Can you help me identify this tree + how to care for fresh logs

[Matthew N. Masail]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, at this moment they are cutting down a tree near my house, I spook to the guy and bought the tree for 15$ ((-: not sure if it's good or not but couldn't pass the opportunity
. at the least it will be good scrap/practice wood.
I was wondering if you can help my identify it and tell me what I should do to preserve the wet logs until I get my band saw to rip them into planks/blanks.

here is a pic of the leafs
http://imageupload.org/?d=D8849DC017C4E (http://imageupload.org/?d=D8849DC01)

[Shlomo Hoffmann]

Could be Oleaster, aka Russian Olive... especially if it is taken in the upper north of the country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_angustifolia

[Peter Gavin]

I would guess since you are in Israel it is Olive. If so, it is some beutiful wood. I would cut it into usable lengths and then paint the ends with either Anchorseal or some type of latex paint.

Peter

[Matthew N. Masail]

It looks similar, this one also had beautiful yellow aromatic flowers, but no edible fruit and was not thorny. I'm pretty sure it's not olive, however I told the guy I'd buy straight olive, rosewood and cypress logs and he loved the idea. I'm adding 2 pics of the logs, maybe it will help. it seems quite hard. the climate here is above 100 degrees in summer and around 50 +- in winter. and not too humid. I'm in the north of Israel.
http://imageupload.org/?d=E236AECE1

http://imageupload.org/?d=57AC17931

[Shlomo Hoffmann]

True Olive has its leaves at "opposite" pairs placements, while this tree clearly has "alternate" single leaves, as shown in attached pic... Assuming the tree was very recently cut then the fruit is pretty young and not fully developed yet.

It does resemble true Olive though, hence the alternate name "Russian Olive"...

[Matthew N. Masail]

yeah, I know what olive looks like I grew up around them, this is not olive. the tree was being cut when I opened this post.

[Shaun Mahood]

Is russian olive any good to work with?

[Chris Vandiver]

Seal the ends with an appropriate sealer, like parrafin wax(melted and brushed on)right away. Dry the logs outside but covered from sunlight and the weather(but with air circulation) for a couple of years(at least)before you move it inside to dry for another couple of years. You could also cut it into rough lumber now and then follow the same process for drying stated above. Every so often you want to "turn" the stack, to promote even drying.

[Shlomo Hoffmann]

White Willow is another possibility... My source of info for tree ID is here http://www.amazon.com/Book-Leaves-Leaf-Leaf-Hundred/dp/0226139735 . I looked again, and according to the book the White Willow is quite common in western Asia, aka as Israel, among others and grows by river banks and moist meadows. Compared your pics to the info in the book, and it seems to be a close match: Bark - grey-brown, fissured. Fruit - small, green capsule that open to release seeds with a tuft of cottony white hairs. Just take a look at the bottom of the leaves to see if they are whitish...

Another ID source is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_alba .

[Matthew N. Masail]

I could very well be a willow! has anyone worked with this wood before? I plan to cut it into rough lumber and then air dry it, wasn't sure what to seal the ends with, thanks Chris!

[dai sawyer]

I'm fairly certain that is Laburnum[laburnum anagyroides]. The timber looks similar,the leaves do as well and the clincher is that you say it had aromatic,yellow flowers.It is native to your part of the world.A note of caution here though if it is Laburnum,it is highly toxic and you should be careful.It works real well and takes a good polish and was sometimes used as an ebony substitute.Get it checked out by a tree-surgeon or someone who can positively identify it.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Thanks Dai, if this is what it's flowers look like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laburnum then it's not it. I'm going to ask around the Israeli forum to see if anyone knows what it is.

[george wilson]

It would be well to take the bark off. There's a thin layer underneath it that is more water proof than Saran wrap. It keeps the tree from drying out when alive. Logs split open when they dry because the wood has no place to go as it shrinks toward the center of the log. If they are large enough,splitting the logs in half will prevent other splitting.

Keep your logs away from the ground when they are drying,or they can pick up fungus and spalt.


I wish I could get some Mediterranean cypress for making flamenco guitars!

[Matthew N. Masail]

It would be well to take the bark off. There's a thin layer underneath it that is more water proof than Saran wrap. It keeps the tree from drying out when alive. Logs split open when they dry because the wood has no place to go as it shrinks toward the center of the log. If they are large enough,splitting the logs in half will prevent other splitting.

Keep your logs away from the ground when they are drying,or they can pick up fungus and spalt.


I wish I could get some Mediterranean cypress for making flamenco guitars!

I'll have to get a strong draw knife, and something to split them, I'll try do that as soon as it stops raining and I can store them on the porch. for now a melted a bunch of candles and coated the end grain,

we have many cypress trees here... all over the place, normally very tall. I told the guy that I'd buy straight cypress and rosewood logs from him, he said they cut them often and through them away!!! I just need to move to a bigger place so that I can fit a good bandsaw.

[dai sawyer]

Yes,that's the tree I thought it might be.There are other specimens in the Laburnum family-might be worth checking them out.As to de-barking a Froe works pretty well,if you can't get one locally try sourcing an old car leaf-spring and get a blacksmith to make one for you.A narrow spade works pretty well too.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Thanks, I'll try the spade... I have a pretty tough one