Osage Orange lumber

[Terry Starch]

I'm looking at buying some 150bf of Osage Orange.How much per bf do you suggest? Thanks, Terry

[Jim Becker]

I think you're asking what it's going to cost you and that's pretty variable, based on supply and size of the lumber. Osage orange isn't all that common "on the racks" because it's generally pretty gnarly and hard to harvest in quantity. Any that I've worked with has been, um...harvested from along the roads. I've only used it for turning and haven't seen it at any local suppliers. If you do find it commercially...it's not going to be inexpensive.

[Justin Ludwig]

Depends on the grade of stock and thickness you want. Osage can be a bear to work with. What are you doing with 150BF?

[John K Jordan]

I'm looking at buying some 150bf of Osage Orange.How much per bf do you suggest? Thanks, Terry

I also use it a lot for woodturning but have never seen it for sale. I have also never used it for flat woodworking except as push sticks for my bandsaw.

Sorry, I don't know the value since all I've ever had was free. I generally saw it myself when I get logs. (There is a lot of osage in certain areas.) Coincidentally, I stacked 5 osage orange logs next to my sawmill just today! (Besides turning blanks I like it for garden stakes and fence stretchers - it simply won't rot.)

The Wood Database indicates "Pricing/Availability: Having typically small, crooked, and knotty trunks, Osage Orange isn’t usually harvested for lumber, but can occasionally be found for sale in either board or small turning block form. Due to its domesticity and adequate supply, the price should be moderate, though likely to be higher than most other native lumbers on account of its “specialty” status."

You might see what people are selling it for. I googled "osage orange for sale" and got several hits (didn't check any). You might search by one of it's other names, such as bodarc. (Common names: Osage Orange, Bodark, Bois d'Arc, Horse Apple Hedge.)

Curious, what is the application? Have you worked it before? If you haven't and want it for the color, sorry to say it doesn't last - yellow/orange when freshly cut, changes to a brown fairly quickly regardless of the finish I used.

JKJ

[Jesse Busenitz]

I have a friend who sells #2 for 4$ per bf and 12$ for select.

[Mike Cutler]

Many years ago I bought some from a fellow 'Creeker here on the board. I don't remember the exact cost per bd/ft. but it wasn't cheap, especially with the shipping cost. All of mine is clear straight, q-sawn, and has this beautiful chatoyance to it.
Price is going to be indicative of quality of the wood, width and thickness, manner in which it was sawn, availability, etc. No way to predict via the internet, unless you're buying from a provider that ships.

It's beautiful wood when first worked. It has a lemon yellow color that is really different. It ages to a russet brown, and it is hard and heavy.

[Patrick Curry]

its native around here but I rarely see if at my local mills. I've purchased some behind but it's usually 4-6' lengths.
My neighborhood is surrounded by Osage. They don't grow up long and straight
I've picked up some on my own and milled it down. Great wood. Hard as a rock. I've been using rheum in cutting boards.

[Bill Jobe]

It's being bulldozed away fast in my local.

Thankfully a friend had lots of friends with farmland, so I can pretty much get as much as my wife will let me.

[Bill Jobe]

Do you mean something like this? Kiln dried. 8' 2". Paid $20 for it.
I'll tell you there's a lot of advantages to finding a local mom and pop sawmill.

[Larry Edgerton]

LL. Johnson, Charlotte Mi.

[John K Jordan]

I'm looking at buying some 150bf of Osage Orange.How much per bf do you suggest? Thanks, Terry

Oh Terry, I meant to ask and forgot - have your migraine headaches lessened any? I caught an earlier post where you mentioned the headaches.

I read research a few years ago that showed how sensory deprivation (dark, quiet place) can actually make migraines worse since the brain has nothing much else to concentrate on. After that I found a radio or something on (not too loud) helps. Fortunately my headaches have lessened in frequency and over time. How are you getting along?

JKJ

[Phillip Gregory]

That is a lot of Osage Orange. The tree that yields that wood is a relatively short, very gnarly, brushy tree that typically is about 6-10" in diameter at the base and about 6-8 feet of main trunk height, so 125 board feet would require a lot of those trees. They grow native around my locale and are mainly cut down and used for fenceposts as they are pretty rot-resistant. They were also used to make archery equipment as the local vernacular ("bodark," a corruption of the French "bois d'arc" or "wood of the bow") demonstrates.

[Mel Fulks]

It was also used to GROW fences. Small ones were planted in lines and each looped around the next. US government sold an instructional booklet for years. We have a couple around here but I confess I have not seen them.

[Randy Red Bemont]

4/4 Osage Orange runs $17.60 per board foot from a dealer here in NC. I love turning osage orange, never worked it as lumber.

https://www.westpennhardwoods.com/catalog/Osage-Orange-Lumber.aspx?guid=27eec126-a54e-439e-8377-9fa2bf306450

Red

[Jim Andrew]

I sawed some for a friend. Let me tell you it was nasty to cut. He found a few big pieces and we made 4x10's for a cabin he was building. None of it was what I would call 1st grade. But it sawed really hard, as it had dry places in the log, even though he had just cut it a few days before. I would be sawing along, going great, and hit a hard place, and the saw would hardly cut.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Osage orange sounds eerily familiar to Black Locust in its general character and demeanor. Generally poor quality trees (from a lumber grading perspective), rough and tough to saw, extremely rot resistant and commonly used for fence posts/firewood. I've sawn tons of black locust on a bandsaw mill and cuts cords and cords of locust firewood. It can be pretty mean stuff that is really tough to get a predictable yield from.

Apparently some premier hardwood dealers (in areas where is doesn't grow natively) charge $17.60 ?!!!? bd/ft or you could likely get it from a local sawmill for around $1 bd/ft if you look hard enough and talk to the right people. Though it will likely be green lumber for that price and from a sawyer.

OP hasn't circled back on this thread, but I wonder what he's using it for and what lengths he needs? Longer lengths (over 8') are going to be tougher to come by.

[John K Jordan]

Osage orange sounds eerily familiar to Black Locust in its general character and demeanor. Generally poor quality trees (from a lumber grading perspective), rough and tough to saw, extremely rot resistant and commonly used for fence posts/firewood. I've sawn tons of black locust on a bandsaw mill and cuts cords and cords of locust firewood. It can be pretty mean stuff that is really tough to get a predictable yield from...


And in appearance, apparently confused by some since the end grain can look similar, especially when the cut is not fresh. From the Wood Database: "One helpful characteristic that can help separate it from lookalikes such as Mulberry or Black Locust (besides being heavier) is that Osage Orange contains a water-soluble yellow dye, so putting shavings into water will turn the water yellow."

An quick way distinquish between Osage and Black Locust is to hit it with a 365 UV light - Locust will fluoresce brightly while Osage does not. This is a piece of Redheart and a piece of Honey Locust - black locust fluoresces the same way:
362544

Most of the Osage is not too exciting at the sawmill but every once in a while you see a big one. A few years back I got a call about the demise of one of the largest reported Osage trees in TN, I'm guessing pushing 3' dbh. By the time I got there with my trailer the big stuff was gone but I still got some nice logs from further up in the tree, 12-28" in diameter. As I mentioned, I turn some but saw most of it for around the farm especially in the garden. And it makes wonderful firewood!



OP hasn't circled back on this thread, but I wonder what he's using it for and what lengths he needs? Longer lengths (over 8') are going to be tougher to come by.

I asked that question earlier - that would certainly help focus the discussion! If he is reading, he might check Woodfinder for Osage: http://woodfinder.com/ Also search the forestry forum - good discussion of osage there.

JKJ