I recently paid a visit to my in-laws in the northwest, and they had a type of wood in their firewood pile I had never seen before (I’m in the midwest). My father-in-law said it was madrone (sp?). I loved the color and texture, and would like to use it in some projects, but the grain seemed a bit erratic to be stable enough for working. Does anyone know how it takes to the saw? I told him to try and find me a fair size log of it that I can bring home on our next trip out there.
Tony
Replies
I live in the northwest & there are some places that sell boards & or turning blocks & burls of madrone, The wood checks easy when drying so not to many people like to deal with it. If you buy turning blocks or burls they are usually green & you must dry them very slowly. It one of the woods that dosnt even work well to rough turn green then let sit to dry & final turn due to it checks so easy just after you turn when green. some of the boards I have seen have great figure but are usually no more than 6" wide x 6' long.
Does this propensity for checking mean that once you do get it dry, it will warp, twist, and generally misbehave when you start to work it? Also, are we talking about end checking, face checking, internal fissures, etc?
Tony
No once its gone thru its drying process it seems to be stable.
woodhoarder ,
YES to all of the problems you mention . A local cabinet shop built a nice raised panel kitchen out of supposedly perfectly dry Madrone , this was some years back . I saw the job and the color of the wood was fabulous and the entire job a piece of art if you will . Well , about a month after it was installed in the home it basically self destructed , each and every frame and raised panel popped , cracked , twisted and warped. The shop had to replace the job with Oak , big bummer . The best use I have seen is for T & G flooring , the wood can move a bit while being held down. Drying it seems to be a tad more difficult then many other local hardwoods. Just for fun get a hold of some Manzinita , really a beautiful specie. The main problem with Madrone the way I see it , it is a very fast growing water laden tree , where the Manzinita is extremely slow growing and I would say more stable . Yew wood is another slow grower that has a beautiful color and grain characteristics.
dusty
VikingVood-I'm a relatively newbie to the Northwest, Only been here for 50 years. (grin) .... but I've always heard the name of this tree pronounced maDROna whereas lately I seem to hear it pronounced primarily as mDROAN. I've even seen it written as madrona.Some people say both are correct. Or are we talking about two different species? The tree I have in mind is a large broadleaf evergreen with dusty brown peeling bark............
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Morning Dennis ,
My brother in law / landscaper in Tacoma also calls them Madrona , I guess the Latin specie name is actually "Pacifica Madrona" but down here in Oregon we simply call it Madrone. I have also heard it referred to as "Laurel "and "Mountain Laurel " So in this case the local terms would apply , but yup , they do call it Madrona in Washington state , probably because that is the real name.To us it is the best fire wood we can get. It puts out much heat and leaves little ash , while not as messy as Oak because of the thin tight bark.
dusty
Thanks for the reply, Dusty.A friend of mine does volunteer work with the park department on Camano Is. He's promised to save me some windfall if/when there is any. From what I've heard Madrone/Madrona is a strikingly good looking turning wood. I'm glad I read (here) about the difficulty in seasoning it............
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
I find it interesting that you prefer it as firewood, as I hated it as kid (It was my job to split and stack). The damn stuff would never split, and when it did, it was in twisted fragments. I guess I've always thought of it as trash wood. Prejudice dies hard, but perhaps it does have a redeeming quality if someone's working with it.Tom
tms ,
Most of the local Madrone grows fairly straight with few limbs , sometimes on a twisted trunk it can be harder to split . But like most hardwoods when green is splits like butter , Oak is easy to split when green but very difficult to split when dry .
dusty
When I look at Madrone trees in the wild here, they almost always grow in an arching form, reaching out to the sun, with at least some twisting along the way. Doesn't bode well for lumber. We had a small one go down on our property last year and it was pretty straight, but unfortunately "small" doesn't bode well for lumber either, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
forestgirl ,
Down here in Southern Oregon there are some large Madrone trees , I would never use it to build anything out of but as I said , it is wonderful firewood . I guess you could use it for turning , but maybe PEG or some other stabilizing product could be used to keep it from splitting , twisting cupping warping and going to heck in a hand basket so to speak .It is being used to make some really beautiful T & G flooring in narrow strips .I have seen some old trees maybe 3 ft at the base straight for 20 or 30 feet and no limbs . Sun ? in Seattle who you kidding ? They may grow in that shape because they are searching for some sunlight . LOL , All kidding aside , I love it in your area , I have never seen so much water everywhere as you have there . The most favorite vacations I have ever had are in the San Jaun Islands , Lopez is my favorite , a relative has a place on Lopez . Beautiful rich waters and tide pools . Crabbing fishing and the mountain bike riding capitol of the North West . Sign me up !
