# Osage orange



## missouriboy (Jul 27, 2012)

I have a lot of Osage orange i can cut. Some of it is huge and a lot of it is perfect. I will sell the small stuff as fence posts. But with the bigger stuff i want to sell as logs if there is a market for it. i know people make bows and knife handles out of it. I think in Europe they high end violins out of this stuff. I need some help with maybe finding a market if there is even one. I live in North central Missouri and any help would be great.


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## hammerlogging (Jul 27, 2012)

I'd try and figure out your market before you start cutting so you know the grade and lengths to aim for to get your max value recovery.. As you explore markets, try and get higher up the food chain. By all means check with 2 or 3 local/regional sawmills (may be up to 100 miles away) but be aware they may just be acting as middlemen and will simply re-sell your logs to another market which you might be able to sell to directly. You could ask someone at Missouri State or whatever wood products department or Missouri Forestry type association for market ideas also.


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## missouriboy (Jul 27, 2012)

hammerlogging said:


> I'd try and figure out your market before you start cutting so you know the grade and lengths to aim for to get your max value recovery.. As you explore markets, try and get higher up the food chain. By all means check with 2 or 3 local/regional sawmills (may be up to 100 miles away) but be aware they may just be acting as middlemen and will simply re-sell your logs to another market which you might be able to sell to directly. You could ask someone at Missouri State or whatever wood products department or Missouri Forestry type association for market ideas also.



I haven't started cutting yet for those reasons. Thanks for the info i will look into calling the Missouri department of natural resources and see what they can tell me. Thanks again for the info


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## Frank Savage (Jul 28, 2012)

Just a side note-absolutely none of the circularly porous wood (as osage orange, locust etc.) is suitable for musical instrument making, if you don´t count piano legs. Someone was feeding you a big fat lie. 
(Make violins out of osage orange-fiddle them a bit-watch the lacquer cracking and falling off on with remains of the thyleae-hear the every moment changing tones...)


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## missouriboy (Jul 28, 2012)

Frank Savage said:


> Just a side note-absolutely none of the circularly porous wood (as osage orange, locust etc.) is suitable for musical instrument making, if you don´t count piano legs. Someone was feeding you a big fat lie.
> (Make violins out of osage orange-fiddle them a bit-watch the lacquer cracking and falling off on with remains of the thyleae-hear the every moment changing tones...)



Ok so i looked it up on Google and they make guitars out of it. This is a quote from the site i was looking at “drop-in replacement of Brazilian Rosewood or even Superior to it.” The site is www.cookwoods.com/instrument. Most of the sites i looked at said it was used to make fine stringed musical instruments such as violins and harp and even duck and goose calls.


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## Dave Boyt (Jul 30, 2012)

O.K., I'll bite. What exactly is "circularly porous"? Is that the same as ring porous? Thanks for the info. I was thinking of Osage orange for fingerboards, since it is so wear resistant.


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## ShaneLogs (Jul 30, 2012)

Any pictures of this Osage Orange that you have access too ?


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## missouriboy (Jul 30, 2012)

ShaneLogs said:


> Any pictures of this Osage Orange that you have access too ?



I have only one pic. I will have it on here when my Girl Friend gets back where here camera.


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## KYLogger (Jul 30, 2012)

Don't know about instruments but it makes one heckuva good long bow!!


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## buzz sawyer (Jul 30, 2012)

Interesting thread - subscribing.


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## ShaneLogs (Aug 1, 2012)

buzz sawyer said:


> Interesting thread - subscribing.



Me too, Must see this Osage Orange.


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## redoakneck (Aug 1, 2012)

Pretty rare to get good clean osage orange. Stuff around here is always crooked, cavitated in the middle with ants all over, and full of knots and twists. A friend of mine has a bunch and I always try to find good clean straight ones for bows or lumber, most of it makes great firewood. Osage around here also has lots of thorns! - just a bonus I guess. Good luck with getting some good money for them, the stuff is super tuff.


