If Pecan wood is so hard...

[DSWalker]

If pecan wood is so hard... Why does my pecan tree drop more limbs than all other trees in my yard put together? ( even without any storms)

 

[Echd]

I'd assume the answer is more generally complex and has more to do with the nature of the tree itself, but hard things can be brittle or easily broken along certain dimensions. Ceramic is extremely hard, but not necessarily resistant to being shattered by impacts.

 

[Sealeveler]

My trees also have limbs that have broken off because of the weight of the amount of pecans in a good year. I think they are brittle because of the hardness.
Tony

 

[Willemjm]

I have done a lot of turning with Pecan, don't find it hard at all, softer than Maple. Well at least the whole tree I processed.

 

[teesquare]

It is often called "Pecan-crete" not because of its hardness. It is because pecan generates a lot of silica, so it dulls tools quickly.

 

[Oka]

Interesting question about Pecan and other similar woods.
There are a few things that make wood have their properties.
Density, modulus of elasticity (bend-ability) compressive strength to mention a few. As teesquare mentioned, when wood has a higher silica it is harder, however, but not necessarily stronger. When the fibers in the wood are short(er) then it can and will fracture easier than say Doug-Fir. So, when wind hits a tree with those characteristics it cannot handle those quick changes of weather impact (wind gusts) like a Aspen, Pine or other long fibered tree species. So it fractures.Here in Hawaii, Albizia (Saur) and some of the Acacias and Eucalyptus's all fracture under wind load.

 

[Rwe2156]

Doesn't have as much flexibility, like compared to a live oak.

I wasn't aware pecan accumulates silica, I thought it was just hard.

 

[Willemjm]

The grinders below were made from Pecan. This was a 100+ year old tree that the city of Wilmington had taken down and I purchased the whole tree cut in 12/4 boards.

The wood was easy to turn and it was pretty soft. Nowhere near as hard as Hickory.

 

[Tarhead]

There are pest issues that can cause this problem. I have issues with Weevils/Stinkbugs and something that girdles the young growth causing them to die.

 

[AllanD]

Not sure how much this matters but it seems most pecan trees have a different architecture than many other trees. They often have a very short main trunk and have multiple branches off that trunk. The limbs then grow up and out without a sturdy main trunk. My grandparents had a small pecan grove of about 30 trees that supplemented their other paltry income.

 

[Craptastic]

Doesn't have as much flexibility, like compared to a live oak.

I wasn't aware pecan accumulates silica, I thought it was just hard.

My understanding is any silica issues with Pecan are usually more in the bark and extreme outer layers of the wood. The bark can definitely have it. Rarely have I seen it working the wood itself.

 

[teesquare]

My understanding is any silica issues with Pecan are usually more in the bark and extreme outer layers of the wood. The bark can definitely have it. Rarely have I seen it working the wood itself.

The silica you are referring to exists mainly in the bark due to wind, rain and nutrient export. But there also exists molecular silicas that many organisms manufacture as part of their tissue structure. Pecan is not alone in this respect.

 

[EricS]

No scientific hypothesis here but I have had hickory and pecan milled and have left pieces of both wood outside in the weather and they deteriorated fairly quick. Due to bugs and moisture. I find it interesting a harder wood like hickory/pecan will rot quickly and a softer wood like cedar will last seemingly forever. Just goes to show, the chemical makeup of the tree/wood is just as important when considering it’s use as density and hardness.

 

[woodlaker2]

Fruit/nut bearing trees usually splay their limbs. Weight and internal stress often result in limb loss especially over time.

 

[awldune]

I have noticed that black locust seems to be similarly brittle despite its hardness and rot resistance.