Apple tree

[Mqutkingdom]

I was offered a 2/4 thick slab of the wood you would get from any apple tree that grows in Texas my only issue is if it's worth it to work with. Iv never seen anything made out of an apple tree do you think I should go pick it up and make something or avoid it

[Vic]

I have piece of an apple tree and it is quite beautiful. I've never seen it in a large enough size for slabbing, but should be nice. On the old forum, there was a guy who self milled some very beautiful plum. I think in general, fruit trees produce some beautiful wood, it's just rare to see any of size.

[jlloydparks]

Apple is a great wood and has some very interesting grain and coloration. It can be a bit of a pain to dry and it is certainly hard to find anything in larger sizes. Hand tool woodworkers love it for tool handles particularly saw handles at one time were made from apple. You do find the occasional moulding plane in apple as well. When you say 2/4 do you mean 1/2" thick? That isn't what I would consider a slab, however if the width is sufficient it could make some wonderful boxes or accent pieces in a larger project. I would take it in a hearbeat, consider the stuff a true American exotic.

[peterrum]

New to the forum here.

I have some apple which I milled in the spring. I slabbed it into 4/4 and 8/4. It was weighted down after i stickered it and it has twisted and warped something awful. The MC has dropped considerably but its not ready for working yet. Probably another couple of months for the 4/4 and i will give it at least another year for the 8/4. The wood is very hard and has a medium grain but i think it will work well with some of the other fruit I have milled, cherry and apricot. Those two fruit woods were much more stable during the drying process. If the wood you are getting is recently cut and milled you will have to put it under extreme pressure to try and keep it from warping/twisting/cupping. If its already dry you may have to do alot of work on the jointer and planer to get it to the point where all sides are good. And if its free wood, absolutely go for it. i would, thats how I got all my fruit tree wood.

Cheers

[billboard]

I was given an apple log over a year ago and I turned a bowl from it. Beautiful wood. I turned it green and left it thick, waxed it and bagged it for 4 months. It warped worse than any other wood I had but I was able to reshape it and it turned out great. I used the scraps for smoking ribs.

[RenaissanceWW]

Apple wood is what many of the old saw handles are made from. Personally I used some hunks of it to turn chess pieces about 4 years ago and it was a wonderful experience. It just peeled away and smelled wonderful in the process. Afterward I used all the shavings in my fireplace and it was like potpourri in the house. I only wish I had a smoker so I could have BBQ'd with it. You will find the wood dense and very easy to work. Have fun with it.