What wood is this???

[Nancy Laird]

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/email/images/april07/woods.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:ol('http://www.ne16.com/t/2623168/109012009/22130187/0/');)

This is a picture from my latest on-line Craft Supplies sale notification. I know about Che-Chen (which is actually Chechem), OO, and Yew, but what in the world is Tesota?? I've looked at the Exotic Wood website at http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/indextotal.htm#letterT, with no success, and at the American Hardwood Information Center at http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/species_guide/display_species.asp, and neither site has any information. The picture from CSUSA looks really nice and interesting, but what is it????

Nancy

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

It's desert Iron wood I believe Nancy.
Edit: See I was right for once!
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=OLTE

[Nancy Laird]

Thanks for the quick response, Kurt. How is this wood to turn or work?

That site has been added to my favorites list.

Nancy

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

I think I should leave this one to the southwestern guys to answer. I've turned only one piece and it was way dry and hard. I'm sure if you get some green stuff it would be a lot better then my experience. Plus i'm sure someone would love to hook you up at the cost of postage! After all, this is SMC!:D

[Stan Cook]

Tesota is an ironwood, but it's not the same as desert ironwood. Tesota is hard and is similar in color to brazilian cherry. The piece of tesota that I have turned was very eager to chip out.

[Nancy Laird]

So, does anyone in western Arizona have access to this? Or should I order some pieces from CSUSA?

Nancy

[Jim Becker]

Google is your friend.

http://www.burgesswoodworks.com/wood/Ironwood_Desert-Olneya_tesota.html

[Nancy Laird]

Thanks for that link, Jim. I've added it to my favorites also. Must be a blonde--I just didn't think about Google!! Duh!

Nancy

[Dario Octaviano]

That price is hard to beat, even for a super plain piece.

I paid as much as $17.00 for DI burl pen blank...the most I ever paid for a single blank.

[Jason Hallowell]

I agree with Dario that the price sounds good, but at $1 a blank, it probably won't have much figure. I am lucky enough to have a local source for DI burl scraps for $8 a pound. I just used a peice to turn my first Jr Gent yesterday. I enjoy working with it a lot, but it is very hard, and sharp tools are a must. It has a very unique smell that many find unpleasant.

[Jonathon Spafford]

That price is hard to beat, even for a super plain piece.

I paid as much as $17.00 for DI burl pen blank...the most I ever paid for a single blank.

Just note the picture shows bowl blanks, but the size is for a piece that is 1"x1"x12" -- good for pens, but no good for bowls ;) Also... the bowl blanks in the pic aren't even the same woods as they are talking about... the piece second from the bottom is ambrosia maple not tetosta.

[Dario Octaviano]

Just note the picture shows bowl blanks, but the size is for a piece that is 1"x1"x12" -- good for pens, but no good for bowls ;) Also... the bowl blanks in the pic aren't even the same woods as they are talking about... the piece second from the bottom is ambrosia maple not tetosta.


I agree with Dario that the price sounds good, but at $1 a blank, it probably won't have much figure. I am lucky enough to have a local source for DI burl scraps for $8 a pound. I just used a peice to turn my first Jr Gent yesterday. I enjoy working with it a lot, but it is very hard, and sharp tools are a must. It has a very unique smell that many find unpleasant.

Jason,

As mentioned above, the size is 1 x 1 x 12...so you can easily get 2 blanks out of it. I would expect it to be straight grained too. I also agree that the wood doesn't correspond to the pics.

$8.00 a pound is a good price especially for burl pieces. If you have more than you can handle please let me know.

Don't hold back about the smell...depends on the wood condition...it can have mild or very strong pungent smell. One in particular that I tried made my entire shop smell like a public restroom! The results are worth it though.

[James Upshaw]

So, does anyone in western Arizona have access to this? Or should I order some pieces from CSUSA?

Nancy

No, no no. Desert Ironwood is protected, very slow growing, worm damaged, and too hard to work anayway. For pens, it's probably easier. I have turned one bowl out of this stuff, and it was like cutting a brick. The dust is nasty. I live in Tucson, and there are Ironwood items in every gift shop out here, but it is impossible to find pieces of it laying around in the desert.

[Joe Melton]

I agree the wood in the picture doesn't look like Desert Ironwood and that the quoted price is very low for a board foot of this wood.
Everyone should have this site in their favorites:
http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/CommNames2000.html
There you will see there are two woods with the common name Tesota. Acacia greggii is found in Mexico, and Olneya tesota is found in both Mexico and the U.S.
In general, the term "ironwood" applies to any wood with a specific gravity greater than 62.4 pounds per cubic foot (1000 kg per cubic meter). This is the specific gravity of water, so an "ironwood" is one that sinks in water. There are many of these worldwide.
Nothing upsets my respiratory system as much as Desert Ironwood dust. It's beautiful wood, but you pay the price if you're not carefull about dust collection.
Joe