Grow your own Ironwood !?

There's an outfit I used to get mail from, Tropical Hardwoods of something or other, that I first found out about at a Wood Working Show in Portland, OR.

You can actually invest in a tropical tree farm. Some of the folks are wood-workers that want to use the wood. I think most are simply using it as another avenue of possible financial gain.

It's a really neat deal, but on a knifemaker budget I just couldn't pull it off.

They've sent me several pictures of the farms...it's pretty cool (yet strange) to see stuff like Teak and Cocobolo trees growing in straight lines all nice and taken care of.

I always figured I'd have to fly down there and drive some wooden spikes into some trees to create some trama.... to induce and later create drama (in the wood).

-Nick-
 
Well, while those nice straight trees are great for the furniture makers, I prefer the gnarly, abused, warped, diseased, or moldy spalted stuff...
 
howiesatwork said:
Well, while those nice straight trees are great for the furniture makers, I prefer the gnarly, abused, warped, diseased, or moldy spalted stuff...
Click to expand...

Oh heck yea, I'm definitely with you there.

It's like when you go to a shop like Gilmer's hardwood in Portland, and they say, "This barrel of 12" African Blackwood blanks just doesn't have straight enough grain for clarinets, they're $6 each."

Then I almost kill Jim running over him to get my hands into the barrel. :D

Unfortunately, some of those places are catching on that there are people like us! :eek:

-Nick-
 
Please give me the reject wood any day...
I go through the local lumberyards and find all that junk wood...
Gilmer has some nice stuff.
I like to look at the wood in person, so I don't get much by mail-order.
Ever seen nutmeg, or nutmeg burl? Got some...
Needlewood, cocobolo burl, spalted acacia, spalted birch, spalted sycamore, spalted beech, red ebony...woods I can't identify...got some of them.
 
howiesatwork said:
Please give me the reject wood any day...
I go through the local lumberyards and find all that junk wood...
Gilmer has some nice stuff.
I like to look at the wood in person, so I don't get much by mail-order.
Ever seen nutmeg, or nutmeg burl? Got some...
Needlewood, cocobolo burl, spalted acacia, spalted birch, spalted sycamore, spalted beech, red ebony...woods I can't identify...got some of them.
Click to expand...
I love working with nutmeg. It makes the shop smell good. I've never seen nutmeg burl.

Gilmer Wood SUCKS! Every time I leave there they suck all the money out of my wallet, (and then some). ;) I like pick the wood in person. I usually have a budget when I leave the house. It is a three hour drive to Gilmer. By the time I get to there the budget is what ever will fit into the truck or the entire bank account, which ever comes first. I then have three hours to explain to the Boss (wife) why I spent so much. When she goes with me I only get to stretch the budget by 50%.

Arizona has lots of ironwood. Almost all of it is very dark brown. I bought about 500 lbs of Arizona ironwood a few years ago. It was so dark you could just barely see the black lines in direct sunlight. Cutting it is fun too. A logger I talked to said they prefer carbide tipped chain saws. I've been around loggers and chains saws my whole life and I've never heard of a carbide tipped chain. If you want the ironwood that is gold with bold black stripes you have to go to Mexico. All of the ironwood smells like dog crap. It even smells bad if you burn it in a wood stove.
 
NickWheeler said:
Oh heck yea, I'm definitely with you there.

It's like when you go to a shop like Gilmer's hardwood in Portland, and they say, "This barrel of 12" African Blackwood blanks just doesn't have straight enough grain for clarinets, they're $6 each."

Then I almost kill Jim running over him to get my hands into the barrel. :D

Unfortunately, some of those places are catching on that there are people like us! :eek:

-Nick-
Click to expand...
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....control yerself
 
A logger I talked to said they prefer carbide tipped chain saws. I've been around loggers and chains saws my whole life and I've never heard of a carbide tipped chain.
Click to expand...
First and only time I ever used them was to cut up the downed trees after St Helens blew - that silica dust/crap/mud ate up regular chains in short order - I didn't last long either - good money but realy crap working conditions......... :barf: :thumbdn: :barf:
 
Chuck, I'll show you some at BAKCA...
I gave a piece of spalted acacia to Scott Slobodian a couple of years ago, and he put it on one of his tantos...Here's a pic at Bladegallery
I think he did good with that junk wood, huh?
Ironwood...I really have to look at before buying it, and I don't like cutting it.
The only wood worse smelling is stinkwood, but you don't run across it every day...
As for growing it...yeah, right. Even our grandkids would be old before it was usable size
 
This might not be such a bad deal for the guys making minatures. A few saplings ought to keep them busy for a while. :D

Just couldn't resist especially since my father was heavilly into bonsai/penjing.
 
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