I called a local mill and asked about some free scraps. The guy was really nice. We ended up talking for an hour or more. He gave me a walnut log and one he called Osage orange. This is all I had room for. He said I could come back and get more when I need it.

Nice!  That should look great when it is turned.

I’m going to have to study it for awhile to see how to get the most out of it.

 

Nice guy Rusty, good connections are hard to find, remember him around Christmas with a box of See's Candy. Very cool wood!

Absolutely make sure he gets something back, even if it's only a spin top or a little box or something. It WILL pay dividends down the road!

 

It is very hard wood.  2600 on the Janka Scale puts it between Mesquite and Brazilian Cherry which is pretty close to the top.

Just now, HandyDan said:

It is very hard wood.  2600 on the Janka Scale puts it between Mesquite and Brazilian Cherry which is pretty close to the top.

He was telling me it was very hard. It is pretty heavy.

Nice haul, Rusty!

Osage Orange, or Bo d'arc (pronounced bo doc in Louisiana) is hard but sharp tools make it work well. The problem that can really hurt is it tends to get cracks. It will be bright yellow-orange for only a year or so and then a very beautiful chocolate brown.

 

Indians used it to make bows hence the French name. Also used for fence posts. My Uncle used the throw the big green balls it produced to the hogs.

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 20215 yr by Gerald

Also known as bois d'arc (pronounced bow-dark, French for "bow wood")   Was used to make (archery) bows.   A co-worker from Kansas said it was "harder than the hubs of Hades"

 

AKA hedge apple, horse apple,  English transliterations of bois d'arc: bodark and bodock; monkey ball, monkey brains, yellow-wood and mock orange.

Guys, this is exactly how I get all the various plywood and scraps given to me.  ASK, ya never know and alot of these mill guys like to see someone making something out of what they see as scrap.  

I have found that making a pen from a piece given usually gets more wood in the future.