# Found some osage



## ronbeaux (Mar 25, 2006)

Was scouting around the ranch and found a very large osage orange tree. Went and got the chainsaw and cut me a 3" piece about 4ft long. Spent the next 2 hours re-sharpening my blade! Man that stuff is tough!


Soooooo, since it was alive, how long to wait to make a duck call out of it? There is plenty of dead branches still attached to the tree that are not rotten too if it would be better to harvest them.


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

If you want to wait, then 1/2" a year 

You can rush/speed it up some but risk cracking.

The dead branches might be good inside as long as it was on exposed to the sun to change the color. Always worth a look


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## lady linda (Nov 25, 2008)

I love to turn osage orange! I will check but I do not think it has a lot of movement. You can take and cut what you want to use and dry it in the microwave ( might check with your wife on that) on low doing is a small amount of time ---weigh it often on a postage scale_ when it is no longer loosing weight is is dry. Watch it closely in the microwave. I have done this for 5 years on pen blanks and had great results. Good luck.


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## ronbeaux (Mar 25, 2006)

Cool, thanks!


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

I'm about to cut some horse apple trees down.Should I save the wood or burn it?I don't have a lathe or need fence post,but hate to waste something someone would want.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Ron, I sent some Bois D Arc pen blanks to Tortuga a while back and he made me an awesome pen. They weren't green but don't remember how dry they were. You might contact him and see what he says about the cure. The pen wood hasn't checked at all and is a beautiful yellow color.


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## speckle-catcher (May 20, 2004)

peckerwood said:


> I'm about to cut some horse apple trees down.Should I save the wood or burn it?I don't have a lathe or need fence post,but hate to waste something someone would want.


are the trees located near Keller?

for me - that's too far to drive for horse apple wood, but I could get you contact info for a local club up there. They might love to have the wood.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

Yep,I'm near Keller,but make 2 or 3 trips to Rockport a year.The info would be great!


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