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turning persimmon

Frank Fusco

Frank Fusco

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Mountain Home, Arkansas
I offered a woodturning friend an opportunity to help me haul some wood. ;)
Then I told him we would be sharing one large walnut tree and one, fairly large, persimmon tree. He declined the persimmon, just doesn't like turning it. Now, he an accomplished turner so I took note of his opinion. He said it simply is not suitable for decorative/artistic items. I have only turned pens from it so far and found it just fine. This tree has been down about a year so I expect it to fairly hard. Enney experience with turning persimmon out there? Opinions please.
 
Frank....I've never turned persimmon.....but my mother who lives in southern Indiana sends me via Fedex some frozen persimmons every year so I get my persimmon pudding. She ships me ripe ones BTW.:D
 
Ken Fitzgerald said:
Frank....I've never turned persimmon.....but my mother who lives in southern Indiana sends me via Fedex some frozen persimmons every year so I get my persimmon pudding. She ships me ripe ones BTW.:D
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Interesting. In the south, it is persimmon pie or cookies that are favored. Do cook before becoming over ripe. Then they turn to pure alum and are very puckery. Deer love the over ripe ones.
 
I've not turned any either, but I sure do like to eat them... A couple of years ago we went camping and our site was under a Persimmon tree (RIPE) and all night long we were visited by Skunks enjoying the fruits sitting in my boat, and if you eat too many ..... I'll not discribe what was all over the boat, the next morning.

But back to turning, I have heard that it is very hard and dense. I may be off key but I believe they used to use Persimmon for wood Babbits and Bearings due to the hardness.
 
Frank....another "southern" fruit..IIRC....that I haven't had in years is a paw-paw. In southern Illinois and Indiana we use to get them. Tasted like a sweet over-ripe banana if my old mind remembers correctly.
 
I'd not seen or heard of Persimmon until I came to Japan, it is a fruit we just do not have in Canada. I don't particularly like them, but my kids love them, they are called "Kaki" here in Japan.

The wood is most famous for being used as golf club heads, way back when (eccentric turnings don't you know!). It also is well known for making mallets etc, but I understand it is fairly hard to come by.

I'd jump at the change to get some, and give it a whirl! :wave:
 
I've turned Persimmon. It is very hard and dense when dry but green, it turns about like any hard hardwood. Even if the log has been down a year, it's probably not all that dry on the inside. I'd take all I could get.

I believe I read somewhere that Persimmon is related to Ebony...that should tell you how dense it is and also like was said, the fact that it once was the perferred material for golf club heads. The "thwock" of a well-struck Persimmon-headed driver is still a much sweeter sound than the metallic "tink" of modern clubs.
 
Stuart Ablett said:
I'd not seen or heard of Persimmon until I came to Japan, it is a fruit we just do not have in Canada. I don't particularly like them, but my kids love them, they are called "Kaki" here in Japan.

The wood is most famous for being used as golf club heads, way back when (eccentric turnings don't you know!). It also is well known for making mallets etc, but I understand it is fairly hard to come by.

I'd jump at the change to get some, and give it a whirl! :wave:
Click to expand...

A little Googling found that persimmon is/was originally an Asian tree. The fruit is known as both kaki and fuyu. The tree is part of the ebony family of ebenaceae.
 
Here is a little info.
COMMON PERSIMMON
Diospyros virginiana L.
Plant Symbol = DIVI5

Diospyros virginiana is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. The common name, persimmon, is the American Indian word for the fruit.

The wood of common persimmon is hard, smooth, and even textured. The hardness and shock resistance make it ideal for textile shuttles and heads for driver golf clubs. The heartwood is used for veneer and specialty items, but most of commercially used persimmon is reported to consist of sapwood.
Robert H. Mohlenbrock
USDA, NRCS, Wetlands Science Institute
@ PLANTS
Unripe fruit and inner bark have been used in the treatment of fever, diarrhea, and hemorrhage. The fruits are used in puddings, cookies, cakes, custard, and sherbet; the dried, roasted, ground seeds have been used as a substitute for coffee. Flowers produce nectar significant for bees in honey production. Leaves and twigs of common persimmon are eaten in fall and winter by white-tailed deer. The fruit is eaten by squirrel, fox, skunk, deer, bear, coyote, raccoon, opossum, and various birds, including quail, wild turkey, cedar waxwing, and catbird.
Fruit: A plum-like berry that is green before ripening, turning orange to black when ripe, 3/4 to 2 inches in diameter, leafy bracts on top of fruit. The fruit is very astringent and mouth numbing when green, sweet and edible when ripe after a hard freeze; matures in mid to late fall.
 
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As Jim referenced above, Persimmon was (and maybe still is) used in golf clubs. At one time, it was the preferred material for the long shaft sticks called woods (b/c of the material... and why the shorter sticks are called irons). I love turing what Persimmon I've turned and what I have is often called Black & White Ebony (actually spalted Persimmon). It is quite hard, dense and polishes to a beautiful shine. Short of the spalted stuff, Persimmon may not have enough variation in grain characteristics to suit your friend, Frank. But I wouldn't be afraid to turn anything from it, and because of its density, it should make some nice turned carving and chisel mallets.

EDIT: I guess I need to read all the posts better. I just noticed that Stu said much the same thing.:eek::doh:
 
I've only turned a few pieces of it, but had good experiences each time.

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