Hi guys. I turned these two pieces recently out of a tree that we cut down when clearing a fence row. Just wondering if anyone knows what kind of wood it might be? The tree was quite thorny. Any ideas welcome.
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Wood Identification Help
- Thread starter Sheldon Gerber
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Not sure if it grown that far north but Honey locust comes to mind , but the pieces I have seen are not that knotty.
Looks like Buckthorn, which I believe is native to Europe but considered an invasive species here.
These are some ring boxes from limbs about 2.5" (63mm) diameter.
This piggy bank was made for my grandson when he was a baby and he is now 20 years old. The body is about 4" diameter by about 5" long with the head ( that screws on and off to get the money out) and tail added to that
These are some ring boxes from limbs about 2.5" (63mm) diameter. This piggy bank was made for my grandson when he was a baby and he is now 20 years old. The body is about 4" diameter by about 5" long with the head ( that screws on and off to get the money out) and tail added to that
Yes I do think it is Common Buckthorn, though there are other Buckthorns like Alder Buckthorn and Cascara Buckthorn and more N.American species, but the Common Buckthorn is a aggressive invasive one.
I have turned a few pieces of it, one was a burl and the color of the wood is quite striking, turns well, just hard to find larger pieces.the burl was approx. 8".
I have turned a few pieces of it, one was a burl and the color of the wood is quite striking, turns well, just hard to find larger pieces.the burl was approx. 8".
Its an interesting wood to turn whatever it is. The bowl was from the stump of the tree with some of the root. Some really interesting grain patterns.
The jar/vase had a big crack in the side that you see. I filled that with coffee grains and thin CA glue.
The jar/vase had a big crack in the side that you see. I filled that with coffee grains and thin CA glue.
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I don't think that Bois d'Arc (also called Osage Orange) grows as far north as Canada, but it often grows along fence rows and along creek beds in Texas. Bois d'Arc trees have large thorns on the limbs. The wood is very tough, but turns reasonably well with sharp tools. A dead giveaway on identifying the wood is that freshly cut Bois d'Arc is very bright yellow, but the sad news is that the beautiful color doesn't last very long and soon turns to a rich almost chocolate brown.
Yes it does grow in Southern Ontario, but only where they did plant it, it's not growing in the wild, and yes it has thorns, one reason they used it for fencing.
Quite rare, but I did get some chunks and turned a few piece from it, one short log about 2 feet long I got from a friend where he cut the stump from a Osage tree that grew along a field and was a leaner and got cut off like that years before, it had several splits, but I turned it anyway, had to leave a thicker wall as you can see in the picture of the bowl and the splits showing on the bottom side.
The color of Osage Orange bark is quite different from Common Buckthorn and the wood's color is certainly different as well.
Also the grain is not like Common Buckthorn, compare it.