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## greendohn (Aug 1, 2012)

We have plenty growing around here, most of which is twisted and knotty also. One of the hottest burning fire woods out there, I've seen a couple wood stoves near melted from burning it. 
I usually don't cut it unless it's in the way. Not only because of it's growth pattern(stunted/twisted/knotty) but man are they bushy! And it seems you can't just swipe the smallest of twigs off with a gloved hand, but, you have to touch all 10million of them with the chainsaw. The thorns will poke thru the sole of a boot and fester up sore. 
I don't want to come off being a "Nancy-Boy",but the crap just aint worth all the trouble/work to me for the wood involved. I have cut plenty of it and will surely cut it again, bu only if it's in my way.


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## ShaneLogs (Aug 1, 2012)

Never seen any Osage Orange around here, Must not grow here. Any one have any pictures of what it looks like ?


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## 7600 (Aug 1, 2012)

There is some around here, western Pa. They call it hedge apple. Very hard stuff.


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## mountainmandan (Aug 2, 2012)

It has nothing to do with marketing, but I made a set of hand paddles for whitewater kayaking out of hedge and it is some tough stuff. I blacksmithed some porch swing mounts in hedge coals and it got adequately hot to get a nice cherry red to the steel. I sell hedge fence posts sometimes and you can make good money doing it. You really need to have a buyer before you cut so you can cut and deliver in one trip. I burn most of it in the stove.

Dan


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## missouriboy (Aug 3, 2012)

mountainmandan said:


> It has nothing to do with marketing, but I made a set of hand paddles for whitewater kayaking out of hedge and it is some tough stuff. I blacksmithed some porch swing mounts in hedge coals and it got adequately hot to get a nice cherry red to the steel. I sell hedge fence posts sometimes and you can make good money doing it. You really need to have a buyer before you cut so you can cut and deliver in one trip. I burn most of it in the stove.
> 
> Dan



What do you guys get for line and corner posts down there.


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## mountainmandan (Aug 4, 2012)

I get 10 to 12 for corners and 3 to 5 for line. Only takes about an hour to get a 100 dollar load. 

Dan


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## missouriboy (Aug 6, 2012)

redoakneck said:


> Pretty rare to get good clean osage orange. Stuff around here is always crooked, cavitated in the middle with ants all over, and full of knots and twists. A friend of mine has a bunch and I always try to find good clean straight ones for bows or lumber, most of it makes great firewood. Osage around here also has lots of thorns! - just a bonus I guess. Good luck with getting some good money for them, the stuff is super tuff.



Yeah its the same like that here. It grows like that because back in the day they planted it for fences and trees don't grow very good in fence rows. I found an area that wasn't planted like that. They are growing in the timber which is very rare around these parts. The area is over an a hour dive from where i live. I not going to start on it unless i find a market for it and know i will make enough money to make it worth my time. I know i can make money for selling some of it as fence post. But i don't really need to dive that far for that.I have enough of Osage orange around where i live to make into fence posts. I haven't had any luck finding a market for this stuff beside fence post so i don't know what i am going to do with it.


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## Tillamook (Aug 10, 2012)

I build bows and am a member of a couple bow building forums and there is a market for bow staves. Usually the logs should be split and the ends sealed. I would be interested in some snakey ones if you want to get rid of some. I know allot is sold on ebay by one guy but he chases it down to one ring and I think most of his is dry and seasoned. I wish I had it around me because I would love to get some out here!

Josh


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## Jed1124 (Aug 10, 2012)

ShaneLogs said:


> Never seen any Osage Orange around here, Must not grow here. Any one have any pictures of what it looks like ?



Does not grow that far north as far as I know. Mostly up to Southern Jersey then through the mid west. Not any around me in CT that I know of.


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## buzz sawyer (Aug 11, 2012)

missouriboy said:


> Yeah its the same like that here. It grows like that because back in the day they planted it for fences and trees don't grow very good in fence rows. I found an area that wasn't planted like that. They are growing in the timber which is very rare around these parts. The area is over an a hour dive from where i live. I not going to start on it unless i find a market for it and know i will make enough money to make it worth my time. I know i can make money for selling some of it as fence post. But i don't really need to dive that far for that.I have enough of Osage orange around where i live to make into fence posts. I haven't had any luck finding a market for this stuff beside fence post so i don't know what i am going to do with it.



Seems like I've heard of these fence rows referred to as "devil rows". The upper branches get entwined and the danged things won't fall over - even cut all the way through. 

It's great for turning on a lathe but the yellow color turns fairly dark brown after a time.


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