Ron Altier Posted December 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Wow, you are a leader in copy/paste I have turned a lot of woods and some that appear on the hardest on the list didn't seem that hard. I am sure that a lot depends on the age and where the tree grows. Thanks for the info Stick...........that was interesting. Grandpadave52 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick486 Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 5 hours ago, John Hechel said: I still maintain that petrified wood is the hardest. uranium turns into lead... (U236 turns into Lead 206) so is it still uranium??? a tree that petrifies has turned into basically rock... so how can it still be wood???.. Uranium is radioactive. Which means its nucleus will emitt an alpha particle (two protons and two neutrons) spontaneously. Because the nucleus lost two protons it becomes the element Thorium. Thorium also emitts alpha's and changes to Radium. This process continues; Radium into Radon into Polonium and finally into lead. The final Lead is not radioactive and the process ends. The actual process is a little more complicated because some of these intermediate elements can change by converting a neutron into a proton and emitting an electron (beta radiation), but the basic process is one radioactive element changes into another radioactive element by emitting radiation (alpha's or beta's). The Uranium to Lead Process has a half-life of about 4.5 billion years. Meaning that in 4.5 billion years 1 kilogram of Uranium will have changed to a half kilogram lead and a half kilogram Uranium is still left. This is approximate because there will also be some of those intermediate elements waiting to change. Wirebender, John Hechel and HARO50 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick486 Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 17 minutes ago, Ron Altier said: Thanks for the info Stick...........that was interesting. no problem... this was a topic in the now dead wood forum and I retained it... figured it would come in handy at another time... Ron Altier 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirebender Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 Ron - The Janka hardness of Black Locust is 1700...I read the article (which was informative) and it is titled "The Hardest Tree in North America", but...just sayin". Keith - The Janka hardness of hop hornbeam is 1860. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kralon Posted July 15, 2017 Report Share Posted July 15, 2017 Doesn't Lignum Vitae win (4500 lbf) since it is found in Florida? I believe it is native, perhaps I'm wrong? John Morris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyFN Posted July 16, 2017 Report Share Posted July 16, 2017 I'm going to go with petrified. Grandpadave52 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick486 Posted July 16, 2017 Report Share Posted July 16, 2017 1 hour ago, RustyFN said: I'm going to go with petrified. that's not wood... it's stone.. http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/specifying-professionals/advantages/types-of-wood-2/ Tropical Hardwoods, including mahogany, rosewood, teak and wenge - are not native to North America. They grow in the tropical forests of the world and must be imported for domestic use. While some tropical hardwoods can be used for interior applications, including flooring, the color, grain pattern, hardness and luster of many imported woods differ from those of American hardwoods. For more information on non-native species, refer to the “Don’t be fooled” article. Hardwoods of N America.pdf HARO50 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmealy Posted July 16, 2017 Report Share Posted July 16, 2017 "Ironwood" covers it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Spier Posted December 2, 2017 Report Share Posted December 2, 2017 Black Ironwood - South Florida - Janka 3660 Desert Ironwood - SW United States - Janka 3260 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted December 2, 2017 Report Share Posted December 2, 2017 Desert iron wood is a protected species in the US. But, there are so many woods so named, that its difficult to know exactly which is which. I know a fella down around Yuma, AZ who harvests and sells literally tons of what he calls "iron wood". So, apparently he knows which trees are protected. He bulldozes it out as part of land clearing operations. Some of those roots are stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted December 3, 2017 Report Share Posted December 3, 2017 On 7/15/2017 at 6:48 PM, Kralon said: Doesn't Lignum Vitae win (4500 lbf) since it is found in Florida? I believe it is native, perhaps I'm wrong? KRA, I USTA LIVE IN/ON COASTAL FL. GOT SOME ''AUSTRALIAN PINE''(LOCAL NAME USED FOR WIND BREAKS). I AINT NO PRO, BUT PUT A PIECE IN LATHE, IT WAS LIKE IRON/STEEL. TOOK IT OUT TRIED ANOTHER, THEY WERE BOUT 4 - 5' DIA. NO WAY, OFTEN WONDERED WHAT THE ACTUALLY NAME FOR THE STUFF IS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wichman3 Posted December 3, 2017 Report Share Posted December 3, 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olneya Janka Hardness 3,260 lbf (14,500 N) native to Arizona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Cliff Posted December 5, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 My head HARO50, Gene Howe, hatuffej and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAGON1 Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 (edited) On 12/28/2016 at 6:41 PM, John Hechel said: I still maintain that petrified wood is the hardest. Ron I challenge you to take a chainsaw to each and tell us which was easier to cut. petrified wood is not wood at all. It is fossilized wood where minerals have replaced the wood. On that note, brazilian mahogany, pecan and hickory are hardest i've worked with. Edited December 11, 2017 by DRAGON1 HARO50 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmealy Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 around the eastern midwest, hop hornbeam is known as "iron wood" Ironwood is not a very specific name as it tends to be used for the hardest wood in region. Janka Hardness: 1,860 lbf (8,270 N). Dogwood is pretty tough, too Janka Hardness: 2,150 lbf (9,560 N) A friend from Kansas calls osage orange (aka bois d'ark, bodark) as "harder than the hubs of Hades" Janka Hardness: 2,620 lbf (11,640 N) Wirebender 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Keith, I'll agree with your friend from Kansas about Hedge.....another name for oasge orange, boise d' arc...etc.... it is HARD and dense. Makes great fire wood. I turned a lamp from a 3' log when I was in HS. It flew off the lathe and bounced through a window. When I recovered it, there wasn't a mark on it. Wirebender 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatuffej Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 On 12/5/2017 at 6:03 AM, Cliff said: My head Cliff, you beat me to it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electric scotty Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 I’m working on a 100 year old elevator and found out they used a set of counter weight sliders and they were mad of some extremely hard wood. All the old timers here say it’s “iron wood”. Kowing that iron wood is is just a slang term, I was wondering if anyone has an idea what this is? Dadio and p_toad 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick486 Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 my 1st guess is Ipe... 2nd guess is Lignum vitae do you have a picture of the end grain?? HARO50 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electric scotty Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 I haven’t had a chance to cut the ends to see it yet. After 100 years in use, they’re covered in grease. Crazy enough, not a single bit of the grease soaked into them. I’ll have a picture and posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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