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Thread: Anyone familiar with Sourwood

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Orchard Hill, GA
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    870

    Anyone familiar with Sourwood

    My sister had some trees down during the recent bad weather. I went up and got some today. I got a Holly, Redbud and an unknown. I looked the unknown up on the web and the closest thing to it that I could find is Sourwood. Anyone familiar with Sourwood?? Here are some pictures maybe some one can identified it for me.



    P5081119.JPGP5081118.JPG


    P5081117.JPGP5081116.JPG

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Suwanee (near Atlanta), GA
    Posts
    842
    I have turned several pieces from Sourwood from a neighbors woodpile. To me it looks a lot like the grain of a plain maple. It turned well but did not have a lot of character - at least in this one tree.
    God is great and life is good!

  3. #3
    I looks kinda like ash too. I have Arizona Ash that looks like that bark and heartwood, leaves too.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    McMinnville, Tennessee
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    1,040
    The leaves tell me it is Sourwood. But I have never turned any.

    Sid
    Sid Matheny
    McMinnville, TN

  5. #5
    It is not ash. Ash has a compound leave with opposing leaflets. The leaves on this are staggered.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Oliver Springs, TN
    Posts
    236
    It makes good honey!

  7. #7
    I have a sourwood burl that I bought. I have not turned it yet but looks pretty good.

    Alan

  8. I have just finished turning some sourwood vessels. Turns and finishes nicely. Kind of bland. These came from a log that has been sitting outside my shop for a couple years. There is some spalting but it kind of splotchy instead of defined lines. Vase is 13" tall and 10 wide and buffed salad bowl finish on all.
    Sourwood is pretty easy to recognize as a tree. Just look for the ugliest, most crooked one in the woods. Very heavy.
    Quick cell phone pics. Sorry about the quality.IMAG0034.jpgIMAG0033.jpgIMAG0035.jpg

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Orchard Hill, GA
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    870
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill CameronWV View Post
    I have just finished turning some sourwood vessels. Turns and finishes nicely. Kind of bland. These came from a log that has been sitting outside my shop for a couple years. There is some spalting but it kind of splotchy instead of defined lines. Vase is 13" tall and 10 wide and buffed salad bowl finish on all.
    Sourwood is pretty easy to recognize as a tree. Just look for the ugliest, most crooked one in the woods. Very heavy.
    Quick cell phone pics. Sorry about the quality.IMAG0034.jpgIMAG0033.jpgIMAG0035.jpg

    I processed some of my "Sourwood" today, cut into blanks and waxed. Mine, however, is not as dark as yours. It is a creamy white color, with no grain to mention. Could be that your salad bowl oil darken yours, or that my wood is something other than "Sourwood". The color of the wood and the texture was some what like Holly, it even turned like Holly. so I couldn't resist making a finial out of it (I have been practice making them out of everything lately). Here is a picture of the finial as it came off the lathe -- no finish or anything.

    P5091123.JPG

    The bottom piece is not part of the finial it is just a piece of dowel used for a stand. What ever type wood it is,though, it does makes good finials.
    Last edited by Bill Bulloch; 05-09-2011 at 3:40 PM.

  10. It was whiter originally. I think equal parts oil and age are making it darker. Here is a bowl core from 2 1/2 years ago that has been laying on my shelf. Fairly white with a medium brown heartwood, should have wet it so it would show up better.IMAG0044.jpg
    Not sure your leaves are long and pointy enough for sourwood. Maybe they are just not fully grown yet.
    sourwood_blossoms.jpg

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Cullowhee N.C.
    Posts
    991
    I've turned a bit of sourwood and it can have some great curl in it. Your tree has leaves that look somewhat like sourwood, but the bark is not like any I've turned. The bark on the sourwood I've turned is over one inch thick and very very rough. Makes for a great nature edge bowl.
    Jack

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