What happened to boudark trees

[raftert]

Lets see if this gets any responce,

I have a few saddles that have a boudark tree. I know these trees are almost industructable. Anybody that has used boudark fence posts knows that you can't hardley drive a nail in them and when you cut the tree with a chainsaw sparks come off the saw. I know that in the old days people cut lumber from the trees for houses because it would not rot and will almost petrify over just a few years.

Your thoughts please

Tim

[paris3200]

Tim,

I did a search for "boudark" and didn't come up with anything. Do you another name for it or possibly the Latin name?

Jason

[moon]

I do believe the tree you are talking about is called Osage Orange,or hedgeapple.I just finished making a knife handle out of it.I'll post a pic this weekend.I've also made a couple of bows out of it.Bois D'arc means wood of the bow.Moon

[jonwatsabaugh]

If in fact the wood is hedge you are speaking of, I wood be interrested in seeing one. It seems it would be a very impractical material because of it's characteristics. We let it grow wild in groves her in southern Iowa and use it for fence posts. You have to build your fence when this stuff is green because when its dry you cannot drive a staple in it. I built some new fence at our farm a couple of years ago and pulled alot of hedge posts that my grampa planted long before I was born. The core of every post was hard as a rock! I used all of them for fire wood. Man do they burn hot!

Jon

[HorsehairBraider]

Here's a wiki link about this tree: Osage Orange tree.

Somewhere on this forum, people were discussing this wood... I think it was in the tools part, about making tools from it. My Google-fu is weak at the moment, perhaps someone else can find the link.

[raftert]

In North Texas it is also called a horseapple tree. They do get real big and the Jumbo Saddle Co. used the wood in their trees. My Grandfathers house was framed with boudark 2x6's and you had to drill a pilot hole to drive a nail. The saddle trees that were made with boudark are indestuctable.

Tim

[jennifer]

Curiosity got the best of me. Found this information on historical uses of bodark wood.

When early French explorers ventured west of the Mississippi River-into what is now eastern Texas-they

encountered the Osage Indians, who were known for making bows that were superior weapons for

fighting and hunting. The unusual tree that the Osage used for making their bows was unknown to the

French, who promptly called it bois d'arc, or "wood of the bow."Later the whites made a brilliant orange-yellow dye from the root, bark, shavings and sawdust of the tree

to color their quilts, and clothes. The dye-mixed with certain mordants-can produce a green, dull shade of

yellow, a tan, various gold shades, dark brown, chocolate, khaki and olive shades. The dye seems to

work best on wool, but can be used to dye cotton and as a tannin in the treatment of leather. Early

settlers claimed that wool dyed with bois d'arc prevented mildew on fabric. Modern-day Navaho

weavers use the bois d'arc dye in coloring their hand-made rugs.

excerpt from:

http://www.osageorange.com/Roughing_out_T.html

Jennifer

In North Texas it is also called a horseapple tree. They do get real big and the Jumbo Saddle Co. used the wood in their trees. My Grandfathers house was framed with boudark 2x6's and you had to drill a pilot hole to drive a nail. The saddle trees that were made with boudark are indestuctable.

Tim

[Yonatan]

Someone just posted photos of a knife they made with and Osage handle.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...amp;#entry48175

Some northern tribes used to trade with Indians from the southern plains for

Orange Osage staves, because Osage was so highly regarding for making bows.

Y