Hammer5573 Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 I recently discovered a mature Persimmon tree (approximately 33" diameter) on the farm that may have to be removed due to its proximity to the highway. Does anyone know whether it would yield furniture quality lumber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 I don't know much about it except that it's extremely hard. In fact, I believe it may be the hardest domestic species. That needs to be confirmed but I have it in my head for some reason. http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/persimmon/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Just now, Eric. said: That needs to be confirmed but I have it in my head for some reason. That's good enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdabrown Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 I have yet to turn it, but persimmon is well known to be a great wood for turning. It has been used for years to make golf clubs shafts and driver heads. Sounds like a valuable find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Does anyone know whether it would yield furniture quality lumber? That's more a function of the individual tree than the species, isn't it? Sure, walnut is the undisputed king of North American hardwoods (with Appalachian cherry as it's lovely queen...) but you can find some lousy walnut trees which yield junk that self-destructs while drying. If it's good lumber then go for it. But! Ask yourself the following: 1. Do I have room to store a big stack of boards from this tree? Is my wood hoard already overflowing with more boards than I'll realistically be able to use? 2. Do I have access to a mill of some kind to make it into boards once the tree is on the ground? 3. Do I have a way to get these boards to where I plan to dry them? 4. Is the owner of the land cool with having a tree sliced up into boards? It's cool watching videos of sawmills operating at 4x speed, but the reality is that milling a bole adds tremendously to the setup, work, and cleanup time over merely letting a tree removal company turn it into mulch. 5. Am I willing to commit to bringing out a saw mill and/or a sawyer without knowing what's in the tree? Perhaps it's rotted out? Perhaps a farmer wrapped it in barbed wire and then used it for target practice fifty years ago. Notice I didn't ask whether you have a project in mind for this tree because that's really the least of the concerns. If the answer to all of the above is yes, then go for it and make something beautiful. Sent from my QTAIR7 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Dogwood and persimmon are incredibly hard. Blades can dull and build resin quickly. Persimmon can yield some nice wood. The dogwood I have worked had some nice pinkish streaks and a tan background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Based on what I just read, I'm not sure it's worth milling slabs, but sounds like something you may want to grab a small quantity of for adding details to other pieces of furniture. It wouldn't take much effort to keep a few turning blanks handy. Drawer pulls, knobs, plugs and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 2 hours ago, Janello said: Based on what I just read, I'm not sure it's worth milling slabs, but sounds like something you may want to grab a small quantity of for adding details to other pieces of furniture. It wouldn't take much effort to keep a few turning blanks handy. Drawer pulls, knobs, plugs and such. Certainly true that a few small souvenirs would be nice. But I wouldn't be so quick to give up on having the tree slabbed. It's easy to list everything on the downside: When you factor in the cost of renting/hiring a mill, your board foot price for rough, wet, ungraded lumber goes up. If you're in the game to make money selling lumber, the discussion may well end right there and, at that point, species really matters. i.e. It costs the same to set up and slab a poplar tree as it does to set up and slab a walnut tree. One pile of boards will pay for the effort, one will not even come close. But we aren't all in this to make money selling lumber. Moreover, having a one's own tree milled may well be a tremendous advantage to a hobbyist because they get first dibs on the wood in that tree. As a hobbyist, the boards I see in the racks at the local hardwood dealer have already been picked over and rejected a dozen times by much larger operations. If it's my tree and I'm hiring the mill, I get everything, including the very best that tree has to offer. That's a gamble because, as I said above, the tree may just as well be junk on the inside. But the potential is there for wood better than a hobbyist will ever see available in retail. 2 hours ago, Janello said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 If you just want thick slabs, not 4/4 lumber, look for someone with a chainsaw mill. They tend to be a bit less costly than a bandsaw mill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown craftsman Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 I tried to air dry some persimmon.And it was a complete waste of time. The boards warped bad and a black fungus went thru them.Persimmon has a high sugar content. Ive heard it called white ebony not sure if that's because it's hard or in the same family.There are different types of trees some maybe I wasn't very lucky. Aj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phinds Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 On 6/24/2016 at 4:53 PM, Aj3 said: I tried to air dry some persimmon.And it was a complete waste of time. The boards warped bad and a black fungus went thru them.Persimmon has a high sugar content. Yeah, from what I understand, you have to cut the wood at just the right time of year and you have to dry it very carefully, and you probably have to do it all while standing on your left foot and whistling Dixie, otherwise that ugly gray will permeate the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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