Wood ID

[Kathy Marshall]

Stopped by the tree trimmers to drop off a couple of pieces I'd turned for them and they had a couple of piles of wood. Most of it was pine and eucalyptus which I didn't want, but there was also some mesquite and something he called "white mesquite".

The white mesquite is not mesquite. The bark is similar, and the coloring is similar but lighter. When I went to cut off a blank at the band saw, the cut wood didn't smell like mesquite, and it cut much easier.

Put the blank between centers and started roughing. It cuts easier than mesquite (which turns nicely when green) and the smell is similar to pine but not nearly as strong, and the grain is very fine.
I'm thinking the tree must have looked similar to mesquite, hence the confusion. So trying to think of trees that are grown around Phoenix that someone might mistake for mesquite. I know it's not acacia, could it be california pepper? I've not seen cal pepper wood before (just the live trees), but I couldn't come up with anything else so far.

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Thanks!

[Curt Fuller]

Looks like some variety of Juniper to me. Does it have any of that 'cedar' smell to it? Most of the native Junipers out west are more that color than the eastern red cedar and have a similar smell but not as strong. That shaggy bark looks like Juniper too.

[Michael James]

I have no idea, but it looks interesting and the price was right!
mj

[Jeff Fagen]

The wood and the bark look like Red Cedar,there are many kinds of Cedar or Juniper.

[Kathy Marshall]

Looks like some variety of Juniper to me. Does it have any of that 'cedar' smell to it? Most of the native Junipers out west are more that color than the eastern red cedar and have a similar smell but not as strong. That shaggy bark looks like Juniper too.

Yes, the more I worked with it, the more I thought it smelled like cedar rather than pine.

It seems pretty soft, but as I got into the piece I encountered alot of punky wood. When I was roughing the blank, it cut very easily and cleanly but when I started roughing out the shape I was having alot of trouble getting decent cuts. Going from left to right wasn't too bad, but going right to left was another story. It did hollow out nicely though.
I wasn't sure there would be any solid wood left by the time I got to the bottom, but luckily there was enough and it held together. I finished the bottom before I parted it off completely. I don't think I would have been able to reverse it on a jam chuck to do the bottom, didn't think the neck and bottom were solid enough to handle the pressure of the tailstock. Got a nice clean, concave base using my Easy Detailer.

Here it is with just a heavy coat of DO.

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[John Keeton]

Kathy, whatever it is, it sure gained some character fast! Glad it held together, and the end result appears worth the effort!

[Darren Jamieson]

Looks like a nice peice Kathy. the big opening with bark gives it great character. I think I saw it here, the wrap it in stretch wrap and or duct tape to hold it together while you work on it trick.

[Michelle Rich]

pretty wood, nice shape..what's not to like?

[David E Keller]

The bark looks like the cedar we have around here, but the coloring in the wood is different. Our Eastern Red cedar is actually a juniper tree as I understand, and your stuff looks like a cousin to it. Whatever it is, it's lovely stuff.

[Curt Fuller]

Kathy, that made a beautiful turning! You have to love the colors in it and all the punky stuff and bark inclusions are icing on the cake.

Getting it from a local tree trimmer, it's probably some kind of juniper adapted to your Arizona climate and it came out of someone's yard. But if you drive north into N Arizona or S Utah the Utah Juniper grows everywhere. In my area you can go to a farm store and buy 'cedar fence posts' that are the same Utah Juniper and the wood is about the way you described it with a lot of punky hollow areas. But stick them in the ground as a fence post and they'll still be there in a hundred years.

[Jeff Nicol]

Kathy, Looks like white cedar, grows all over the place here and was used for making fishing lures in the past. It grows in clumps sometimes and looks like a big bushy shrub but will get large if left to grow old and tall. Great wood for birdhouses for its natural oils in it and will turn a beautiful soft gray color over time if left out in the weather.

Jeff

[Dan Carroll]

Looks like eastern white ceder to me as well. Another possibility is bald cypress. Both of those are not woods that would be native to your part of the country. Is is possible they are ones planted out by someone? I have both growing in my yard and the bark looks more like cypress. Did it have any cones or can you tell?

[Cathy Schaewe]

Nice looking wood, and I really like what you did with it - do you spend every minute in the shop?;)

[Kathy Marshall]

Nice looking wood, and I really like what you did with it - do you spend every minute in the shop?;)

Not every minute, just the ones when I'm not sleeping or at work :eek: (being single does have its advantages)


Looks like eastern white ceder to me as well. Another possibility is bald cypress. Both of those are not woods that would be native to your part of the country. Is is possible they are ones planted out by someone? I have both growing in my yard and the bark looks more like cypress. Did it have any cones or can you tell?
All I got so far was the one piece (about 20" long by 5-6" diameter). The other pieces mixed in with the pile were similar (some bigger some smaller) but none of them had any foliage left.
I'm thinking more along the lines of juniper, since several varieties are commonly used in landscapes, I don't recall every seeing any cedar here although there are varieties that grow in the higher elevations north of Phoenix.
When I go to pick up more of it (they're going to set some aside for me when they move the piles) I'll see if they have any more info on it.

[Jason Clark2]

Kathy, cypress grows locally as well, I can't confirm the ID but there is a variety called Arizona Cypress. There's a big one at Encanto park in Phx.

Jason