dusty
Madrone(a) in southern Oregon huh?So I'm guessing Yachats, or maybe Florence? Either way, I'm thinking that you might be close enough to come to our eventual gathering in the Fremont section of Seattle.Waddayasay Dusty?Tom
Hi Tom ,
Florence and Yachats are coastal towns about central Oregon coast and beautiful places to be . I am in the Rogue Valley inland from the coast about 90 miles or so as the crow flies .Down in the valley , a lowlander or flatlander as they say . So tell us more about what and when ? We know why and how . Is there a formal plan ? We do have a bunch of family in your area , and we owe them some visits ,so who knows .
dusty
Hi Dusty,No formal plan as yet, although I've already volunteered Jamie to demonstrate her new founed expertise with a burnisher.I have a largish shop in an ecclectic (to say the least) neighborhood of Seattle. It has a comfortable store front that would make a great meeting place, and so... that's the plan, so far.I thought a demonstration, or two, maybe a little show and tell, some food, and drink and whatever else anyone has in mind.Suggestions?Tom
"her new founed expertise with a burnisher." Hah! I practiced on the new Pro-Prep shavehook set I bought today (no burnisher, just a diamond file). Definitely got it sharp! Made the incredibly dumb mistake of leaving the triangular blade mounted to the handle and laying upright on my router table top. Brushed my hand across it accidently and made a nice, surgically clean cut across my RH ring finger. Oooooooooooops!
Tom, I could bring a hunk of that maple, and we could make a sled for it and resaw it on the spot. Whoa!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
forestgirl ,
Don't under estimate the ability or value of putting the proper burr on a scraper . An art I have never really mastered . When I apprenticed I worked with a carver from Lebanon , Albert was his name . He had a series of scrapers large and small thin and thinner . I remember watching him make shavings while carving Cabriole legs out of Walnut and like a child watching a magician with wonder , and in awe I saw for the first time what a scraper could do . Albert used to play a few games of Backgammon at lunch and was a pure inspiration . But Albert would never let us see him sharpen his scrapers , really my buddy was curious how he did it and so we both kept our eye on him but he knew we would kill for his secret . I for one would love to refine my method with a scraper edge , and would be appreciative if you teach me .
dusty
"would be appreciative if you teach me " Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm just learning myself!
I suspect, though, Albert was building some mystique and teasing you a bit. The basic process is....well.....basic. I suspect it will be a matter of Zenning with it as I try to perfect the technique. And, watching Tom as he scraped a hunk o' hickory, there's also learning how to let the scraper work as you draw it across the wood.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Yes , Albert was messing with us .
Oh! oh!If I'm quick I'll bet I can beat CStan to the punch, "If you didn't have a router table, that wouldn't have happend!"(sorry CStan, laugh with me here, okay?)<"I could bring a hunk of that maple, and we could make a sled for it and resaw it on the spot.">Man!
You are fearless aren't you? If my occasional forays into public speaking have taught me anything, it's that you can't practice enough. I'm up for it if you are, but not for the first attempt, please.Tom
Yes I see the question has already been answerd - its the same thing
Ditto to what Vikingvood posted. I live in the Puget Sound also, and love those madrone trees, but it's tough to get usable wood. (BTW, they are the largest of the Rhododendron family, if you can believe that!)
Bob Smalser seems to have a knack with madrone. Take a look at this brute that he felled and milled, and the info he provides on drying:
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=17629.1
If you click on the link he provides in the post, you'll see the huge old tree and some done from the lumber.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Wood,
Speaking of madrone, I've used quite a bit of commercial madrone burl veneer in projects. Here's an example: http://bbarnold.com/images/cw-coffeetable-top.jpg
On this coffeetable, I used a madrone burl panel wrapped in a cherry frame.
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
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Edited 1/26/2005 4:01 pm ET by BArnold
Here in AZ, madrone goes for about $7 BF so I'd try to use some of it if possible.
Z
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