Autumn Olive

[blame]

i guess this is not a native US specie. it was brought over from Europe in the early 1900's as a decorative planting (wasnt aware that the early settlers did landscaping either lol )

 

ok so this is actually a bush not a tree but i felt its note worthy. the US gov sees this as an invasive species now but 20 years ago they sent them out to be planted by the 1000's. but you wont find much that is usable for anything more then pen turnings or stoppers since most doesn't get bigger then 2" around but i know of a piece that is 6" around and maybe 3.5 to 4 ft long that i will be harvesting soon

 

when green it shows varying degrees of color from a chartreuse yellow in the sap wood to very dark brown in the core and in some cases even black

its very wild grained very hard but takes glue very well since its a porous wood. on the lathe it cuts easy but tends to dull tools quickly. On the table saw it tends to fray a lot. one thing about this wood is it tends to curl alot while drying even under weight

 

its been a few years since i have worked with any but i'll try to dig up some pictures of some i have sawn up.

 

the leaf

 

the bark

 

NOTE: above images are copyrighted by there respective owners

[Christina]

I actually think I've seen some of these.........but not sure. I love the info you have provided and would love to see some of your work in this wood if you are able to find the pics. Thanks so much for sharing these with us Blame!

Christina

[dankc908]

I really appreciate this series. I am seeing some woods that i would like to try to find and use. Many Thanks!

[blame]

I really appreciate this series. I am seeing some woods that i would like to try to find and use. Many Thanks!

 

your welcome i'm glad your seeing stuff that you want to find to use

 

blame

 

here is the only pic i can find of the autumn olive

[Christina]

Wow that is beautiful wood! I may have to try to find some of this myself. Thank you so much again Blame...........you're a treasure!

Christina

[Travis]

Ooo....that is pretty! I've seen Bethleham Olive Wood turned into bottle stoppers. The grain really makes it look nice. This wold be perfect for intarsia. Anything that needs a lot of movement like water, clouds, smoke, or even the rolling hills. Very cool!

[blame]

i know of a piece that is 6" around and maybe 3.5 to 4 ft long that i will be harvesting soon .......

 

 

so i think i have id the bush in question wrong it may the more common Russian Olive.... which is close relative to Autumn Olive main difference is that Russian Olive grows bigger , has less color , produces a white berry rather then a red berry like the autumn olive and also the Russian olive isnt suppost to have the silver shiny look to the undersides of the leaves. i'll have to wait acouple more weeks so i can id the species

 

blame