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View Full Version : A Good Use For Bradford Pear


Raymond Overman
12-31-2007, 8:29 AM
Do a search on Google for Bradford Pear and you'll come up with dozens of entries that say the trees are a nuisance and one that even calls it the devil. Well, I'm here to say that it isn't all bad. Since they're so fragile people take them down all the time which leaves us turners with the chance to harvest them occasionally.

Recently my Papa had a friend taking one down and he gave me a piece of it near the root ball. Here's what I came up with from the tree. The lines in the piece aren't post turning cracks. I don't know if they were caused by ring shake or what but they turned up (pun intended) while I was working on the piece.

Bradford Pear Natural Edge
7 1/2" x 6 1/2"
BLO/MS/VAR finish

Sorry for the picture. I've got to get my photo booth set back up. Comments and critiques welcome.

PS & Pre-Gloat: They're getting ready to take down about 20 of these down Main Street where I live and I've already spoken with the town's maintenance manager about getting them.
Mike A. Smith
12-31-2007, 8:54 AM
Very pretty! The cracks make it almost look like a hatched egg.
Jim Underwood
12-31-2007, 8:54 AM
This stuff turns as nice as maple, so it's a good candidate for all the same stuff maple is used for. It's also a very bland wood, so would lend itself to lots of embellishments.

Nice NE too.
Jim Becker
12-31-2007, 9:01 AM
Very nice stuff to turn...grab all you can!!! And I like that little NE pot, too.
Ken Fitzgerald
12-31-2007, 9:53 AM
Raymond...Nicely done. My "Finger Bowl" from September was a piece of Bradford Pear given to me in Houston while there in June. Turned nicely.
Bernie Weishapl
12-31-2007, 10:42 AM
Great looking NE Raymond. Boy I would load up on everything you can get.
Steve Schlumpf
12-31-2007, 11:27 AM
Very nice NE Raymond! Hope all the wood comes your way!
Tom Sherman
12-31-2007, 5:24 PM
Ray I have turned Bradford Pear before, and I love how it turns. I turned a small pot a while back which had a crack in the bottom(left the pith in) but after it dried good crack was gone. I like yours looks very nice.
Gary Herrmann
12-31-2007, 7:05 PM
Yep, pear is good. I don't know your experience, but the plum I've harvested here splits quickly and deeply. It looks pretty similar to pear, but dang it splits badly.