Is pecan easy to work with?

[Cliff Newton]

I've never used pecan, but I think I'd like to try it. I have a shelf full of red oak and ash that I'm sick of working with because it is so splintery. Is pecan similar to maple and black walnut?

[Hal Hanevik]

not so easy to work with. hard hard hard!! seems to move around when you work with it as well. can be brittle too. It's also known as Hickory

[Gary Whitt]

Pecan and hickory are related.

Both are hard on tools.

Pecan makes excellent smoking wood for meats. :D

[Jim Becker]

Despite the fact that Pecan is "hard", it does make lovely stuff. Definitely worth trying for sure. I have not worked with it myself as it's not common in my area, but have seen some beautiful things made with it.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I cook with Pecan all the time....it's great but it's a little hard on blades and such. Beautiful wood though. I also love Hickory (same family).

[Bob Hovde]

The branches make spectacular turned boxes and goblets.

Bob

[Kurt Aebi]

Just like any other realtively Hard hardwood, it is essential to use Sharp Tools for best results.

I've turned a few pens with it with very good results. I hope this helps.

[Betsy Yocum]

Cliff - I've made several boxes with pecan. It is hard - but it's worth it - it makes beautiful boxes. Well worth the effort.

Betsy

[Mike Mastin]

While it is true that Pecan and Hickory are related to each other they are quite different woods. The National Hardwood Lumber Grading rules allow them to be substituted for each other, but they are different in many ways from each other.

[Martin Lutz]

Pecan is beautiful. Especially the heartwood. The trees I have cut and milled are a gorgeous auburn color. I had a friend with a tree that was 60+ inches across at the base, needless to say the wide boards are incredible. As relayed previously it is very hard and sharp tools are a must. BUT it is worth it. it looks great with a BLO finish. I have designs for and office suite w/ roll top for mine. And the scraps are great in the smoker!!!

[Rob Russell]

So, species of hickory and pecan move a lot with changes in moisture content. If you're going to build raised-panel doors with these woods, for example, in the winter when the wood is dry the panels may be loose but in summer when swollen they'll be tight in the stiles.

Make sure you know exactly which species of hickory you have. A friend of mine had some small shagbark hickory trees I could have had sawn up (really a little too small to make it worthwhile). The tangential shrinkage of shagbark from green to dry is more than 10% (look in the tables yourself, if you want). You certainly won't see that much in normal seasonal movement, but the point is it's not necessarily a particularly stable wood.

[Charlie Plesums]

While it is true that Pecan and Hickory are related to each other they are ..... different in many ways from each other.
I have heard that they cross pollinate, so Northern trees tend to be pure hickory, and southern trees pure pecan, with some mystery meat from the middle, but can you help us understand the ways they are different - color? hardness? grain? stability? cost? suitability for various uses?

Thanks

[Norman Hitt]

I cook with Pecan all the time....it's great but it's a little hard on blades and such. Beautiful wood though. I also love Hickory (same family).

And for those who don't have a supply of Pecan Wood to cook/smoke with, just save all the shells and dried up/scrap pieces of the nuts or whole nuts that are old or not good, and scatter a handful or so around in the charcoal when you cook steaks and cover ithem with a lid or foil to hold the smoke in for a few mins, and they will have a Wonderful flavor. (I keep all my shells in a big sack by the "Barbee" at all times)

I got two 5 gal buckets of shells, and discards from a Pecan shelling place one time and gave them to my wife's cousin and her boyfriend after we cooked steaks that way for them. He checked them with his luggage when they returned to the Bay Area, and he shared them with some friends that had a High End Restauant in SFO, and they said their customers went Crazy for the Steaks and they wanted more shells, but it was not cost effective for me, due to shipping costs from Tx to Northern Ca.

The Pecan Wood, can Really Move after Rough cutting/turning, as it dries. I've had a 2' piece bow as much as 3" overnight, so if you're starting with green wood, allow plenty of room for movement as it dries..

[Mac McAtee]

Shells? Shoot, you haven't lived till you have had Miss Rachel's Pecan Pie. If you don't have a good South Georgia recipe don't bother.

[Cliff Newton]

Mike, the reason I asked this question is because I'll be coming by your store soon to buy some hardwood. I saw that pecan is listed as one of the cheaper hardwoods and thought that would be a good one to try out.




While it is true that Pecan and Hickory are related to each other they are quite different woods. The National Hardwood Lumber Grading rules allow them to be substituted for each other, but they are different in many ways from each other.

[Hal Hanevik]

sounds like most of you have not worked with pecan much, if at all, I recently built my new kitchen cabinets with the stuff. Guess I have a bit of experience! It is a bit of a chore to work with but is very beautiful to look at when done. I used matched pieces for the stiles and rails, and was quite frustrated at how some of the pieces bowed or warped when cut and machined. My large pantry doors have been a real challenge, I am still trying to figure out how to straighten out one of the stiles. I keep thinking I need to rebuild the darn thing, but really hate that idea!
I like the differing colors of the wood, for those who don't, staining may prove challenging. We did make some efforts at reducing the differences, but this met with limited success. My wife is learning to appreciate the natural beauty of the wood.
halh who is Hal Hanevik