[norson]

My brother sent me a hickory limb, for cane-making, and it's tough! Seeking more information I went to the wood database http://www.wood-database.com/ and discovered there are five hickory species. I have no idea which specie tree this fell from.

I will post two pictures and hope someone here will recognize and offer some ideas.

Thanx

-neb

 

[gdenby]

Young branches are hard to identify just by the bark. An old branch of shagbark hickory is immediately recognizable. Older branches of Bitternut, Mockernut, etc are harder to tell apart. I'm working on a bitternut hickory stick. I could only identify it because I gathered it when it had leaves.

Nevertheless, all hickory is going to be tough. It is great for tool handles and sticks because while it is very strong against shocks (think hammer blows), it is less likely to shatter than oak or ash which have a similar hardness..

Unfortunately, where I live, most of the trees were cut down more than 100 years ago for furniture making. The nuts are good to eat, and help the wild life.

 

[MJC4]

The hickories in the woods behind our house are of the shagbark variety. A huge one hangs over the fence at the back of our yard and bombs my lawn tractor shed with nuts every fall. Now the county park a few miles way has I believe pignut as well as the shagbark. I have collected sticks from both species at the county park and on the young branches as Gdenby said its next to impossible to tell which is which. The trees leaves are the only reliable indicator.

I have made several sticks out of hickory and it is hard to work with but the results are well worth the effort.

The stick on the left is shag bark hickory with the bark stripped off it is a blond color with few amber streaks.

The stick on the right is also shag bark with bark left intact and sanded relatively smooth. The knots are blond and the darker areas still have some furrows from the bark. Both pieces of wood are beautiful in their own right, but sanding through the bark is a definite chore with this wood.

 

[cobalt]

looking foward to see it finished

one thing , how on earth do you manage to keep your workspace so clean , my bench is always full of chippings and sawdust let alone the tools on the bench

I get a reguar ticking of for dragging dust into the house and for my clothes being dusty

 

[norson]

The first time I saw that place (my man cave) I fell in love immediately. The previous widowed owner, forced to give up driving, had "converted" the garage to additional living space . . . and used it as such as the weather allowed. She had installed two dining room lights rather than regular garage lights and the floor was simply beautiful. I knew then/there I NEEDED this place. So I've done my best to keep it as nice as possible ever since. Even during the cold winter days I use my leaf blower to blow all the sawdust out into the driveway - it helps with traction!

I keep a ruberized mat below the car to catch all the debris, including the melting snow/ice this time of year and ever so often put that junk out into the driveway with my push broom.

My lovely bride (60+ years) and I both like to keep our yard and living space **** and span and that includes the car and my garage/man cave.

thanx for noting and asking

-neb

ps - it's also my photo studio - I've had 50 pics published - here's a few...on display.

 

[norson]

her space/my space

 

[MJC4]

Hmmm.......... whose shoes on the footrest of the lounger, hers or yours?

 

[gdenby]

Norson,

Your space reminds me that I really am a slob. Or I am a force of entropy...

 

[cobalt]

I would have to join you there the wife says so . and if god cant tell a woman not to eat the apple what chance mortals like us have to tell them anything ?

Norson,

Your space reminds me that I really am a slob. Or I am a force of entropy...

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Hickory is a great wood for canes cause it very strong in every direction you can put a load it.