help identify wood/tree

[johnnycnc]

I cut two of these down this week, and wondered what they were.
I poked around online and came up with Eastern Redbud.
The piccies should tell the story.
any thoughts, does this sound right?

looks pretty good, don't know if it's worth saving, thoughts?

Thanks for looking and any comments.

 

[Russianwolf]

Redbud was the first thing to come to my mind too.

 

[hilltopper46]

I have made a couple redbud pens. It can be kind of pretty in my opinion.

http://www.omanopa.com/asp/Show_Pen.asp?Pen435

http://www.omanopa.com/asp/Show_Pen.asp?Pen148

 

[Dalecamino]

Try it out John ! You may be surprised at what you find in there . Let's see it !

 

[johnnycnc]

Thanks, Gentlemen. I plan on trying a pen when a slice dries!

 

[jthompson1995]

Definitely redbud

 

[johnnycnc]

Thanks, Jason!
Your vote for Redbud makes me feel confident.
I tried a few other trees online a while back and
never really nailed them down.

 

[jthompson1995]

No problem, Johnny. I have this ongoing personal conundrum. My paying job is a landscape architect so I need to be able to identify lots of different trees, shrubs, etc by leaf/bark/twig/bud. But being a woodturner I know what the wood looks like on a lot of the trees I see and i can't help but think "Can I get some of that wood if they cut the tree down?' or second guess the worth of saving a tree if it looks like it would make some nice pens or bowls.

I have numerous trees on my drive to work that I make sure to keep an eye on in case they come down and have been known to stop, turn around and knock on the doors of people I don't know to ask if I can have some wood from a tree they just cut down.

That's a good size redbud you got and the wood looks very colorful. I can definitely see making some bowls out of some of that. I've heard it is prone to cracking so be careful. And show us some photos when you get something made from it.

 

[Mac]

Definitely redbud

Most definitely.

 

[Fred]

John ... I agree with all above in that the wood is Redbud. I have one in my side thicket and the leaf, seed pod are just like what you have photographed.

I might suggest that you boil a large chunk of it and that will definitely help prevent cracking. I have boiled a bunch of green wood and it sure does the trick for me. It also speeds up the drying process as well. Just use the cycle of boiling one hour for each inch of thickness. Put the well drained piece in a paper bag and let it dry on its own for a bit, then cut and turn.

Be sure to post pictures of what you get from the pieces.