Got a strange one here, anyone know this tree?

[drobertson]

been working a Christmas tree farm the last few weeks, lots of  trees, this one caught my eye, a very light weighted wood, nearly rot resistant, has anyone seen this type before?  It is a very fast growing species, light and strong.


 
a picture of the bark


 
This is a two year old growth


 
And a 7 year old growth.


 
All of these came from a stump sprout that spreads and grows fast. Pics of boards coming tomorrow

[dgdrls]

tree-of-heaven
Ailanthus altissima??

DGDrls

[Cutting Edge]

tree-of-heaven
Ailanthus altissima??

DGDrls

X 2  You beat me to it.

As WDH would say... "SCOURGE"

If it has a bad odor when you mill it, that'll be the give away.  VERY flexible lumber too.

[lawnsbylane]

We call them a copell or dinasour trees down here in NC.

[Mm.kasco]

We call it ghetto palm.

[Mm.kasco]

It is an invasive in Ohio and if you don't use herbiside when you cut it down you will get lots of shoots from the roots.

[drobertson]

I have to ask, is it worth anything?

[JB Griffin]

To a Bodger(Old word) it might be worth its weight in gold. :D :D :D

[drobertson]

Not sure what this means?  I reckon I will find out, at least he will have something to work with for a box for his daughter,,

[Ianab]

I have to ask, is it worth anything?

It's used to make surf and paddle boards, and is quite expensive to buy.

Specialist market for sure though.

[JB Griffin]

A Bodger is a woodworker that usally took up residence in the woods near a town and made all sorts of wood items, from plates and spoons to rolling pins, anything the town folk might need. They usally coppiced trees to have a steady supply of small diameter wood for baskets or small turned items, and to ensure a to have something to work with. Bodging was down with green wood, and was mainly practiced in Europe, and is making a little bit of a comeback now.

Clear as mud, right :D

[Ron Wenrich]

I sawed some ailanthus up for RR ties one time, as it wasn't on there list of trees they wouldn't take.  It was quickly added.

Although, I think the bark isn't quite right for ailanthus.  It looks like it could be Pawlonia.   Pawlonia was a tree that was raised for the Japanese markets and had a high value.  I think the market isn't what it used to be. 

[beenthere]

I'd say Paulonia too, and maybe can tell from the leaf litter below the trees shown.

This .pdf compares the two.

http://www.se-eppc.org/alabama/2014/900_Ailanthus-Paulonia.pdf

[Ljohnsaw]

The Tree of Heaven we just called weed trees out here.  At my old ranch we had two that were about 40" DBH and really tall.  Massive monsters that dumped thousands of seeds each year and would sprout all over the lawn.

[Jemclimber]

tree-of-heaven
Ailanthus altissima??

DGDrls

X 2  You beat me to it.


  VERY flexible lumber too.

I've never milled Ailanthus so maybe the lumber is different than the live tree.  When climbing these one must be careful because it is weak and very brittle in live tree form. Diameter that is normally safe to be on in many species can be dangerous and easily snap.  It is heavy when green and veeery light when dry.  From my experience anyway. 

[Ljohnsaw]

I've never milled Ailanthus so maybe the lumber is different than the live tree.  When climbing these one must be careful because it is weak and very brittle in live tree form. Diameter that is normally safe to be on in many species can be dangerous and easily snap.  It is heavy when green and veeery light when dry.  From my experience anyway.

Yes, very weak - it would drop branches all the time in a little wind.

[drobertson]

Is today Monday? It sure seemed like it today, but in any case got through the morning with all the snags we hate,
this said, I did manage to get the first half of the twelve footer sawn,  and for the record this is,
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/paulownia/
It is a nice wood, although this one is quite dried out, but resembles sassafras, without the fragrance.
It really has no smell what so ever, reaction is minimal even with the uneven growth it shows.


  

  

 
for the most part, it has very good stability, not crumbly, nor week, at least in the handling for the mill to the stack. It is very light in weight, and although the rot resistance is there, the ants were as well.   

[Ron Wenrich]

The Japanese used to be hot on Pawlonia.  That was when they had money and a booming economy.  I remember seeing them in log yards, and they bought just about anything.  I even saw a log with a bee's nest in it.  Stumpage of $500 was quoted back in the late '70s.  Some people started to plant them for the market, due to the fast growth.  I don't know what the market is these days. 

[5quarter]

Older thread, but some mentions of Ailanthus that I thought I'd add to. I pulled some ailanthus from the drying stacks this week into the shop for planing and stacking And was thinking how handsome it was. I've sawn some over the years and have had really good luck with it. Boards from larger trees tend to dry very well...smaller trees not so much. It is bendy and brittle when wet like others mentioned, but hard and heavy when dry. unlike mulberry that is yellow when fresh, but turns to plum pudding when dry, Ailanthus stays yellow forever. I haven't built with it yet, but I've sold some for stair treads, some for bathroom cabinets and some for a table and benches for a breakfast nook. If you guys come across any large, straight logs, don't hesitate to saw em up. you won't be sorry.

[lawnsbylane]

I call it a copel or when I was little I would call it the dinasour trees. I always wanted to saw one and see what it did.

[drobertson]

It lays flat, very easy sawing, and it is Paulownia,  very fast growth, and used in the past by the Japanese,  since then it has been deemed a very noxious invasive species, and rightly so, but it does grow fast, and a very light wood.   

[5quarter]

Have never sawn paulounia before. I don't think it grows around here...but if its an invasive species, I'm sure we'llsee it soon enough. 

[tmbrcruiser]

I have a few paulownia logs to saw for a guy who wants the wood for carving. 

[VT_Forestry]

I had sawed some from a neighbors yard several years ago, I was amazed at how light it was when dry.  Cut one at work earlier this summer, took a few chunks home, and threw them on the lathe.  Got a few bowls that are so light I think you could tie a string to em and fly them in a stiff breeze

[rasman57]

Your bowls turned (pun intended) out very nice.  Those look great.