Persimmon

[hunter h]

We have some here and as said there are a male and female. I have not used much for wood try and keep them for the deer.They also make good paservs when they are ripe. Apple burns hor as well had some that got damage from a storm and one die we cut for wood.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

At 51 lbs. per cubic foot density persimmon makes good turkey calls according to Tim Smith at Grizzly Tools in Springfield. I like it for making spinning tops, tool handles and drawer pulls. As other AS guys mention it is tight grain and takes a lot of sanding. Some of the club members at Ozark Woodturners have made nice show pieces for sale. Thanks for this thread.

It's dense, but I get a different weight. Wood technology books list density, or specific gravity (SG) as a percent; you multiply it against the weight of cubic foot of water (62.4 lbs) to get dry wt. of cubic foot of wood. (Commercial Timbers of the United States, Brown and Panshin, 1940). Sure seems to me that ponderosa pine is the heaviest green, because even fat second growth trees are almost all sapwood.

The top 15 heavy weights (% SG and and lbs / cubic ft. dry wt.)

Live oak .81 % 50.5 lbs
Osage Orange .76 % 47.4 lbs
Black Locust .66 % 41.2 lbs
Hickory .56 - .66 % 34.9 - 41.2 lbs
Persimmon .64 % 40 lbs
Dogwood .58 - .64 % 36.2 - 40 lbs
White oak .55 - .64 % 34.3 - 39.9 lbs
Hop Hornbeam .63 % 39.3 lbs
Red oak .52 - .61 % 32.5 - 38.1 lbs
Honey Locust .60 % 37.4 lbs
Pacific Yew .60 % 37.4 lbs
Red Mulberry .59 % 36.8 lbs
Tanbark Oak .58 % 36.2 lbs
Madrone .58 % 36.2 lbs
Sugar Maple .57 % 35.6 lbs

 

[TreeGuyHR]

Firewood Chart A: Sorted by BTU Content

Common Name Species Name Pounds /Cord MBTU /Cord

Osage Orange (Hedge) Maclura pomifera 4,845 30.0
Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood) Ostrya virginiana 4,250 26.4
Persimmon, American Diospyros virginiana 4,165 25.8
Hickory, Shagbark Carya ovata 4,080 25.3
Dogwood, Pacific Cornus nuttallii 3,995 24.8
Holly, American Ilex Opaca 3,995 24.8
Birch, Black Betula lenta 3,910 24.2
Oak, White Quercus alba 3,910 24.2
Madrone, Pacific (Arbutus) Arbutus menziesii 3,825 23.7
Oak, Post Quercus stellata 3,825 23.7
Locust, Honey Gleditsia triacanthos 3,825 23.7
Hickory, Bitternut Carya cordiformis 3,825 23.7
Beech, Blue (Ironwood) Carpinus caroliniana 3,825 23.7
Mulberry Morus rubra 3,740 23.2
Locust, Black Robinia pseudoacacia 3,740 23.2
Maple, Sugar Acer saccharum 3,740 23.2

Hmmmm if you calculate wt by cubic foot volume, you get more (5,120 lbs.) Maybe the weight of a cord is based on less than the volume as if it was solid dry wood? (128 cubic ft., cubic ft. of persimmon is 40 lbs)

See my post below for specific gravity and cubic ft wright of 15 top weighing woods.

 

[bootboy]

I came across what I think was a persimmon stump last year while cutting down a poplar for a family member. The neighbor asked if I would remove a 5' tall x about 12" stump of a tree that had broken in a storm and had be cut down to this stump with a hand saw. I cut it down and was blown away at how heavy it was. The ~ 50"ishx12" log had to weigh at least 250lbs. My brother and I could barely lift it. We had to help each other end over end it. I cut it in thirds about 18" long each and could barely lift them. I don't know what happened to it but I wish I would have kept it in one piece and milled it for lumber. Or at least for firewood. It was hard as concrete, pretty Impressive stuff. I tried to split it with a 8# maul but it bounced right off, I was baffled.

 

[mizzou]

Pretty common tree around here. I find it to be excellent firewood but will get punky quick if not kept off the ground. pretty heart wood for turning pens and bowls.