So I got this big hunk of wood.................

Mark Rios

Member
Messages
797
Location
Central CA
A tree service cut down a tree in my neighborhood yesterday. The top of the trunk, where the large branches emanate from, was rotted and the branches were in danger of breaking off. However, the first 5 feet or so of the trunk was still sound and I was able to get that section. I was also able to get a fairly sound round, about ten inches thick, that was between my trunk section and the rotted part. The tree guy cut it off before I could cross the street to ask him to not cut it up. :D

My city is a "Tree City USA" city so they map the trees. I called the city Forestry department and I was told that this tree is a "Pearl Pistache". Upon googling it I find that the name is "Pearl Street Pistache" (patented in 1994) but not much more info than that. The "City of Davis CA. Master Tree List" lists the Pearl Street Pistache as a fruitless variety Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis).

Is this a hardwood? Anyone know anything about it's woodworkability (;))?

Now.....the neato thing is......there is this red/pink staining in the wood that I assume was made by the fungus/disease that rotted the top parts of the tree in the first place.

These first two pics are of half of the ten" round.....

111tree 1.jpg 111tree 2.jpg

These next two pice are of the two halves of the trunk section that I got.......

111tree 3.jpg 111tree 4.jpg

Is this spalting? What would be the best type of cut to use to mill this so that the red/pink coloring shows up the best?

Lastly, is this even a good find? Or did I just get a big ol' hunka junk wood? It rained real heavy yesterday evening so the wood is real wet. Should I go ahead and paint the ends of the trunk or would I just be wasting my time?

Thanks very much.
 
Mark, I don't know much about sawyering, but I would think that qualifies as a fruit wood and would therefor be a hardwood. It seems that if you are wanting to celebrate the spalting, the wood should be flatsawn. Hopefully someone will jump in to say if I'm on the right track.

That looks like some neat wood!

Ed
 
What a wonderful piece of wood! I bet the bowl turners would jump at the chance. Or you might band saw it in to lumber and then paint and sticker. I haven't seen this wood before but I'm guessing the red might be normal- like boxelder??? It extends into the live wood.
 
I'd go ahead and paint the ends just in case. It will split real quick if you dont.

It looks like it has some nice grain patterns, I'd try to turn it.
 
Flat saw? :eek: Horrors. :eek:
All I see there is future bowls. :thumb:
Great find. Definately some spalting going on. I would get inside, seal the ends and wait a couple weeks.
Then show us pictures of your new lathe spun bowls.
 
Most of the Google references discuss it only as a popular landscaping/street tree. This site has a bit more:

Detailed Tree Description

Quoted for your viewing pleasure ;)

The Chinese pistache is a medium to large deciduous hardwood tree that will fit into larger home landscapes. The leaves are compound pinnate (a long leaf stem with 11 to 17 leaflets) and alternately arranged. It has impressive fall color (scarlet, crimson, orange, sometimes yellow), even in milder climates. The tree’s canopy can reach 40-50 feet in height and 30 feet in width at maturity. It is virtually insect- and disease-free (although it is susceptible to Texas root rot).

The Chinese pistache is dioecious: plants are either males producing pollen (with little or no allergenic qualities) or female producing attractive (but inedible) berries that attract birds. Once established, it is very drought, wind, and heat tolerant.
The Chinese pistache is a close relative of the pistachio nut tree (Pistacia vera), but is much hardier. The wood is very hard and rot resistant.


 
I'd go ahead and paint the ends just in case. It will split real quick if you dont.

It looks like it has some nice grain patterns, I'd try to turn it.
I second all of Julio's points. Seal the ends, just to be safe. If turning's not in the realm of possibility, it would still make some pretty lumber for something like a jewelry box. Nice find, Mark.

If you happen to have a leftover chunk about 3/4" x 3/4" x 6" or so, send it to me and I'll make you a pen. ;)
 
I don't know 'what' killed that tree, but it must have been some kind of REALLY STRONG Radiation, 'cause it sure left a shadow of Batman deep inside as you can see in that end grain cut on that "Round". (Guess he must have been hiding in the tree watching someone when the Radiation Occurred).:rofl: :rofl:
 
Are you sure it's not box elder??

I have some BE that looks identical to what you have. Especially the sapwood. Is the heartwood a little punky?

Is it possible that the tree folks mis-identified the tree?
 
Last edited:
Are you sure it's not box elder??

I have some BE that looks identical to what you have. Especially the sapwood. Is the heartwood a little punky?

Is it possible that the tree folks mis-identified the tree?

Arnie, no...I'm not sure of the type of tree personally. I'm only going by what the City Forestry people are telling me. Here in my city, all of the trees are mapped because of the high importance that they put on their trees. They knew the exact tree of the three at that particular address. Also, I'm not sure that we have any box elder here in this part of town, or even if we have ANY box elder. I don't think I've ever seen one.

The only parts that are punky are the parts that were rotten. The rest of it are solid and sound.

The red-red parts are a more faded pink on the surface now that the wood is drying out. (hold on to your gouges lathe guys) I cut the round halves into one inch thick mini-slabs so that I have a few test pieces. I also cut some thin, 3/8" thick pieces to dryout quick. I want to flatten, sand and try some different finishes on it to see how the red/pink parts end up.
 
pistash?

At first glance I would have to say that wood looks a lot like boxelder. I notice the fuzzing in the saw cut (like boxelder) and boxelder is the only tree I'm aware of that has that red stain. Not to say it isn't some other species. I have heard that some western cities plant boxedlers on purpose. Many in the midwest consider it a weed tree. Bowlturners consider it a premo tree. Boxelder is in the maple family (Acer negundo).
'Hardwoods' are basicly any deciduous(sp) tree. Softwoods are basicly the conifers. Of course there are hard softwoods and soft hardwoods. Boxelder is quite soft.
 
Top