Is Hickory tough to cut?

[ropensaddle]

I was surprised to see the African Blackwood below hickory. I have a rejected clarinet blank made of Blackwood and it is like cutting iron.

Yeah something's wrong with that list like the hardest is undoubtedly Osage Orange. Then black jack seems second in my experiance but hickory is definately up there :monkey::Eye:

Note: hickory is terrible in the brush stacking dept, I mean you have to shred the dern stuff to get it to lay flat. of course black jack is no cup of tea either!

 

[ropensaddle]

Hey, Rope, didn't know you were a musician!



I really enjoy some Fats or Jerry Lee, but if you want to see someone really make the ivories dance, take a look at this fellow (link below).




Even if you don't favor the music, check out the pure skill and passion he puts into it! Watch those fingers fly!

I think he's one of history's all time greatest. He could have played the biggest venues there are, but he preferred to stick with Southern Gospel. This is a man who literally played his heart out - he died of a heart attack in the middle of a concert a couple of years ago.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDfxkIgOic0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JP-8pFQlYE&feature=related

Definitely great I am a practicing pictician never going to be great at it prolly but do enjoy playing what I can! I would like to play like Roy Clark but you know!? "want an ability are two different subjects"

 

[J.W Younger]

dead standing hickory thats not punky and has shrunk to the point the barks fell off can be hell on a chain,especially if you bucking into short lenghts.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I pretty much have to blame my CAS/CAD and current 4 saw lineup....and my attention to this site on a single 24" Shagbark Hickory. I owned a Stihl 029 for 12 years and it served me well. I cut up fallen trees and limbs and cleaned up the property with it and cleared trees from the woods where we would be building a new house and driveway. The saw was in great shape and never failed to jump at the chance to go wood cutting with me.

When I had a 25" Shagbark Hickory fall over in the fencerow onto my neighbors property I got out the 029 and went to work. The bark was incredibly hard and on several occasions the bark would wedge in between the saw and the chain and stop the chain from moving. The tree was the biggest thing I had ever cut and although the limbing went fine - cutting up the 24" trunk with my 029 seemed to be asking a bit much of the saw. I really thought I was asking too much of this saw - however it did cut it all up and seemed to be no worse for wear after it was all done. Knowing that I was going to be the owner of a new OWB in a few months I decided to clean up the saw and sell it on Craigslist.....and start looking for a bigger saw. That is when I found the ARBORIST SITE and all you guys......and that is how I caught the highly contagious CAD/CAS.....which I believe has no known cure.

I certainly believe that with an 044 and a good sharp chain you have everything you need. I will add however......that on those 2-3 times a year that I get the chance to use my MS660.....I sure am glad I have it!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Definitely great I am a practicing pictician never going to be great at it prolly but do enjoy playing what I can! I would like to play like Roy Clark but you know!? "want an ability are two different subjects"

Yeah, I know what you mean!


Roy Clark is another great one.


Okay, back to the hickory discussion!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Hickory Makes Good Furniture

Yeah, I know what you mean!

Roy Clark is another great one.

Okay, back to the hickory discussion!

Mark, I made over half of the furniture in my rec room using shagbark hickory--two end tables and then two coffee tables that I topped with ceramic tile. It was so hard that it made Appalachian oak seem like softwood. It has a beautiful color and a closed grain that I can polish like glass. Half the price of cherry around here, so how could I possible criticize it?
:greenchainsaw:
Pics available upon request.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Mark; was that oak up there on the mtn. near you? Not surprised...still some nice old-growth stuff on my side of the Valley too.

 

[trimmmed]

When you split that puppy, keep a machete handy. They are very stringey.

Yep, I'll have my hatchet handy.

Kevin

I been using a hatchet but a machete might be better. There is plenty of double handling when splitting hickory. As a small consolation, those strings that you are forced to sever after split are super kindling.

dead standing hickory thats not punky and has shrunk to the point the barks fell off can be hell on a chain,especially if you bucking into short lenghts.

Yep, that stuff is hard on a chain when dry. When turning dry hickory, the heat coming off the gouge can be downright painful.

Burns like hell though!

