# Osage Orange limb wood available for the cost of the shipping



## Joe Kuhn (Sep 27, 2020)

Since forum members have helped me solve my homeowner tree problems, I'd like to offer you all a piece or two of the Osage Orange limb wood I now have on my back porch, for the cost of the shipping.

Let me know what you're looking for by diameter and length and we'll see if I've got it.




I'm going to use it for firewood in the end, but that'll be in another year or so after some drying time. It was all cut within the last month or two.

And if you're near Naperville, IL, you're welcome to swing by.


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## Marine5068 (Oct 2, 2020)

Joe Kuhn said:


> Since forum members have helped me solve my homeowner tree problems, I'd like to offer you all a piece or two of the Osage Orange limb wood I now have on my back porch, for the cost of the shipping.
> 
> Let me know what you're looking for by diameter and length and we'll see if I've got it.
> 
> ...


You need to cut to length and split it now if you want to burn it in a year or so.
Osage is very dense wood and needs time to season before burning. Could take 2-3 years actually.
Cut it to length (typically 16"), split it and stack it off the ground for a couple years uncovered in sun and windy area.
It's great firewood and near the top of the list for BTUs/pound.
Also it's not the primo carving wood that most carvers look for, that would be Butternut or a softer wood species.
Just a little bit of info on woods and firewood prepping for you.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 2, 2020)

Marine5068 said:


> You need to cut to length and split it now if you want to burn it in a year or so.
> Osage is very dense wood and needs time to season before burning. Could take 2-3 years actually.
> Cut it to length (typically 16"), split it and stack it off the ground for a couple years uncovered in sun and windy area.
> It's great firewood and near the top of the list for BTUs/pound.
> ...


Thanks for those great tips. I can cut it, but splitting it is going to be a problem with that kind of density. All I have is hand tools for splitting. It would be nice to build some kind of mechanical lever with my son in order to do the splitting. I have an air compressor and some electric motors laying around and even a gas motor for a Honda lawn mower. And my son is as strong as an ox. Ideas?


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## old guy (Oct 2, 2020)

That wood appears to be pretty small, why would it need splitting?


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 2, 2020)

old guy said:


> That wood appears to be pretty small, why would it need splitting?


Granted, a lot of it is too small to split, but we have a small fireplace and it would help it dry faster, at least the biggest pieces. They're on the bottom in back.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 2, 2020)

Here are a couple of ideas for a mechanical splitter. We won't need it much, so I don't want to invest much, but would like to have something.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 2, 2020)

Found an article that looks at some splitter options: https://urs-ufa.ru/en/wood-splitters-at-home-wood-splitter-with-own-hands.html


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 3, 2020)

old guy said:


> That wood appears to be pretty small, why would it need splitting?


Plus we did a job down the street for a neighbor backed up to the same hedge row. I think I'll grab the good stuff before the township comes on Monday to grind it all up.


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## Marine5068 (Oct 9, 2020)

Joe Kuhn said:


> Thanks for those great tips. I can cut it, but splitting it is going to be a problem with that kind of density. All I have is hand tools for splitting. It would be nice to build some kind of mechanical lever with my son in order to do the splitting. I have an air compressor and some electric motors laying around and even a gas motor for a Honda lawn mower. And my son is as strong as an ox. Ideas?


Yes its very hard, dense wood and stringy grain in spots, especially the limb wood.
An option is that you could rent or borrow a woodsplitter for the weekend.
I don't split anything smaller than my arm diameter.
I just cut it all down to stove length and my woodstove can take up to 22" lengths, but I generally cut to around 18" so the wife can handle the weight of the splits easier.
after that its all a matter of time.
Stack it in an area of sun and wind exposure off the ground and let 'er sit.
I use wood pallets. They're free and when they get rotten I burn them in my fire pit or in the stove.


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## Marine5068 (Oct 9, 2020)

Joe Kuhn said:


> Plus we did a job down the street for a neighbor backed up to the same hedge row. I think I'll grab the good stuff before the township comes on Monday to grind it all up.


Nice!
There's a score of a scrounge.
I found the same thing after a stormy week in my area.
Drove around with the truck and trailer and my saws for a few days grabbing any hardwoods I could find.
Most was all cut and at the road like that.
I scored two whole Black Cherry trees and a lot of Red Oak limbs and some Sugar Maple limbs that week.
Wife said she didn't like that mess when I kept coming home with wood, but it's funny because the next two years she sure liked the heat from the woodstove that it provided.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 9, 2020)

Marine5068 said:


> Yes its very hard, dense wood and stringy grain in spots, especially the limb wood.
> An option is that you could rent or borrow a woodsplitter for the weekend.
> I don't split anything smaller than my arm diameter.
> I just cut it all down to stove length and my woodstove can take up to 22" lengths, but I generally cut to around 18" so the wife can handle the weight of the splits easier.
> ...


