Replies

1. 
   davamoore | Oct 22, 2002 04:55pm | #1

   Jamie --

   Here's a link to a site that discusses the uses, advantages and disadvantages of hickory:

   http://www.hardwood.org/species_guide/display_species.asp?species=hickorypecan

   It doesn't seem to be one of the easiest woods to work with, although its abundance and strength made it very popular with early American settlers.

   Last year, about this time, a large hickory came down on our property during a windstorm.  We didn't get a chance to cut it apart before the snows hit, for either usable lumber or firewood, so we left it until spring.  Along came spring, and the stubborn tree leafed out and remained -- as far as we could tell -- perfectly healthy, lying on its side!

   I'm sure it will die eventually, since more trees would grow on their sides if it was a good thing, but we thought it made a nice touch, having a sideways tree lying on the edge of our meadow.  We left it be, figuring we weren't in need of baseball bats or extra firewood, for the time being.

   David

   Hmmm... the garden or the workshop today?
1. 
   JamieFichter | Oct 22, 2002 09:00pm | #3

   David:

   Sounds like you have a hearty hickory there.  I've heard that they make a nice tree - the shag-barks are cool looking, due to the...uhhh...shaggy bark (couldn't think of any term that would be more descriptive.  :~)  Thanks for the website.

   Jon Arno:

   Yep, you are correct, most of the state of Iowa is very good farmland, so the trees are almost non-existent in some places.  I am fortunate to be in the "bluffs" area south of Omaha/Council Bluffs, and my 5 acre tract has more hickories, oaks, elms, ash, etc than I can count.  Some of those hickories are HUGE - have to be at least 50 - 60 feet tall, maybe more.

   Anyway, I wonder if I should plan to use the oak for my cabinets in my kitchen...sounds like the hickory may be too hard to deal with, IMO.  I'll have to see if I can get someone to use it for something productive.

   As an interesting side note, there are some indian burial mounds close to my land, and they evidently planted Oaks to mark their burial areas - those oaks are very large, and kinda form a square around the burial mounds...pretty neat, I think.

   Thanks to both of you for the info...

   Jamie

1. 
   fdampier5 | Oct 23, 2002 03:48am | #4

   Please try to have the Oak quarter sawn.  It's more work and some sawmills just won't do it, but it yields the best most stable wood and has an interesting grain that can only been seen if quarter sawn.

1. 
   JamieFichter | Oct 24, 2002 12:19am | #5

   Boy, I feel kinda dumb now...I had been searching on BURR Oak, not Bur Oak.  I had no clue that Bur Oak is part of the white oak family.

   I'm definitely doing something with that baby...

   Thanks for all of your help!

   jamie

2. 
   gweisenburge | Oct 24, 2002 12:30am | #6

   David,

   Thanks for the link to the Hardwood Info Center.

   Gary

1. 
   davamoore | Oct 24, 2002 06:06pm | #7

   Gary, I replied once before to your note, but it doesn't appear to be showing up.  So, first off, I apologize if I'm repeating myself and will keep an eye out for the earlier post and delete it if nececessary.

   Anyway, I happened to be looking through the current issue of FWW, and on p. 32 was reminded of a site I've used before for information about wood and its properties.  It's the USDA's Forest Products Lab website.  The information is very, very comprehensive -- here's a link (and thanks, FWW, for jogging my memory):

   http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/

   DavidLook, I made a hat -- Where there never was a hat!

2. 
   jonsherryl | Oct 22, 2002 05:44pm | #2

   Jamie, it's heartening to hear you have a conscience when it comes to conservation...Especially out there in western Iowa, where you can go for miles and not even see a tree.

   ...Anyway, both of the species you mention are respectable cabinet woods. Hickory is a blond wood, usually with rust brown streaks in the heartwood. It is gaining popularity as a good choice for kitchen cabinets, given the current fad for lighter and brighter interior trim. It's a strong, heavy and extremely elastic wood, but it tends to be somewhat unstable...so, if you plan to use the wood for cabinets or furniture, be sure to design your projects with joinery techniques that allow panels pleanty of room to float. Also, the hickories have poor decay resistance and are difficult to air dry, so you might want to have the lumber professionally kiln dried.

   Burr oak belongs to the white oak group and is a very nice cabinetwood. It's traditionally been an important commercial species for the manufacture of T&G oak flooring, but it's also a good choice for making Mission style furniture.  It has excellent decay resistance, so it's a good choice for exterior projects as well.

   Both of these species make outstanding firewood, so not even the branches and shop scrap need go to waste.