 

[trimmmed]

Mark, I made over half of the furniture in my rec room using shagbark hickory--two end tables and then two coffee tables that I topped with ceramic tile. It was so hard that it made Appalachian oak seem like softwood. It has a beautiful color and a closed grain that I can polish like glass. Half the price of cherry around here, so how could I possible criticize it?
:greenchainsaw:
Pics available upon request.

Hickory got "hot" as a cabinet wood 4-5 years ago. People were ordering kitchens based on whatever models they had seen. Well hickory can have some real wild colors and grain, which is part of the look. It was too wild for some, and the resulting complaining ultimately had hickory removed as a choice. People want to pick their cabinet colors like they are looking at paint chips, it just doesnt work that way on natural hickory, lol.

Post those pics!

 

[KMB]

I been using a hatchet but a machete might be better. There is plenty of double handling when splitting hickory. As a small consolation, those strings that you are forced to sever after split are super kindling.



Yep, that stuff is hard on a chain when dry. When turning dry hickory, the heat coming off the gouge can be downright painful.

Burns like hell though!

I do have a cheap machete, I'll have to dig it out and see how it does.

Kevin

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Yep, that stuff is hard on a chain when dry. When turning dry hickory, the heat coming off the gouge can be downright painful.

But smells so good! That and white oak are my two faorite for turning, just for the smell!

Talk about having to stop and sharpen often! Seems like every few seconds!

 

[CowboyAndy]

I cut and split some shagbark hickory this summer. 28" base, split into 3 about 3' up. I cut through 12" with my husky 142 with 14" bar no problem, and chopped up the base with the stihl with 16" bar. Had no problems. Splitting wasnt bad, i didnt think it was stringy at all...

 

[thombat4]

Thanks. Good to hear cause buying a bigger saw (not running or running) is just not gonna happen anytime soon. The next item of value to try and buy will be a second-hand piano for my wife...and hopefully my li'l girl will take after her mother's music ability.

The chain will be kept sharp.

Kevin

Too bad you're not close by...people give away nice pianos for free all the time on Cleveland craigslist.

 

[Laird]

piano

By the way, I do have a nice upright piano I am trying to sell.........:monkey:

 

[KMB]

By the way, I do have a nice upright piano I am trying to sell.........:monkey:

According to Google Maps, it's about 725 miles from me to Indianapolis (not sure exactly where you're at)...yep, to far for a piano...thanks for the thought.

Kevin

 

[Wood Doctor]

A Hickory Tile-Top Coffee Table

But smells so good! That and white oak are my two favorites for turning, just for the smell!

Talk about having to stop and sharpen often! Seems like every few seconds!

John, here's a tile coffee table I made using hickory:

The tapered legs are made using five glued-up pieces that surround interlocking aprons:

This construction is very strong. The aprons will never separate from the legs and no corner braces are required:

Each tile rests on a slab, 3/4" thick. The ceramic tiles are separated by 5/16" thick hickory strips. So, no tile grout was required. The tiles can be lifted out in the event of a large shipping move. This table is heavy to say the least and believe me, I really had to keep my tools sharp to cut and shape all the pieces.

 

[trimmmed]

Nice table!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Construction Clarification

Nice table!

Thanks. I forgot to mention one thing. The hickory strips that separate the tiles are actually 1" wide. They nest in grooves that separate the eight slabs that are underneath each tile. That's not easy to tell from the Pics.

I spent about two weeks designing this table before I turned on the saw.

 

[stihl sawing]

Thanks. I forgot to mention one thing. The hickory strips that separate the tiles are actually 1" wide. They nest in grooves that separate the eight slabs that are underneath each tile. That's not easy to tell from the Pics.

I spent about two weeks designing this table before I turned on the saw.

Dang you're good. I would be proud if i could do that.

 

[J.W Younger]

John, here's a tile coffee table I made using hickory:

The tapered legs are made using five glued-up pieces that surround interlocking aprons:

This construction is very strong. The aprons will never separate from the legs and no corner braces are required:

Each tile rests on a slab, 3/4" thick. The ceramic tiles are separated by 5/16" thick hickory strips. So, no tile grout was required. The tiles can be lifted out in the event of a large shipping move. This table is heavy to say the least and believe me, I really had to keep my tools sharp to cut and shape all the pieces.

your good at that woodworking thing dr.