white ash?

[James Evans]

The recent strong winds have been good to me. I just finished loading a white ash tree that blew over a fence. Got the logs for free. two 12' logs 20" on the butt and 16" on the top of the second stick. darn near veneer. Since the value of white ash is not that strong, i think they will go on my lumber pile.

I was just wondering if white ash would work for half blind dovetailed drawer boxes? i know any wood will, but with the straight grain of ash, would they hold up over time in the kitchen. with 6 rugrats in the house i opted for soft close. so that should help.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

James,
White ash is wonderful wood for almost anything. You will need to get it dried before you use it. It will shrink quite a bit during the drying process and takes a long time to air dry. Look for someone with a kiln.
fmr

[Philip Duffy]

Just be careful that the bugs of the world don't get into that nice ash and ruin the whole thing! Ash has a highly attractive feature for bugs - -food. Phil

[Thomas love]

What Philip said

[James Evans]

so do the bugs get to it more in the log form or the fresh lumber?

[george wilson]

My post vanished. I said: Baseball bat blanks are very expensive for some reason. Maybe you could cut the ash into them and sell the blanks to those who market them. I'd like some ash for tool handles.

[Prashun Patel]

On a related note, there was a good article in Wood Magazine this month about the Emerald Ash Borer and how it's decimating ash tree populations across the country. The article said that all attempts to stop the EAB will only at best delay the eventual extinction of American Ash.

I'm building a pair of toy chests out of some ash for my kids. It's wonderfully stable, and heavy. My planer and jointer knives are on their last legs, yet no tearout.

It's grain pattern is a funky mix of oak and pine.

[James Evans]

i could but like i mentioned the ash market around here is flooded so the price is very low. so i will just it in my kitchen project. My face frames and doors are from a black walnut i milled last year. so ash for the drawer boxes wont be too bad. lol

We have a local manufacture here in town that makes "Rock Bats" made from hard maple. I know that Corey Hart from the Brewers is a big fan of them.

[Craig Hemsath]

On a related note, there was a good article in Wood Magazine this month about the Emerald Ash Borer and how it's decimating ash tree populations across the country. The article said that all attempts to stop the EAB will only at best delay the eventual extinction of American Ash.

I'm building a pair of toy chests out of some ash for my kids. It's wonderfully stable, and heavy. My planer and jointer knives are on their last legs, yet no tearout.

It's grain pattern is a funky mix of oak and pine.
I've gotten a good little stockpile of ash lumber saved up & continue to collect it as I can. I've been making a few pieces out of it in the hopes that in 30-40 years people will look at them in awe because they're ash.

[Ron Bontz]

Ya gotta love white ash. Makes great looking tables etc. I am currently sitting on about 250 bd. ft. of kiln dried, 10 ft. long 4/4 stock. (13/16th). I plan on building new end tables and some jewelry boxes. Made an entertainment center with some drawers out of ash 17 years ago that are holding up just fine. Best wishes.