# Box Elder



## homemade (Jun 1, 2011)

Anyone ever turn or carve it? Its very light grained with a pinkish vian runing thew it, neer the core. We have alot of it in my area. It grows like weeds on farmer fence lines. The BTU value isn't the greatest and nobody likes using it for firewood but its free to me and that's all that matters. Just wondering if i find some nice looking peices if its practable to save and sell them.


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## deeker (Jun 1, 2011)

I cut quite a bit of it for the campground's picnic tables.

It lasts as good as pine/spruce/fir....all heavily painted though.

Also cut a lot of it for fence siding and shed siding.

Won't last forever, but it will for several years when stained or painted.

Also cut huge amounts of it for carvers. The burls on the trees are in demand for carvers and table top makers.

Hope that helps.

Kevin


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## GnawDog (Jun 1, 2011)

Here's a piece Blake Moore and I carved here in Chattanooga. It was a hollow log I found in the neighbor lady's brush pile. Has lots of color but it does fade when exposed to UV rays.


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## cowboyvet (Jun 1, 2011)

Agree with everyone here. It is a softer wood and will not last a long time but a good finish helps. The upside is it is not very prone to cracking and splitting when carved green. Not sure I would use it to sell a carving to someone but I have some carvings from it in front of my house which I'll just replace when they start deteriorating.

The only thing it is good for in the fireplace is making ashes


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## rb142 (Jun 2, 2011)

It's great stuff for turning, especially with the red streaks in it. The more red the better.


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## Battenkiller (Jun 12, 2011)

The red color can fade badly in the light, but there is a finishing oil called "Bush Oil" ( I know the guy who makes it) that will let it keep its color if you soak the bowl in it overnight. Bill Bush showed me two box elder bowls from the same log - one soaked and one not soaked. They had been finished a few years before I saw them. Quite a difference. Only problem is that Bush Oil is pretty pricey stuff, and the wood can soak up a fair amount of the stuff, so it better be a pretty spiffy looking piece of wood and a great carving/bowl.

I took a tree down a few years ago and just let it sit around because it didn't have a lot of color in that particular tree and it is not the best firewood. I really wanted it to rot away, but it held up surprisingly well to the elements. I decided to split it and burn it in the stove. Maybe not a lot of BTUs/cord if you're buying the stuff, but it burns real fast, so you get a lot of BTUs/hour while it's burning. And of course... free is free.


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## homemade (Jun 17, 2011)

well i heard that they like them out west because they have no trees like that. Only spruce tree's or palms. Well it grows like a weed and almost resilient to any deisese or weather, Sometimes survives after a sever chainsaw attack. I'll look around my neck of the woods if anyone is interested in it but most of it will probably end up in the wood stove.


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## menzhari (Aug 15, 2011)

GnawDog said:


> Here's a piece Blake Moore and I carved here in Chattanooga. It was a hollow log I found in the neighbor lady's brush pile. Has lots of color but it does fade when exposed to UV rays.


 
I wish I could do something like this one day. It seems so complicated.


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## shadetree_1 (Sep 28, 2011)

If anyone has some of the box elder with the red starburst heartwood I would be interested in getting some, I make pen blanks from every wood I can find and sell it to pen turners ( Most of my wood is Desert Ironwood one of the hardest and prettiest woods in the world for knife handles and pistol grips) and I could do some trading.

Just thought I would throw out the idea, any takers ??

Thanks

Joe


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## homemade (Oct 2, 2011)

Well I would be willing to ship the good red vain wood to you but from WI to AZ can't be cheap... Even for UPS ground. But let me know what you would be willing to give and I'll consider it.


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## Burlhunter13 (Oct 3, 2011)

shadetree_1 said:


> If anyone has some of the box elder with the red starburst heartwood I would be interested in getting some, I make pen blanks from every wood I can find and sell it to pen turners ( Most of my wood is Desert Ironwood one of the hardest and prettiest woods in the world for knife handles and pistol grips) and I could do some trading.
> 
> Just thought I would throw out the idea, any takers ??
> 
> ...


 
Im a bit interested as well.....milled quite a bit of box elder. I have a few decent size burls too. Most of them have been sitting whole for about 4 years. Not fully cured but its getting there. Lots of birds eye and some good red streaking. Got some turning blanks too. Im a bit of a burl fanatic . Stuff doesn't smell the greatest....but is rather pretty when you stumble across the figured stuff, still have a few feather crotch sections lying around.


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## shadetree_1 (Oct 3, 2011)

Burlhunter13 said:


> Im a bit interested as well.....milled quite a bit of box elder. I have a few decent size burls too. Most of them have been sitting whole for about 4 years. Not fully cured but its getting there. Lots of birds eye and some good red streaking. Got some turning blanks too. Im a bit of a burl fanatic . Stuff doesn't smell the greatest....but is rather pretty when you stumble across the figured stuff, still have a few feather crotch sections lying around.




Hi Boss,

I would sure be interesed in getting a couple of your burls with the red and birdseye, I bet they would make some fantastic blanks, I am retired and on SS and my wife is very Ill with COPD and my blank sales are the difference between making the medical bills each month or not making them, so would sure like to get a couple burls and see what they become! And every now and then I find some fantastic Desert Ironwood burlwood, and maybe we could trade some,please let me know if you want to work some thing out.

If you have a picture or two of the burls you can email them to me.

Thanks

Joe and Linda


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## Burlhunter13 (Oct 4, 2011)

shadetree_1 said:


> Hi Boss,
> 
> I would sure be interesed in getting a couple of your burls with the red and birdseye, I bet they would make some fantastic blanks, I am retired and on SS and my wife is very Ill with COPD and my blank sales are the difference between making the medical bills each month or not making them, so would sure like to get a couple burls and see what they become! And every now and then I find some fantastic Desert Ironwood burlwood, and maybe we could trade some,please let me know if you want to work some thing out.
> 
> ...


 

Will do Joe . PM Sent.


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## shadetree_1 (Oct 4, 2011)

Burlhunter13 said:


> Will do Joe . PM Sent.



If you need the cash my friend let me know, I'll see what I can do, but I need the wood so let me know as soon as you can how you want to work this out.

Thanks

joe


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