096]

Bob, how big a piece of wood do you need to make one of these cars?
I may have some you might be interested in.

 

[caryc]

I'll tell you what my friend, it takes a heck of a lot more talent to make those cars than it takes to make a pair of grips. Seriously, I'm jealous.

 

[toysoldier]

I don't know how it would work for a bow, but mulberry is almost indistinguishable from hedge. They're closely related species; hedgeapples are just big, green mulberries. :wink:

 

[Hole Shooter]

Wow! What talent!! Those are beautiful.

 

[Critch]

Up here they call it "Bow dark". It makes excellent bows..

 

[Faux Paws]

Don't know much about tree grain.

But wow, wonderful curve on the right side versus straight lines on hood/roof in first pic.

Very cool "flames" on side of hood on #2. Well placed door knob and curves in #2.

Thanks for posting these. You, sir, are a true artisan!

FP