Pear wood

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I have an old dead pear tree that finally fell over.
It's been dead a while.
Anyway I shagged a bit off the trunk and slabbed acouple chunks off it.
It's a lovely wood with fine grain and a very light color.
Cuts nicely too.

Anyone have occasion to use pear? Is it deimensionally stable enough for fine work like thin cross section (1/4") box work?

[Dan Oliphant]

Cliff, I believe any turner would be very happy to take it off your hands as long as there is no decay in the heartwood. I have seen some real nice work in pearwood over in the turners forum.

[Laurie Brown]

Too bad I wasn't into woodworking sooner. I had to cut down a pear, two peach, and half a cherry tree here in my yard, and it all went into the fire scrap pile.

[Jim Becker]

I saw a slab of pear at Hearne the other day that was to die for...I think you have some wonderful material there, Cliff! Use it for something special!

[Jamie Buxton]

European pear wood is greatly prized by high-end woodworkers, and is quite expensive. Your American pear is probably something slightly different, but I'd certainly give it a go!

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Bartlett Pear is a great wood for flat work or turning. I imagine most of the pear can as good. It is a fairly hard wood and works wonderfully. I like the way it holds detail in turning.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I've been told by turners a lot more experienced than I and I can tell you from my little experience....fruit wood is definitely desireable....and I've been told it can be awfully challenging. I've turned some Carolina peach from Raymond Overman. Some of the prettiest wood I've turned and some of the most challenging due to deficits in the wood and ring shake. But..once I got beyond the challenges.....the prettiest wood I've turned to date!

I'd think that pear would certainly be worth a try!

[Kristian Wild]

Check out some of the beautiful book-matched panels adn case parts that James Krenov has done with various fruitwoods, especially pear. See if you can find the book The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking by Krenov.

[Philip Duffy]

Couple years ago we had a hurricane blow down dozens of pear trees in our area and I salvaged a big pile of wood. It turns like butter when green and like a rock when hard! I recently gave a chunk to a buddy who discovered that the chunk had incredible grain and was immediately marked for black powder pistol grips. It will be great to see them when they are finished.

[Alfred Clem]

Much of the marvelous hand-carved work of the master Grindling Gibbons you can find in British buildings is made of pear wood. He was especially good at carving fruits and flowers, often in enormous garlands and swags. The wood is fine-grained, extremely stable when aged, some of the best material for turning or carving.

[Chris Barton]

Pear can vary in appearance depending on species. Bradford pear is common in our area as a landscape tree. They grow fast and die young, usually due to storm damage. I have turned plenty of pear and it is very desireable for turning or carving like others have said.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The little sample chunk I cut off is about 12" long.
It is checking on the ends after one day.
Off that because the tree has been dead for a few years.

Call me crazy or lazy I left it to stand hoping for spalting but didn't get it.