Osage Orange vs. Mulbery

[WODAD]

Is there any resemblence? I was given several pieces of wood that I was told were male mulbery but looking at the pic's on the forum they look exactly alike! The wood came out of the Sioux City Iowa area has that bright gold color and after time turns brown.

Frank D.

 

[Steve Worcester]

The biggest difference is in how they turn. Dry osage is like a rock, mulberry not so much. Both are bright when fresh cut and turn darker with age.

 

[WODAD]

Mulberry it is then! Wet or Dry turns great!

FD

 

[Dave Smith]

Put a sliver of wood on water. Osage orange will turn the water yellow. Mulberry will not. Both trees are in the mulberry family.

Good luck.

Dave Smith

Actually finished something today in Longview, WA.

 

[hockenbery]

The trees are fairly easy to tell apart. Oasge has long thorns.

The wood itself is hard. When I make a clean cut with the gouge I notice an very slight hint of fuzz between the grain lines on the mulberry the Osage cuts very cleanly.

I learned this at the Woodshow Demonstration when
a guy said "your turning osage"
Everyone else that day had begun with "what wood it that?"

So I asked him "how He knew it wasn't Mulberry" He went on to explain he had just sawn a few thousand board feet of both and to look at the grain lines for the fuzz so anothother of many things you learn when demonstrating.

-Al

 

[WODAD]

Thank you all for your help!