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Thread: Is this Pecan?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Lower Shingletown Ca
    Posts
    172

    Is this Pecan?

    The tree grew in Eastern Washington in the tri cities.
    The person I bought my lathe from gave me these huge chunks of wood; telling me they were Pecan. This was 30% moisture after 3 years of being air dried outside under a tarp. It is rock hard and smoked my bandsaw blade (probably because it was full of mud). I color corrected the photos so the true color is shown. Does this look like pecan? It cracks very easily!
    Thank you for any help on this one!


    IMG_5518.jpgIMG_5517.jpg
    Where did I put those band aids?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    274
    Looks too dark to me to be pecan. All the pecan I see here in TX is much lighter in color, and, like your pieces, is rock hard after drying. A turner outside Houston used to refer to it at “pecan-crete”!
    Don't let it bring you down,
    It's only castles burning,
    Just find someone who's turning,
    And you will come around

    Neil Young (with a little bit of emphasis added by me)

    Board member, Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Deep South
    Posts
    3,970
    Based on the appearance, I would say it is reasonable to identify it as pecan. I would need more pictures to be sure. Pecan is very much like hickory in the way it works. It is hard, brittle and strong.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Lower Shingletown Ca
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    172
    It's definitely strong and hard as a rock!
    Where did I put those band aids?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Dueane Hicks View Post
    The tree grew in Eastern Washington in the tri cities.
    The person I bought my lathe from gave me these huge chunks of wood; telling me they were Pecan. This was 30% moisture after 3 years of being air dried outside under a tarp. It is rock hard and smoked my bandsaw blade (probably because it was full of mud). I color corrected the photos so the true color is shown. Does this look like pecan? It cracks very easily!
    Thank you for any help on this one!


    IMG_5518.jpgIMG_5517.jpg
    It's easy to guess by looking at boards or chunks of wood. If you want to know, shave a bit of the end grain with a single-edge razor blade and look at it with a hand lens. You should be able to tell if it's pecan (or hickory which is extremely close) - they are quite distinctive compared to some other heavy, hard wood species. But if a guess is good enough, your all done.

    Pecan
    pecan-endgrain-zoom.jpg

    Hickory
    hickory1.jpg


    JKJ

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Warsaw, Missouri
    Posts
    92
    The surest way to determine if it is pecan is to bake some into a pie, add cool whip, and see if it makes you want both a second slice and a nap.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Lower Shingletown Ca
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    172
    Quote Originally Posted by John Nordyke View Post
    The surest way to determine if it is pecan is to bake some into a pie, add cool whip, and see if it makes you want both a second slice and a nap.

    How come my teeth hurt after doing that?
    Where did I put those band aids?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Dueane Hicks View Post
    Originally Posted by John Nordyke
    The surest way to determine if it is pecan is to bake some into a pie, add cool whip, and see if it makes you want both a second slice and a nap.
    How come my teeth hurt after doing that?
    The cool whip must have been too cold.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Graceville Florida
    Posts
    16
    Pecan smell like chicken manure when you turn it green. When it is dry it is very hard.

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