I just used a piece of wood today (it was part of the crate my new freezer
came in, i.e., "pallet wood"), and I have no idea what it might have been.
It was very nice (curly grain), honey colored, and looked exactly like oak
grain, except it was rather less dense than either red or white oak, and the
odor when I cut it was neither sour like red oak nor characteristic white
oak. It was somewhat "spicy" (I don't know, I guess I should learn to use
the wine adjectives), and unlike any wood I know. Any suggestions?
"donald girod" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I just used a piece of wood today (it was part of the crate my new freezer
> came in, i.e., "pallet wood"), and I have no idea what it might have been.
> It was very nice (curly grain), honey colored, and looked exactly like oak
> grain, except it was rather less dense than either red or white oak, and the
> odor when I cut it was neither sour like red oak nor characteristic white
> oak. It was somewhat "spicy" (I don't know, I guess I should learn to use
> the wine adjectives), and unlike any wood I know. Any suggestions?
Possibly brown ash. Looks a lot like oak only produces a lot of curl.
A lot of large mills will sell it to pallet manufacturers because
there isn't a demand for it on the green market. I myself would choose
it any day over oak and 8 out of 10 of my customers who come in to by
lumber or especially flooring have made the switch. Jana
Dave Hinz <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On 28 Jul 2004 11:14:24 -0700, Jana <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > Possibly brown ash. Looks a lot like oak only produces a lot of curl.
> > A lot of large mills will sell it to pallet manufacturers because
> > there isn't a demand for it on the green market. I myself would choose
> > it any day over oak and 8 out of 10 of my customers who come in to by
> > lumber or especially flooring have made the switch. Jana
>
> How is it for woodworking projects in general? I've got a few thousand
> of them maturing nicely on my property (2-3" in diameter just now, so it
> will be a while before I'm calling a mill about 'em). Seems to like my
> area (south-central Wisconsin), as there are many more there than
> I have planted.
>
> My parents just did a room with Ash flooring, and you're right, it's
> stunningly beautiful. More like Hickory than anything else, I thought?
> Much easier to work with, though.
>
> Dave Hinz
HI Dave, It works, sands, finishes great. I agree, because of the
sapwood, that it looks like hickory, too. They do grow fast and I
think it's a "sleeper" species. There's less and less good northern
red oak so I think in years to come the market will jump at some
point. The tri-state area here is the only place it grows. Once you go
south it's white and even northern MN it's primarily black ash. Jana
On 28 Jul 2004 11:14:24 -0700, Jana <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Possibly brown ash. Looks a lot like oak only produces a lot of curl.
> A lot of large mills will sell it to pallet manufacturers because
> there isn't a demand for it on the green market. I myself would choose
> it any day over oak and 8 out of 10 of my customers who come in to by
> lumber or especially flooring have made the switch. Jana
How is it for woodworking projects in general? I've got a few thousand
of them maturing nicely on my property (2-3" in diameter just now, so it
will be a while before I'm calling a mill about 'em). Seems to like my
area (south-central Wisconsin), as there are many more there than
I have planted.
My parents just did a room with Ash flooring, and you're right, it's
stunningly beautiful. More like Hickory than anything else, I thought?
Much easier to work with, though.
Dave Hinz