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sassafras wood
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:01 pm
by JGM1970
Anyone have any experience with sassafras wood, I have access to an ample supply of green, and also cured.
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:30 pm
by edma194
Smells like root beer when you cut it. I have heard of turners using it but i have only a little exposure to it. A local sawyer tells me he has it available from time to time. What I've seen had a very nice grain pattern, similar to red oak but more contrast between the light and dark grain. Can't say that was typical though.
Hope I'm not going too off topic here, the local guy tells me some woods like catalpa and sassafras are rarely found at mills because they don't grow in groves. A log turns up once in a while but the mills don't want to bother cutting a species they can't make available in significant volume. The pieces I had came from the odds and ends bin at an exotic wood dealer in NY. Not knowing any better at the time I assumed sassafras was a rare exotic wood and probably overpaid for a few board feet.
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 1:42 pm
by JGM1970
Reason I'm asking is I have sassafras on my property, and have to thin them out to open up the canopy, because it is over crowded,
So I am figuring about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of them need to come down, which equals to anywhere between 15-30 trees coming down, averaging from 8-12 inches in diameter.
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 2:48 pm
by roy_okc
JGM1970,
According to the link below, it appears that it can be used in woodworking.
https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood ... 89868.html
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 4:00 pm
by nuhobby
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:26 pm
by Hobbyman2
I have not used it myself but a memory came to mind I can share, several years back I was deer hunting on a private farm , I came across a tree stand in a huge tree, had to be 4 ft across , I clem up into the tree stand leaned back on the tree and instantly started smelling sassafras , for years we dug the roots on smaller trees and made tea with it , but this was a very large tree and I could not imagine a sassafras tree that big . I have seen a few jewelry boxes and a few odds and ends and even sides and backs of dresser drawers made from it . my guess is contact a saw mill if there is one close , bet they would buy them .
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 8:21 pm
by thunderbirdbat
Hobbyman2 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:26 pm
I have not used myself it but a memory came to mind I can share, several years back I was deer hunting on a private farm , I came across a tree stand in a huge tree, had to be 4 ft across , I clem up into the tree stand leaned back on the tree and instantly started smelling sassafras , for years we dug the roots on smaller trees and made tea with it , but this was a very large tree and I could not imagine a sassafras tree that big . I have seen a few jewelry boxes and a few odds and ends and even sides and backs of dresser drawers made from it . my guess is
contact a saw mill if there is one close , bet they would buy them .
I would agree. The lumber yard/saw mill/farm that I get most of my wood from has many different woods that are not normally harvested for sale that grow locally. I have found boards from Sycamore, Hackberry, Osage Orange, Cottonwood, and other varieties along with the normal Oak, Elm, Ash, Cedar, Cherry, Walnut, Pine and Maple.
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 11:42 am
by JGM1970
As of a discussion with the wife, she is of a mind the she now wants sassafras objects, and other household projects done with the new found resource.
So now I get to learn how to mill my own,
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:34 pm
by chapmanruss
Sounds like a fun project going from tree to finished piece.
Re: sassafras wood
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 10:58 am
by faizanmazhar00
edma194 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:30 pm
Smells like root beer when you cut it. I have heard of turners using it but i have only a little exposure to it. A local sawyer tells me he has it available from time to time. What I've seen had a very nice grain pattern, similar to red oak but more contrast between the light and dark grain. Can
't say that was typical though.
Hope I'm not going too off topic here, the local guy tells me some woods like catalpa and sassafras are rarely found at mills because they don't grow in groves. A log turns up once in a while but the mills don't want to bother cutting a species they can't make available in significant volume. The pieces I had came from the odds and ends bin at an exotic wood dealer in NY. Not knowing any better at the time I assumed sassafras was a rare exotic wood and probably overpaid for a few board feet.
Thankful