My son has a stack of Bradford that was cut in the last couple of weeks. Some will fit my lathe. Your thoughts?
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Bradford pear source
- Thread starter John Torchick
- Start date
Very prone to cracking , just like any fruit wood, remove pith ,cut over size and seal right away. I love Turning Bradford pear especially for anything that has a lot of detail, like basket illusion pieces, cuts well, polishes easily and has pleasant pinkish/ reddish brown color when dry.
Not sure what you are saying about removing the pith. These are small branches and logs up to about 16-18 inches diameter.
The pith is the heart /center stem going all the way up the tree, its the first area that cracks will develop from . You should also try and select logs with less branches coming out as the branch areas will be prone to cracking as well , below is a cut diagram , the pith / heart gets thrown away and the rest gets used
Great picture.
Familiar with the pith. Just wondering that you were suggesting. As Alan stated, thanks for the picture. Any way to copy it for future reference? Next is to find a place to store the wood.
John - if using a Windows computer just Right Click on the photo and save it. On an iPad just press on it and save to photos. I have maintained a folder on my computer of wood turning web finds for about 25 years. Now have more than 3 GB in 80 folders of various categories. I export from my iPad to the computer by emailing to myself.
Mike, thanks for the help. Will print and save it in a shop file.
Like any wood, especially fruit wood, you'll have your best luck with the trunk of the tree that was hopefully growing nice and vertical. Branches can be a problem, as there is a lot of stress in the wood from supporting itself in a more horizontal orientation. As Bob mentioned above, get the pith out before prepping it for storing. It's probably already cracking. As an additional FYI, Bradford pear is typically planted as an ornamental, and many communities have outlawed them, as they are highly prolific and considered an invasive species.
And they stink when in bloom. Wife and I used to walk a couple of neighborhoods when we noticed a bad odor. Bradford pear trees!
The selection will be trunk sections and branches. Will be picky when I look this weekend.
The selection will be trunk sections and branches. Will be picky when I look this weekend.
Terrible trees, but I save every bit of good sized bradford pear wood I can get. I cut it through the pith then cut squares as large and long as possible with the bandsaw, coat the ends with thickened anchorseal, and let them air dry, track the dryness by weight. Great turning wood - hard, fine grain, love it. (I of course turn it dry, not green.) Have pieces from a log drying now. I don't bother with small branches, not my thing.
JKJ
In addition the way the branches grow from the main trunk they tend to split off, make a mess, an expense. Some towns/cities that planted them long ago for the white blooms are taking them out now.
JKJ
Here's a Walnut bowl with feature ring of Bradford Pear and Mesquite. The somewhat muted colors work well with each other.
Tim
Tim
As a tree nerd (arborist), I find the whole story of these things facinating. The original cultivars were supposed to be sterile, but it turned out they will cross with any other Pyrus species, so off they went. We see fields full of them in the spring when they bloom. Pretty, but bad news for the native species...
I keep looking for some wood to try turning it...
ui.charlotte.edu
I keep looking for some wood to try turning it...
Outlaws and Bounties: Bradford pear edition - Charlotte Urban Institute
Bradford pears are a problem. For years, I didn’t want to admit it. I’d drive the highways of the Piedmont and the backroads of the Uwharries in early spring, noting the occasional white-blooming tree at the edge of the woods and trying to convince myself they weren’t as invasive as privet. And...
ui.charlotte.edu
You might ask a local municipality. Or call tree service companies. I saw some in a nearby town/city cut down with a sign advertising who cut it. I have too much wood right now or I would have come back with the truck.
JKJ
Watch for them after an ice storm or even a wet heavy snow. The weight on the limbs will split the branches making a mess for the home owner. Offer to come by when the tree service is there to clean it up and grab the trunk section. There is only about three feet of usable wood, but it is great to turn.
We are next to a subdivision, Bartlett Place. The roadside is lined with BP trees. Seen lots of limbs and trees down after a hard storm. The trees are notorious for breaking off under high winds. Thanks, Wally.
Good insurance against against powder post beetles and other insects is a Boric acid wash. Dip the wood into a maximum solution of water and boric acid. Let it dry thoroughly and dip again. Your wood is ready to store and can be used when dried to your satisfaction.
Hard to dip a big log?
We had a Bradford pear tree when we lived in Chicago. It was beautiful in the spring but a moderate wind storm split it, as commonly happens. The good news, at that time I was trying to learn how to use the skew and I saved many branches and made dozens of wands for my kids and their friends. Great wood to turn though pretty plain as others have already stated.
Tom
Tom
The most important thing to know about BP is that it's invasive. They all need to die.
As I stated, the main road is lined with them.
Note that cutting them down may not be enough since sprouts can grow back aggressively from the roots.
I like to dig things up by the roots, but I have the machines. Probably worse for the habitat than Bradford Pear is bush honeysuckle. I've dug up 100s that had spread on this farm. The inhibit other plant growth below or near them (the entire ground in one place was mostly bare dirt), provide no useful food for wildlife or useful nesting spots for birds. Those and the nasty invasive privet will take over the US in some areas. Can't tell you how many tons I've removed with the backhoe or excavator.
To kill bradford pear (or any other undsireable tree or plant of any size look into Garlon, recommended to me by my forester. I used it to rid a spot by the barn of the prolific and nasty invasive Ailanthus grove near my barn. Nasty trees. Introduced by unthinking people as the Tree of Heaven since they can look a bit "tropical." The Garlon will kill even mature trees, roots and all, with a single application when done properly - if anyone wants to know how, ust ask.
I've also used Garlon to wipe out the dozens of black locust tree sprouts that popped up in strings from the long roots of one tree I removed from the yard at the house. These sprouts came up even though I had dug up the main roots with the excavator because the long, shallow root system stayed in the ground. If I had used Garlon on the main tree trunk the entire root system would have been wiped out as well. (Note: Garlon applied in a way I was taught, unlike spraying or other methods, does NOT affect any other plants except the target and can't be spread by wind or rain. When forester showed me how to use it he said it was a miracle solution.)
JKJ
I was being more philosophical than literal.
