Osage orange for turning?

[Joe Pack]

A friend let me pick up two nice size (14-16" diameter) chunks of osage orange from his wood pile. He did say, though, "Good luck cutting the stuff...hope you like to sharpen saw blades and tools."

The wood is free, but was my friend right? And should he still be my friend?

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Joe, your friend was right, Osage Orange is HARD stuff! The wood itself is beautiful, and I have seen things turned using it, and they turn out beautiful. I have cut a lot of Osage Orange with the chainsaw, and if it is green, it is still plenty hard. I have seen the stuff throw sparks when you cut it with a chainsaw after it has been dead for a while. For firewood, it burns HOT, but it pops and sparks like crazy. If the wood you received is still relatively green, it will probably turn OK, but if it has been seasoned a while, you may want to try something else. I am not a turner myself, but I wanted to post what I know about this wood. We have a lot of it around Illinois. It was planted mostly in hedgerows, and it makes great fenceposts..............they last for years and years. The big green balls, hedgeballs, which is the fruit the tree produces, are said to keep spiders away........a lot of old timers in these parts put them in their basement for that reason. Most say it works?

[Joe Pack]

Thanks Kevin. I'll give it a try. After all, it is free. Plus, I need the practice sharpening. :)

[Diane Maluso]

Hi Joe. I've turned a couple of bowls from osage orange and would recommend it. The color is wonderful, the wood took a nice surface right off the tool and required very little sanding. I finished them off with shear scraping followed by some wet sanding while on the lathe, and then used some Tried and True original finish (linseed and beeswax). They made great gifts.

Happy shavings!

Diane

[Jim Becker]

No matter what you think of Osage Orange over time, you have to turn it at least once...the bright yellow shavings are an eyeful!!

Seriously, it turns wonderfully and you can get an almost-gallery finish by just going up the sanding grits to 800 or beyond without any other finish...very much like cocobolo in that respect. While it is hard and heavy, it's quite turnable.

Two things you need to know. First, the yellow color and interesting grain will fade to a dull brown over time unless you provide UV protection and keep it out of sunlight or other bright light. The other is that it's really important to avoid the pith. It will crack big-time if the pith is involved.

I generally turn this wood in end-grain orientation and have made hollow vessels, bowl-like objects and my shop's carving mallet.

We folks in the east have Lewis and Clark to thank for Osage Orange. They sent back samples from their trek to Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia. Trees were planted in a park and supposedly, all of the rest of the growth in this area came from those few trees. Since it was often used as hedge-rows, it's easy to find, too. Just keep your eyes sharp as you drive along...you just might find some nice turning stock lying along the road after the tree-trimming crews have been by.