just got some nice pieces of bradford pear blown down in a storm...how does this turn and look?
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bradford pear
- Thread starter johnw
- Start date
don't know, ship me some and i'll let you know
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
i've had mixed results. It turns wonderfully and finishes great as long as you sand properly. The problems I've had are Wind shake. I'll be turning what looks like a good solid piece of wood then all of the sudden there's a big hole running parallel to the rings. I've had to throw out several or drastically alter the shape because of this. If it had only happened once I would worry about it but I had about 4 or 5 times on different pieces from different trees.
Dry it carefully!
John:
Many "fruit" woods derived from the Rose Family (Rosaceae) such as apple, pear, apricot, hawthorn, cherry, etc. are fairly dense, diffuse porous woods often with fairly light color, and moderate figure. In the limited experience I've had using green wood from these kinds of trees, they appear to be quite sensitive to cracking during the drying process. In addition to the ring shaped (wind shake) cracks, even small end checks can grow rapidly upon drying, so being careful in this regard would be wise. Slow and steady is probably best; I don't know about alcohol drying and how that may help the situation - hopefully someone will add to this that has experience drying woods like apple.
Maybe you could make a 'pear' of candlesticks?
Good luck with your wood!
Rob Wallace
John:
Many "fruit" woods derived from the Rose Family (Rosaceae) such as apple, pear, apricot, hawthorn, cherry, etc. are fairly dense, diffuse porous woods often with fairly light color, and moderate figure. In the limited experience I've had using green wood from these kinds of trees, they appear to be quite sensitive to cracking during the drying process. In addition to the ring shaped (wind shake) cracks, even small end checks can grow rapidly upon drying, so being careful in this regard would be wise. Slow and steady is probably best; I don't know about alcohol drying and how that may help the situation - hopefully someone will add to this that has experience drying woods like apple.
Maybe you could make a 'pear' of candlesticks?
Good luck with your wood!
Rob Wallace
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I have turned a couple pieces from bradford pear (end-grain hollow form) and the results were very good. The wood looks very nice.
Bill
Bill
I've not turned very much of the tree I cut down, but what I've turned has been very nice. I've experienced a bit of cracking, but no more than what the wild Cherry cracked up to be.
Turn it, but don't plant it.
I turned Bradford Pear over the summer and had great results. The wood is a cream color with virtually no figure so it's ideal for utility bowls. Turns well and easy to sand. Keep to turning it and not planting it as the wind reaks havoc on them and are rarely planted around here anymore. I rough turned it and let it dry a couple of months with moderate distortion then finished turning it and not had any more distortion.
Wayne
I turned Bradford Pear over the summer and had great results. The wood is a cream color with virtually no figure so it's ideal for utility bowls. Turns well and easy to sand. Keep to turning it and not planting it as the wind reaks havoc on them and are rarely planted around here anymore. I rough turned it and let it dry a couple of months with moderate distortion then finished turning it and not had any more distortion.
Wayne
No checks at all on the Bradford Pear I had
A fresh green piece of Bradford pear was one of the first pieces of wood I was given when I started turning. -- Not knowing any better, I just set it in the shop where it sat for almost a year -- There was not a single end check on the 6" log when I finally got around to it. I later learned that pear is very dimensionally stable and is sought after by model makers...
Your results may vary.
A fresh green piece of Bradford pear was one of the first pieces of wood I was given when I started turning. -- Not knowing any better, I just set it in the shop where it sat for almost a year -- There was not a single end check on the 6" log when I finally got around to it. I later learned that pear is very dimensionally stable and is sought after by model makers...
Your results may vary.
Bradford Pear is always the first tree the wind knocks over in a storm here in KY.
Pear
Bradford pear is my favorite behind Cherry. It turns like a dream and dries well as long as you keep "consistent wall thickness".
Vernon
Bradford pear is my favorite behind Cherry. It turns like a dream and dries well as long as you keep "consistent wall thickness".
Vernon
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
For the record, I don't think it's a fruit wood.
Around here, it's the first tree to split at the crotch when the wind picks up.
Around here, it's the first tree to split at the crotch when the wind picks up.
The first wood I turned was Bradford pear which was harvested from wind damage as has been noted. Since then I've collected quite a bit and turned quite a bit of it. It turns so easily and can be finished with ease to a super smooth feel. My experience has been that the color varies from a light brown, khaki color to almost a dark brown, and there is subtle figure and grain which makes it a good wood for ornaments, etc. After turning another species I always come back to pear because it turns so nicely.