Has anyone cut ash

[Trka2002]

A friend said he has some ash boards approximately 2feet long. Said I could have them if I wanted them or he was tossing them out. Of course I said I'd take them, but never cut ash. Just wondering what to expect. 

[kmmcrafts]

Yeah, cuts nice I would rather cut it that Oak or many other hardwoods..  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

My experience it cuts similar to oak. Red oak not white oak. 

[Dan]

Cuts nice and looks nice. 

[Frank Pellow]

Ash is among my favourite woods to cut.

[Trka2002]

I got more information about the pieces. He got th boards to make the deck of his trailer about 10 years ago. They are a full 2" thick rough sawn, so I'll have to resaw . And about 8" wide. 

[Frank Pellow]

11 minutes ago, Trka2002 said:

I got more information about the pieces. He got th boards to make the deck of his trailer about 10 years ago. They are a full 2" thick rough sawn, so I'll have to resaw . And about 8" wide. 

LUCKY YOU!

[Scrolling Steve]

sounds like a great find !

[tomsteve]

some folks call it the poor mans oak. its an awesome wood to work. it can look like red oak when stained, which it stains and finishes real nice.

awesome score for sure!

[Bill WIlson]

I like ash as well.  Cuts and finishes well.

Unfortunately, here in PA, the Emerald Ash Borer has devastated the state's ash tree population.  PA used to be one of the major suppliers of ash lumber, but it will be harder & harder to find and more expensive, as time goes on.   Sawyers are working to salvage lumber from dead or at risk stands of ash trees.   The insect does not damage the wood itself.  The larvae simply burrows beneath the bark, in the cambium layer, effectively girdling the tree and killing it slowly over a period of time.  As long as the tree remains standing, the lumber may still be useable, however, transportation of the lumber, into other areas that are not yet infested, is restricted.  It's a big problem and it may mean that ash trees will go the same route as the American chestnut tree did a century ago.  It's sad.

[OCtoolguy]

I've used ash in place of oak many times. It cuts and works nice. I've got no experience with it in scrolling but if it is anything like the other projects that I have built, it will be great.

Ray

 

[kmmcrafts]

11 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

I like ash as well.  Cuts and finishes well.

Unfortunately, here in PA, the Emerald Ash Borer has devastated the state's ash tree population.  PA used to be one of the major suppliers of ash lumber, but it will be harder & harder to find and more expensive, as time goes on.   Sawyers are working to salvage lumber from dead or at risk stands of ash trees.   The insect does not damage the wood itself.  The larvae simply burrows beneath the bark, in the cambium layer, effectively girdling the tree and killing it slowly over a period of time.  As long as the tree remains standing, the lumber may still be useable, however, transportation of the lumber, into other areas that are not yet infested, is restricted.  It's a big problem and it may mean that ash trees will go the same route as the American chestnut tree did a century ago.  It's sad.

Same here in Michigan.. I've been lucky in that my brother and uncle own sawmills.. and they've been sawing a lot of ash before it just rots away.. so I've picked up a lot of odd and end pieces.. free.. got quite a stock pile right now.. my worry is a few years from now.. it could be quite expensive to get because of how much those little buggers damaged.. and it'll take years to get new trees to flourish enough to get some good lumber again..  

[amazingkevin]

On 1/31/2018 at 8:12 PM, Trka2002 said:

A friend said he has some ash boards approximately 2feet long. Said I could have them if I wanted them or he was tossing them out. Of course I said I'd take them, but never cut ash. Just wondering what to expect. 

I cut some chair seats once , very very hard wood .I thought it might have been ash like a baseball bat I never want to cut wood that hard again,what ever it was.

[Jim Finn]

I like using Ash to inlay into cedar.  Looks a lot better (to me) with cedar than oak does.