Bodark Tea Light Candle Holder

Dave Hoskins

Member
Messages
5,252
Location
Parker County, Texas
I usually don't show these little things but the devil made me do it. I guess seeing I unburied some small pieces of bodark, which is what this came from, makes it kinda special. Sorta. Maybe. Anyway, this wood has been cut for over 6 years so I ain't gonna tell you how hard it is. Don't think a Abrams Battle Tank could hurt it. The base diameter is 4 1/2" and the top is 3 1/2". The height is 2 1/2". I wanted to to make it a bit more curvy, but my sharpest gouges were having a tad bit of trouble with this. So, I used a small Easy Tools thing with the round cutter to get what I did. Even a fresh cutter on it had some trouble cutting it. So, what you see is all I could get and I was danged happy to get that. Wheeeee!!!!
 

Attachments

  • CHBA2.JPG
    CHBA2.JPG
    98.8 KB · Views: 8
  • CHBA2A.JPG
    CHBA2A.JPG
    98.5 KB · Views: 9
  • CHBA2B.JPG
    CHBA2B.JPG
    106.8 KB · Views: 9
  • CHBA2C.JPG
    CHBA2C.JPG
    116.8 KB · Views: 10
  • CHBA2D.JPG
    CHBA2D.JPG
    110.4 KB · Views: 10
  • CHBA2E.JPG
    CHBA2E.JPG
    100.3 KB · Views: 8
Hi Bill. Yes. That what the Easy Tools are, carbide cutters. I have two sizes, the full size and a small one. Don't use them a whole lot as I am hard headed and like regular gouges. The carbide cutter did not fair any better on this wood than a regular gouge.
 
Nice looking items there. Have to say, though, I have turned quite a bit of B'dark/Osage Orange/etc. All of it is well aged and I used regular turning tools. Takes more patience that other woods but it is very doable. As for getting harder with age, I agree. My very first turning project (attempt) was a mallet. It looks like a first attempt so I just keep it in the shop for general banging stuff needs. I swear, after almost 20 years, it might be able to dent cast iron.:saythat: Tough stuff.
 
My dad used to use Bodark for fence posts... he said he had to drill a hole to put a nail in them.

Nice looking tea lights.
Yes, one of the many names is 'post' wood.
FWIW, the hardest wood I have ever turned was from the common Bradford pear tree. It was a well seasoned branch I made into a rolling pin for my wife. I swear, granite would be easier to turn. That Bradford pear would not produce shavings or anything, I basically just ground off dust. Never again.
 
Thanks all. All I can say for sure is if you look around at some of the old fences in the ranchlands you will find bodark fence posts that have been in use 80+ years. Tough stuff.
 
Yes, one of the many names is 'post' wood.
FWIW, the hardest wood I have ever turned was from the common Bradford pear tree. It was a well seasoned branch I made into a rolling pin for my wife. I swear, granite would be easier to turn. That Bradford pear would not produce shavings or anything, I basically just ground off dust. Never again.
I turn every piece of Bradford Pear I can get... I don't find it all that hard to turn and it's got a really close grain that polishes really well.... most of mine i s 2 - 3 years air drying....
 
The only time I have had any sparks flying off of a chainsaw while cutting bodark was with a smaller chain. By smaller I mean the more narrow gauge. Never seen it happen using sharper, heavier chains. Cut tons of it, literally, with my old Stihl 440 Magnum. No sparks with that beast cutting. Went through dried bodark like a hot knife through butter. Same as my new Stihl MS311. No sparks. Used it the other day to cut this wood and zip on the sparkies. I hear all the folks saying it, but I rarely have seen it.
 
The only time I have had any sparks flying off of a chainsaw while cutting bodark was with a smaller chain. By smaller I mean the more narrow gauge. Never seen it happen using sharper, heavier chains. Cut tons of it, literally, with my old Stihl 440 Magnum. No sparks with that beast cutting. Went through dried bodark like a hot knife through butter. Same as my new Stihl MS311. No sparks. Used it the other day to cut this wood and zip on the sparkies. I hear all the folks saying it, but I rarely have seen it.
Have ya tried cutting OLD hedge posts like some of those that have been in the ground for 70 to 100 years. Those make shot work of any chain. My Uncle used to sharpen chains for the county back home in Kansas and they keep him quite busy when they were cutting hedge rows which in my area were all the way around the section and every 1/4 mile. The old timers used to plant them to mark the property lines for 1/4 sections
 
Actually, probably the oldest bodark I have cut once the tree was down was probably 20 years old. Honestly never had a need to cut an old fence post, though I know many have. But, I hear what your saying, Jay. All I can report on is my own personal experience and observations.
 
Top