Wood unique to the South suggestions?

[Tom Dunn]

Got a surprise package in the mail yesterday, courtesy of a friend in Arizona. Inside was three pieces of Desert Ironwood. Amazing stuff! Heavy as heck(won't float), hard as a rock, and color and figure that, to me, is nothing short of impressive.





Flip side:









I've been reading up on it some. Does not grow in an especially large area of the country, thats for sure! Considered a premier choice for knife handles because it is one of the few woods that does not need to be stabilized to use on knife scales. I don't know what stabilizing wood is all about but regardless, I'm glad I don't have to do it.
I put some pics on a knifemakers forum. Many are jealous!

I would like toreciprocate by sending him some kind of wood not commonly available where he is, but I'm at a bit of a loss. Thats why I came here. I'm hoping you may be able to suggest a species native to the southeast, something striking perhaps? I don't know enough about wood species to get any traction on this idea, so if ya'll could jump start my idea for me, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[Mike Davis]

Black Locust or Osage Orange.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Not uncommon in the Est, but not native to his area. Sycamore. Quartersawn is especially beautiful. Also a figured piece of Wild Black Cherry would make a great trade. At least I would like to get either one in the mail.

Stabilizing is where the wood is impregnated with a hardening material using both vacuum and pressure. Basically plasticizes the wood.

 

[StephenK]

If you can find some old American Chesnut - and part with it. Sugar maple, not a Carolina tree, but they grow in Tennessee. Maybe some old growth Southern Yellow Pine (Heart Pine)?

 

[ScottM]

How about Magnolia or Sweet Gum or Wild Persimmon?

 

[JackLeg]

​Cypress ain't native to Arizona, I don't believe!!

 

[Joe Scharle]

I'm with Reggie. Cypress is a weed on our coast and I think it has a pleasing grain. See below. Also, the 'knees' make nice carving stock and sand out super smooth.

​

 

[Mark Stewart]

I am with mike on the black locust. Its hard and it finishes up nice.

 

[Matt Furjanic]

Dogwood!

 

[CrealBilly]

If your looking for something that is comparable in weight/strength to ironwood I'm with Scott persimmon is a good choice to consider.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

 

[Jeff]

Yep, you have some very dense and figured stuff as a nice gift from your friend (number 7 in the hit parade).

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/top-ten-heaviest-woods/

What types of woodworking projects does your friend like to do? And you want to reciprocate with something unique and historic to the southeast?

I'll throw in a pitch for reclaimed old-growth sinker cypress or longleaf pine. These folks are in SC.

http://www.heartwoodsouth.com/

 

[srhardwoods]

Osage is very dense, it would actually be a nice contrast with the wood he sent you. Sinker Cypress/Pine/Oak are beautiful, I can try to take some pics if you like, I have thousands of feet of it.

Chris

 

[srhardwoods]

Also a sinker Hickory, very dense as well

 

[richlife]

Redbud has an amazing grain when you can find it in 6" diameters.

Rich

 

[ScottM]

Osage is very dense, it would actually be a nice contrast with the wood he sent you. Sinker Cypress/Pine/Oak are beautiful, I can try to take some pics if you like, I have thousands of feet of it.

Chris

Sinker? Chris, that is a new term on me. Is that the lumber they dredge up from the bottom of the swamps and rivers? Just curious.

 

[srhardwoods]

It is, We are recovering them from a 3 mile stretch on the Nottaway River. It was a former sawmill location that was burnt down at the end of the civil war. All axe cut ends. Mainly we recover Cypress, but we do get a good amount of Pine, and some oaks and hickory. One of them was 42" in diameter and 30' long, beautiful 8/4 live edge slabs for coffee table. I'll see if I can find a article the small newspaper wrote up on one of the trips when we were pulling the logzilla from the water.

 

[PND]

Not hard but standing dead Yellow Poplar has amazing colors.

 

[Jeff]

Sinker? Chris, that is a new term on me. Is that the lumber they dredge up from the bottom of the swamps and rivers? Just curious.

A follow-up to Chris's post above. There are some good videos available online too.

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/06/209191291/dredging-south-carolinas-rivers-for-long-forgotten-timber

http://sinkertreasures.com/about_river_recovered/

 

[Roy G]

The wood of a plum tree is pretty nice. Dense, fine-grained and a nice pink color.

Roy G

 

[Mike Davis]

Plum is beautiful wood and mostly overlooked. I used to turn small boxes of plum when I was younger.