« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2

Author Topic: Is this Beech??  (Read 8501 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline lesken2011

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,063
  • Kenny
Is this Beech??
« on: February 27, 2012, 10:21:41 pm »
I just got back from visiting someone and he has several trees that he wants removed. I told him they looked a little like beech trees, but he said they are hackberry. Here is the biggest one.




Here is another tree with a better pic of the bark...





He has already started on this one...





too late for these...





I read some else's post about hackberry trees and the pics they posted looked nothing like this. Can one of you experts tell me whether this is a good tree for bow making? He said I can have all I want. I currently have no staves and sure would like to think I hit the jackpot!!
« Last Edit: January 01, 2019, 10:45:34 am by lesken2011 »
Logged
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Kenny from Mississippi, USA

Offline Bevan R.

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: Is this hackberry??
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2012, 10:23:37 pm »
None of the hackberry around here have that smooth of bark.
Logged
Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline H Rhodes

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,172
Re: Is this hackberry??
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2012, 10:26:05 pm »
southern hackberrys look a lot like that....  some smooth barked and others with warty looking places in the bark.  It looks like southern hackberry to me but I am no expert. 
Logged
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline osage outlaw

  • Member
  • Posts: 11,952
Re: Is this hackberry??
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2012, 10:30:52 pm »
Those don't look anything like the hackberrys around me.  Mine have the warty bumps all over the bark.
Logged
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline PatM

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,737
Re: Is this hackberry??
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2012, 10:31:53 pm »
Hackberry is very rare tree in Canada but  the appearance of every one I have seen is much more Elm-like.
 That looks much more like some type of Oak family tree but not beech.
Logged

Offline lesken2011

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,063
  • Kenny
Re: Is this hackberry??
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2012, 10:58:22 pm »
OK guys, this is not what I want to hear....You're supposed to say you are green with envy....that I hit the jackpot....that there a hundreds of great staves there...Just tiny white lies... :(


Well, I am going to keep checking to make sure there are not some bows there.
Logged
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Kenny from Mississippi, USA

Offline Bevan R.

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: Is this hackberry??
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2012, 11:01:17 pm »
HOLD YOUR HORSES!!!

Just because it 'might not' be hackberry, does not mean you should not snag it up!! I can see lots of bows in there. Go for it. ANY wood is better than none!
I would be happy to trade you a drawknife for some of that wood, without knowing for sure what it is.
Logged
Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline lesken2011

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,063
  • Kenny
Re: Is this hackberry??
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2012, 11:40:11 pm »
OK...this is what I just found with a google search. The have a picture that looks very similar to the tree I have pictured and describe it as...


American Beech Fagus Grandifolia Beech Fagaceae family


Here is the pic they had by the description





Sooooo? What do you think, now? Is anyone familiar with the characteristics of this tree such as tension, compression, elasticity?

« Last Edit: January 01, 2019, 10:44:34 am by lesken2011 »
Logged
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Kenny from Mississippi, USA

Offline lesken2011

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,063
  • Kenny
Re: Is this Beech??
« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2012, 11:48:12 pm »
Another site had a similar picture and this is what it said about the American Beech...



American beech is a slow-growing, long-lived species that may survive for 300 to 400 years. It makes an excellent shade tree.


The wood from American beech is heavy, strong, and resistant to splitting. The harvested timber is used for rough lumber, flooring, plywood, and railroad ties. Beech wood is also used to make tool handles, baskets, veneer, and novelty items. The soft, reddish tinge of the wood makes it desirable for furniture, and its naturally, clean odor makes good food storage containers.


Twigs and leaves


American beech is a high density wood that burns efficiently and has a high heat value, so it is often used for charcoal and fuelwood. Tar from the tree, called creosote, is used to protect other woods from rotting. The leaves and bark of the tree provide extracts for the making of fabric dyes. Early American colonists even used the leaves to stuff mattresses.


Sounds like bow wood to me....maybe??
Logged
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Kenny from Mississippi, USA

Offline Bevan R.

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: Is this Beech??
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2012, 11:50:04 pm »
Not a tree we have here and I have not used any, but I still say go for it. without a doubt!!
Logged
Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,525
Re: Is this Beech??
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2012, 01:03:17 am »
Check out the leaf buds at the tips of the twigs. Beech buds are long slim conical shape. That is a good way to ID beach because not many trees have the same type of buds. Also beech trees usually hold some of their leaves late into winter near the trunk of the tree.
Logged
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline PEARL DRUMS

  • Member
  • Posts: 14,079
  • }}}--CK-->
Re: Is this Beech??
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2012, 09:28:11 am »
Looks like Maple to me, allot like it. The branchesa and the way the branches come off the trunk look mapley. I have seen hackberrys in three states and none where near that.
Logged
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline lesken2011

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,063
  • Kenny
Re: Is this Beech??
« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2012, 10:10:39 am »
I'm goin' over there this weekend and get a bunch from the tree he already started taking down. What are the best steps for storing, etc. since we are not sure what it is? Cut it to 6' sections, split it into wedges 3" or so wide, seal the ends, and store in a dry place? What about spraying for bugs? If I want a couple of staves to work on soon, should I rough them to bow shape so they dry faster?
Logged
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Kenny from Mississippi, USA

Offline Marc St Louis

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 7,869
  • Keep it flexible
    • Marc's Bows and Arrows
Re: Is this Beech??
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2012, 10:13:21 am »
Looks like the Beech we have up here to me.  Beech makes a good bow, I rate it about the same as White Ash.  Remove the bark as soon as possible.  Once the bark is dry it becomes quite a bit more difficult to remove.
Logged
Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

Marc@Ironwoodbowyer.com

Offline Pappy

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 31,857
  • if you have to ask you wouldn't understand ,Tenn.
Re: Is this Beech??
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2012, 10:39:36 am »
Looks like beach to me,never made any bows from it but it makes good firewood and home for squirrel's to dean up for the winter.  :) 
   Pappy
Logged
Clarksville,Tennessee
TwinOaks Bowhunters
Life is Good
Pages: [1] 2
« previous next »