Drying BUCKTHORN

LittleJohn · November 10, 2016, 10:36:03 AM

So this one is out side of my wheel house, but figure some of the geniuses on-line may have a bit more knowledge. A buddy of mine is into Duck/Goose call and wanted some "unique" wood for calls, so I sent him over a pile recently cut buck thorn and within a week of painting the end and taking bark off, the stupid things split from end to end, right to the core.

...does anyone have any advice, on ways to lessen the cracking, it kind of makes it hard to turn a call with a crack all the way to the middle.

Saga Dan · November 10, 2016, 10:52:15 AM

Isn't using buckthorn a little like using Eurasian Milfoil as Christmas Wreath material? Or maybe Zebra Mussels for a unique feature on a custom fishing rod?
In all seriousness it is a unique looking wood. Extremely tough to get rid of and grows like the weed that it is. The rate at which it grows may have something to do with the fact that it cracks so readily. Does not have the structural capacity to be stable due to the lack of growth rings in the size you are using? I am sure there are others that would know much more than me. I have not spent a great deal of time looking at other than when I was trying to pull it out of the ground in the corner of my yard.

LittleJohn · November 10, 2016, 12:59:13 PM

...the invasive feature is why I am giving him as much as turning stock as he wants, cause I dont want the stuff growign in my woods. I am hoping that it works, and he can use it all up.

Maybe it is IMPOSSIBLE to dry with out cracking, just asking for advice

Ianab · November 10, 2016, 02:16:51 PM

Are the "logs" big enough to split in 1/2 and still make the blanks. If you do that they have a chance of drying intact as the flat face will warp, and that lets the rest of the D log may stay intact.

Trying to keep wood like that intact in log form is basically not going to happen. It's back to the old challenge of drying "cookies", and some species just don't work.

LittleJohn · November 10, 2016, 03:32:07 PM

Actually I am trying to dry relatively small pieces, maybe 3-4" diameter by a foot or so; not much left to turn if you where to split in half to release some stress.

...maybe I just keep throwing the JUNK in the OWB

GAB · November 10, 2016, 04:25:50 PM

I sawed one buckthorn log for a fellow and it behaved worst than hemlock with a very bad case of the shake.
It separated as if there was no or very little adhesion between the annual rings.
The wood was a pretty color.
Good luck with it.
Gerald

Glenn Ohman · November 12, 2016, 05:34:12 PM

I have sawed and dried some. Easy to dry assuming there is no ring shake or pith.

It's gnarly stuff to machine.

A banana holder I made this summer out of buckthorn.