Good info. Thanks. I'm getting my exercise in. Wow.




Why can't I hit the same spot twice with my axe?


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## buzz sawyer (Oct 9, 2020)

Joe Kuhn said:


> Good info. Thanks. I'm getting my exercise in. Wow.
> 
> View attachment 860290
> 
> ...


Have you had it sighted in? Allow for crosswind?


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 9, 2020)

buzz sawyer said:


> Have you had it sighted in? Allow for crosswind?


Hah!


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 9, 2020)

Here's the view of my pile from the second floor of my house. You can see I'm cutting for length now. Will split later.




See the two pieces on the left with all the saw dust in front of them? That's my cutting 'table', but it's too low. Tomorrow I'm going to raise it by having 3 pieces on the bottom with bricks on the ends to keep them from rolling, then 2 pieces on top of them, and put my piece to cut on the crack between the 2 on top. That should help my back not be so tired from all the bending over.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 10, 2020)

Is it best to stack it like this: # or in line like this: ||||?


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## Marine5068 (Oct 11, 2020)

Joe Kuhn said:


> Here's the view of my pile from the second floor of my house. You can see I'm cutting for length now. Will split later.
> 
> View attachment 860383
> 
> ...


I built a sawbuck like the diagram years ago to help my back when blocking my firewood.
It folds up for storage.
Just store the splits off the ground in a sunny/windy spot and let nature do its work.
It'll be ready to burn in 1-3 years.


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## Marine5068 (Oct 11, 2020)

Joe Kuhn said:


> Here's the view of my pile from the second floor of my house. You can see I'm cutting for length now. Will split later.
> 
> View attachment 860383
> 
> ...


Your chain looks pretty dull. I see lots of powder in that sawdust when there should be more chips.
It may need a good filing to resharpen it.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 11, 2020)

Marine5068 said:


> I built a sawbuck like the diagram years ago to help my back when blocking my firewood.
> It folds up for storage.
> Just store the splits off the ground in a sunny/windy spot and let nature do its work.
> It'll be ready to burn in 1-3 years.
> View attachment 860615


Nice sawbuck. Ended up doing 3 pieces on the bottom and 2 on top. Got everything cut to length and celebrated with grilled salmon and steak. Poor dog had to smell it, but I did give him some salmon skin on top of 1/2 his regular meal. I errored on the short side and even cut the Y shaped ones down the middle because we have a pretty small fireplace.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 11, 2020)

Marine5068 said:


> Your chain looks pretty dull. I see lots of powder in that sawdust when there should be more chips.
> It may need a good filing to resharpen it.


You were right. I gave it 5 strokes each, being careful to stay parallel with that top edge, one direction only (see red arrow), one side and then the other. Cut a lot better, like butter, but needed it again by the time I was done. That's a 5/32" file. I think I'll start sharpening it with every tank of gas as someone mentioned. I held the chain with my other hand where the red arrow is, but couldn't show that while taking a picture.


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 17, 2020)

To-do pile is much reduced. There's that dog again.


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## motolife313 (Oct 17, 2020)

Are u cooking with that wood? Can we get some up close shots of the grain?


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 17, 2020)

motolife313 said:


> Are u cooking with that wood? Can we get some up close shots of the grain?


Nope, not cooking with it. Is this close enough on the grain?






It's easy to see why they named it Osage Orange.


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## motolife313 (Oct 17, 2020)

Nice thank you!


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## Joe Kuhn (Oct 18, 2020)

motolife313 said:


> Nice thank you!


Are you looking for something specific in grain?


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## motolife313 (Oct 18, 2020)

Just wondering what the grain looked like nothing specific. I was wondering if it’s good to cook with tho. That’s what I’m into


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## JBone11 (Jun 12, 2022)

Joe Kuhn said:


> Since forum members have helped me solve my homeowner tree problems, I'd like to offer you all a piece or two of the Osage Orange limb wood I now have on my back porch, for the cost of the shipping.
> 
> Let me know what you're looking for by diameter and length and we'll see if I've got it.
> 
> ...


Do you still have any of this osage orange available? Any that is around 6 ft long or so? Thank you.


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## Mad Professor (Jun 12, 2022)

It makes nice staves for knifes.

I bought the blank staves and unfinished Green River knife blanks.


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## camel2019 (Jun 14, 2022)

It makes good bow staves too but need long straight grain section’s with few knots.


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## Joe Kuhn (Jun 22, 2022)

JBone11 said:


> Do you still have any of this osage orange available? Any that is around 6 ft long or so? Thank you.


Sorry, it has all been cut up for firewood.


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## jolj (Dec 8, 2022)

Joe Kuhn said:


> To-do pile is much reduced. There's that dog again.


Still have wood for shipment?


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## Joe Kuhn (Dec 8, 2022)

It's cut up for firewood now at 15 inches or less. Would you like some?


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