Catalpa

[splinter99]

This is a wood you don't see very often on here..Around here they are called "Toby"trees.
I noticed a neighbor had several of them topped off and the wood was laying there for months, So, one day on the way home from a turners meeting, I stopped and helped myself. This was cut from a crotch piece and has alot of chatoyance

Chrome slimline..ebony centerband, ca/blo/turnners magic finish


Thanks for looking

 

[fernhills]

Hi, Don`t come much better then that. Carl

 

[mobrackett]

The wood grain is just fantastic. Great job! I've never heard of Toby trees.

 

[Dalecamino]

Beautiful hunk of lumber !

 

[redfishsc]

That is pretty! Was it a soft wood? I have a curly catalpa blank I have yet to do with because it came a LOT softer than I expected it to, almost like basswood.

As a side note, if you have any of them catapillars that grow on the catalpa tree, send me a big ol box of them, they make GREAT catfish bait!! I haven't seen a catfish yet that wouldn't eat one.

 

[ahoiberg]

the northern catalpa is one of my favorite trees. we used to call it the 'magic bean tree' growing up. i've been very curious to see what a catalpa pen would look like. thanks for sharing harold and nice work on the pen.

 

[splinter99]

Yes the wood is soft but it turns nicely, I have a few of these trees in my yard and they make wonderfull shade trees. They have clusters of white flowers in the spring and produce foot long beans in the summer..when they fall off the tree they are easy to mistake for snakes. The wood darkens with age and is often curly..I was first introduced to the wood by a gentleman who made a rocking horse for his granddaughter from it.

 

[JayDevin]

very Nice!!

 

[toolcrazy]

That is very nice. I like it.

 

[workinforwood]

I'm all confused now..I thought those trees with the huge beans where Kentucky coffee tree's. We have those here in Michigan. The pen looks fantastic..reminds me of a really nice maple. So does this Catalpa tree have huge leaves and huge beans hanging off it?

 

[splinter99]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalpa


See if this helps

 

[workinforwood]

Very cool, learn something new everyday! There's one of those tree's right across the street, I thought it was a Kentucky Coffee tree, but it's not, it's Catalpa. I must have a mean sense of humor...I always thought those beans are what people in Kentucky make coffee from because of their inbreading! hehehe...and seriously, that's a joke, and I knew it wasn't right, but it made me laugh when I first thought of it, so I stayed with it! Don't bother PM'ing me if your from Kentucky...if you can't laugh at yourself, life isn't worth living...I can take it as well as I can dish it out.

 

[splinter99]

See if this helps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalpa

 

[gmcnut]

Very pretty. We had a Catalpa tree in the backyard where we used to live. We miss it. I'll have to look for some.

 

[bitshird]

That is a gorgeous piece of wood, nice transition with the centerband.

 

[desertyellow]

Great iridescent quality to it.
I wish I could see it in person.
I'm sure it is even more impressive.