What Wood Is This?????????????????

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OldWrangler

OldWrangler

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Jan 29, 2008
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Spring, Texas, USA.
My oldest grandson (22 yrs. old) was helping some neighbors cut up some trees and said he ran across this one tree with some good color and figure in the trunk. He brought me several logs 2-3' long and 8-12" in diameter.

This should make some pretty pens if the blanks are cut right.

This piece was split on the bandsaw and then planed in the thickness planer until a smooth straight surface came out. Take a look and see what tree this is from.

Hint.....tree is prevalent in the South and has 2 different names. Here, take a look.
 

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George, I can't imagine what wood it is but my guess would be Live Oak.
No matter but I'm sure you can get some damn good looking pens from just that one piece. It sure is purty
 
Sorry Alex, but it is certainly not Live Oak. The bark looks more like some non natives (that is if it came from Texas). If it was a native Hill Country tree, I could certainly identify it!
 
It' moose head burl. Can't you see the eye on the right and the nostril on the left? And there's the long mouth from under the eye to the front of the head. Not having a clue what it is, that would be my guess.
 
turning it over to reveal the bark woul help as each tree has its own bark signature also some detective work as to exactly where it was planted if it was indeed a native species? that should nail it down if not it was likely planted by man so ask whos garden or aboretum it was. also look at the end grain is it ring porous or diffuse porous? that will take out at least 50% of what it is or isnt

my guess is Celtis laevigata Sugar hackberry
Hackberry
Sugarberry
Palo blanco
 
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Hi Dave, well here are the shots of the bark and the end. Another hint is that the wood is softer than oak. Let's see who gets this one.
 

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It looks like Hong Kong Orchid from my monitor. If it is, it will make a nice pen. We have it in SW Florida. Be carefull though, I have heard that you need a respirator for the dust.
 
Alex, you are right about the # of guesses. It should be limited. When you have decided you have it nailed down, send in your guess. So far no one is even a little warm. All my Sweet Gums are in the front of the house as evidenced by the carpet of prickly balls. This tree produces small seeds that are mostly eaten by the local birds.

Also I have decided to send this piece of wood to the correct guesser. It is 12" long x 4" wide x 3" thick. With judicious cutting, there should be 20+ blanks in this piece. The log is fresh cut so I will seal the ends to prevent cracking.

Now, one last clue. Here is a picture of one of the tree's distant relatives. This is a really good clue once you know the tree. Good luck figuring this clue out.
 

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Then its related to the venus flytrap its a magnolia the only common one is [FONT=&quot]Magnolia virginiana tel me ime right pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese
its also known as
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Sweetbay Magnolia, Swamp Bay, Southern Sweet Bay, Laurel Magnolia, Swamp Magnolia, Sweet Magnolia, White Bay, White Laurel, Swamp Laurel[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
 
Well Folks, we got us a winner. Mick Hulsey from Adamsville, AL has identified the log as Mimose. The other correct answer would have been Silk Tree. We've got them both with both the pink/white and the yellow fllowers.

Mick if you will PM me your mailing address I'll get this piece out to you this week. It will make wonderful pens.

I cut a few more logs and that pattern and color runs through the whole tree. When it dries out I will cut it up into blanks for sale.

This was fun for me, hoped you enjoyed it too. George
 
Mike, your log has gone out by Priority mail and you will have it by the weekend. I gave the wood 3 coats of sanding sealer to keep it from drying too quickly. You should be able to cut it into blanks in a couple of months. It should make great pens.

Thanks to everyone who guessed. The Magnolia guess was close as the Mimosa is in that family.
 
Thank George! I've made several pens from mimosa but haven't had any lately. I do see a lot that has died on the sides of the road and have wondered about harvesting it. From the way this piece looks in the picture I need to seriously consider it!
 
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