Thoughts on Ironwood?

[coog]

Beautiful knife.I think it's to nice put it into an Elk. I usually lose mine several times while cleaning one.

Do you suppose anyone has tried the hops off of one of these trees to make beer?

 

[03USMC51]

Beer from the "hops"

"The tree's common name comes from the fruits' resemblance to hops*", the fruit from the Eastern Hophornbeam IS NOT however actually a hop that you could make beer with. Although I'm sure someone, somewhere has at least once tried.....

*The above quote is directly from the Virginia Dept. of Forestry page on Eastern Hophornbeam.

 

[coog]

"The tree's common name comes from the fruits' resemblance to hops*", the fruit from the Eastern Hophornbeam IS NOT however actually a hop that you could make beer with. Although I'm sure someone, somewhere has at least once tried.....

*The above quote is directly from the Virginia Dept. of Forestry page on Eastern Hophornbeam.

Surely at least one of our ancestors was hard up enough to try.

 

[LAD Pyrographics]

I do wood burning designs (pyrography) and would love to get my hands on some iron wood scrap pieces to experiment on. Small flat slab pieces would be best, but im not picky. I cant pay much as im a senior on limited income, but willing to play something.

Thanks, Lee D.

 

[coog]

I do wood burning designs (pyrography) and would love to get my hands on some iron wood scrap pieces to experiment on. Small flat slab pieces would be best, but im not picky. I cant pay much as im a senior on limited income, but willing to play something.

Thanks, Lee D.

Maybe the oldest thread I’ve seen dug up. Be happy to send you a piece.

 

[513yj]

From the ashes...

 

[pdqdl]

I pretty sure however that it is not hophornbeam, and most assuredly is not Black Ironwood (Krugiodendron ferreum). Neat trivia: South americans call this wood "Quebracho" or "Axebreaker"

When I was younger, I turned several 2"x2" pieces of Pau Ferro (Ironwood) police nightsticks. They were awesome.
It is a dark, straight grained wood with incredible hardness. You could beat on oak planks with it, producing deep dents, and the nightstick didn't hardly show a scratch in the finish.

 

[pdqdl]

We had a hillside covered with Ironwood (Eastern Hophornbeam).They would grow to 6-8" diameter and, because they were so heavy, uproot themselves.Great stuff, saved it for the nights that were 20 below or colder.

Very dense foliage and slow growing, hophornbeam are planted in this area as somewhat exotic hedges, or the occasional tall foundation plants. I've never seen one bigger than about 20' tall, with a rather narrow, columnar shape that comes to a point.

What do they look like growing in the wild?

 

[coog]

Very dense foliage and slow growing, hophornbeam are planted in this area as somewhat exotic hedges, or the occasional tall foundation plants. I've never seen one bigger than about 20' tall, with a rather narrow, columnar shape that comes to a point.

What do they look like growing in the wild?

Biggest I see in Wisconsin are 10-12” dbh, mostly smaller, maybe 20-25’ tall. They tend to tip over when they get that big, since I mostly see them on hillsides. Great firewood, almost as good as Hedge. Can lay on the ground for years without rotting.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

Biggest I see in Wisconsin are 10-12” dbh, mostly smaller, maybe 20-25’ tall. They tend to tip over when they get that big, since I mostly see them on hillsides. Great firewood, almost as good as Hedge. Can lay on the ground for years without rotting.

I’m surprised you can’t just sell blanks to places like Woodcrafters or other companies that sell turning blanks. Id bet it would be more profitable than just firewood.

 

[coog]

Never looked into it. The Ironwood has it’s own area in the wood shed; it only gets visited when it’s 20° below zero or colder. I also cut a lot of Black Ash, which has a pretty grain.

 

[cantoo]

Very dense foliage and slow growing, hophornbeam are planted in this area as somewhat exotic hedges, or the occasional tall foundation plants. I've never seen one bigger than about 20' tall, with a rather narrow, columnar shape that comes to a point.

What do they look like growing in the wild?

Quite a few of them around here. I cut a bunch up using my 16 1/2" Makita saw for my daughter in law to make Christmas ornaments.