Persimmon

[Preston]

Anybody ever get into persimmon? I did yesterday. It has to be some of the stringest wood I've ever seen. After I got the splitter after it I got it into pieces but I can't say it split. Just sorta ripped open. :msp_smile:

 

[Chris-PA]

I collected some a couple weeks ago and split some by hand. I found that it split best by starting it with the axe and finishing it with the maul. The stuff was strange though - it didn't seem to have a very well defined grain structure and just sort of broke any old way, so the pieces are odd shaped. This stuff had been down for half a year, but it didn't seem punky.

 

[jdc123]

Never burned any but I understand it takes a long time to season.

 

[cowroy]

It is some of the most dense wood I have ever fooled with, second only behind dogwood. I don't encounter much unfortunately, but scoop up what little I do come across.

 

[Sagetown]

It is some of the most dense wood I have ever fooled with, second only behind dogwood. I don't encounter much unfortunately, but scoop up what little I do come across.

This is interesting, I've cleared lots of persimmon, but never burned it for fire wood.

 

[Freehand]

The premiere species for wood golf clubs. One of the best wild fruit trees. Does split like a bear.

 

[discounthunter]

It is some of the most dense wood I have ever fooled with, second only behind dogwood. I don't encounter much unfortunately, but scoop up what little I do come across.

dogwood?! hope not for firewood.

 

[ScoutmasterRick]

I cut up a big persimmon that last Spring's tornadoes blew over one of my fences from a neighbor's yard. It is very dense, and I expect it will burn well now that it's seasoned. Persimmon is a bear to split.

 

[ShaneLogs]

I know for a fact that it does split really hard, I split some not to long ago and it took some hits with the maul. It seems like, All fruit wood splits hard for me, LOL.

 

[ShermanC]

One of my favorite species for turning on lathes.

Anybody ever get into persimmon? I did yesterday. It has to be some of the stringest wood I've ever seen. After I got the splitter after it I got it into pieces but I can't say it split. Just sorta ripped open. :msp_smile:

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.

 

[cowroy]

dogwood?! hope not for firewood.

Why not for firewood?

A friend of mine mows lawns, and he brought me about a half of a truck load that had blown over in one of his yards. Out of all the white and red oak crotches and knots, out of all the wood I thought was hard and dense, Seasoned 12" dogwood is the hardest thing my wood splitter has ever had to split. I'll try to get some pics.

 

[Mastermind]

Why not for firewood?

A friend of mine mows lawns, and he brought me about a half of a truck load that had blown over in one of his yards. Out of all the white and red oak crotches and knots, out of all the wood I thought was hard and dense, Seasoned 12" dogwood is the hardest thing my wood splitter has ever had to split. I'll try to get some pics.

Speaking of dogwood........a guy I know was clearing for a pond. He happened across a few old dogwoods that were huge compared to any he had seen. He bucked them into sections to mill with plans to build a piece of furniture from the wood.

He had a feller there helping with the job and while Doug was gone for beer Jessie threw the dogwood in the fire, knowing nothing of Doug's plans for the wood. When Doug returned he had a damn come apart.......he was pissed that Jes had burned the dogwood. He said "damn it Jessie I was gonna build something from that, you never see dogwood that big!!!!" Jessie calmly replied "it says in the Bible that it will not be used for building, evidently God was watchin"

 

[zogger]

dogwood?! hope not for firewood.

Dogwood burns great here! I grab every dead one I find in the woodlots. I never find any giant ones, so I just cut it and leave it in the round, but it burns real dang good.

 

[psuiewalsh]

We also have the persimmons here but I have not had to split any as they will not grow large enough in diameter. I thought that I read somwhere that they are in the ebony family. I agree with them being a decent firewood.

 

[cowroy]

The biggest thing I have seen about persimmon around here is they grow in groups. I've been cuttin a huge redoak up for a friend of mine and he has several persimmon trees in his back yard too. Behind my house there is 70 acres of woods and there is a group of about three or four in a bunch then no more on the whole 70 acres. My grandfather has 78 acres about 6 miles from me and I have never seen a persimmon tree on his property.

 

[Sagetown]

Speaking of dogwood........a guy I know was clearing for a pond. He happened across a few old dogwoods that were huge compared to any he had seen. He bucked them into sections to mill with plans to build a piece of furniture from the wood.

He had a feller there helping with the job and while Doug was gone for beer Jessie threw the dogwood in the fire, knowing nothing of Doug's plans for the wood. When Doug returned he had a damn come apart.......he was pissed that Jes had burned the dogwood. He said "damn it Jessie I was gonna build something from that, you never see dogwood that big!!!!" Jessie calmly replied "it says in the Bible that it will not be used for building, evidently God was watchin"

He has a quick wit....:hmm3grin2orange:
The Bible lists about 30 varieties of Trees. #Of those, the Dogwood is not mentioned.
##The Apricot is called 'Apple'. #The Cypress is called 'Gopher'. #Aspens are called 'Mulberry'. #Acacia (similar to our Honey Locust) is called ####tim. ##But no dogwoods.

 

[Preston]

I have some persimmons here with a 12 to 14 in base. The one I cut down was standing dead. Once it got it stacked it turned more green than poplar. These persimmons seem to get to a certain size then die. None of mine are over 14 inches without dead branches falling. And this is way up at the top. 60 feet up there.

With the dogwood, I had an old man some 50 years ago tell me dogwood has more btu per stick than any wood you could put in you heater. I do know it burns hot. But not like seasoned water oak. Man, that stuff is hot.

 

[Mastermind]

The biggest thing I have seen about persimmon around here is they grow in groups. I've been cuttin a huge redoak up for a friend of mine and he has several persimmon trees in his back yard too. Behind my house there is 70 acres of woods and there is a group of about three or four in a bunch then no more on the whole 70 acres. My grandfather has 78 acres about 6 miles from me and I have never seen a persimmon tree on his property.

Those persimmon trees are a great place to catch a deer when those get ripe.....around here they can't seem to pass em up.

 

[zogger]

The biggest thing I have seen about persimmon around here is they grow in groups. I've been cuttin a huge redoak up for a friend of mine and he has several persimmon trees in his back yard too. Behind my house there is 70 acres of woods and there is a group of about three or four in a bunch then no more on the whole 70 acres. My grandfather has 78 acres about 6 miles from me and I have never seen a persimmon tree on his property.

Ain't nuthin stopping anyone from starting some from seed and then transplanting them.

If they want some persimmons here and there.

Don't know but maybe if they are like most fruit trees, you can just take a green branch and plant it. I have a couple trees in my small orchard we started like that.

 

[Hedgerow]

Persimmon makes great test logs... I like to burn the cookies in the fire pit... :msp_sneaky:

[video=youtube;W40R9QWsXTE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W40R9QWsXTE&list=UUfB03KVhJRBISPufMa8F7GA&index=36&feature=plcp[/video]

It makes a saw work hard... Even in a small log...
Dense stuff...