Just got home from a trip out west. Me and SWMBO travel with a home made
teardrop trailer and this time we went to the western deserts in California
to see some of the spring bloom. Got some swell pics, and when I saw the
Joshua Trees, I had an idea... what about wood from these trees? Maybe they
aren't properly a tree, but by golly, the trunk looks like wood and feels
like wood. The information plaque says there aee no growth rings. The cross
section of a trunk looks like a single homogeneous woody mass, and feels
quite solid and woodlike. I really wanted to cut a chunk off one of the
downed dead and very dry trunks I saw there, but it is Federal land and a
National Park. Taking a chunk of that wood would have been a Very Bad Thing.
My query, then, is, is it wood, or not? The followup question naturally would
be, has anyone worked with this stuff? Is there a reasonable and legal source
of this maybe wood? I know I could probably google these questions, but
thought I'd get better quality answers straight from the well.

tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.

In message . net, tom
koehler writes
Just got home from a trip out west. Me and SWMBO travel with a home made
teardrop trailer and this time we went to the western deserts in California
to see some of the spring bloom. Got some swell pics, and when I saw the
Joshua Trees, I had an idea... what about wood from these trees? Maybe they
aren't properly a tree, but by golly, the trunk looks like wood and feels
like wood. The information plaque says there aee no growth rings. The cross
section of a trunk looks like a single homogeneous woody mass, and feels
quite solid and woodlike. I really wanted to cut a chunk off one of the
downed dead and very dry trunks I saw there, but it is Federal land and a
National Park. Taking a chunk of that wood would have been a Very Bad Thing.
My query, then, is, is it wood, or not? The followup question naturally would
be, has anyone worked with this stuff? Is there a reasonable and legal source
of this maybe wood? I know I could probably google these questions, but
thought I'd get better quality answers straight from the well.

tom koehler


Tom, I have a simple view. If you can get some, and can dry it, try
turning it, wood turning has not been restricted to wood for some time


I recently got my hands on what we believe to be Cordyline ( Cabbage
Palm) looks like wood, turns like wood, but at present is very, very
wet, so am attempting drying. I have turned Grass Tree before and this
appears very similar, but very white.
--
John

On 4/15/2010 9:55 AM, tom koehler wrote:
Just got home from a trip out west. Me and SWMBO travel with a home made
teardrop trailer and this time we went to the western deserts in California
to see some of the spring bloom. Got some swell pics, and when I saw the
Joshua Trees, I had an idea... what about wood from these trees? Maybe they
aren't properly a tree, but by golly, the trunk looks like wood and feels
like wood. The information plaque says there aee no growth rings. The cross
section of a trunk looks like a single homogeneous woody mass, and feels
quite solid and woodlike. I really wanted to cut a chunk off one of the
downed dead and very dry trunks I saw there, but it is Federal land and a
National Park. Taking a chunk of that wood would have been a Very Bad Thing.
My query, then, is, is it wood, or not? The followup question naturally would
be, has anyone worked with this stuff? Is there a reasonable and legal source
of this maybe wood? I know I could probably google these questions, but
thought I'd get better quality answers straight from the well.

tom koehler

Wait a minute! How do they know Josuha trees are thousands of years old
if they don't have rings?

scritch wrote:

Wait a minute! How do they know Josuha trees are thousands of years old
if they don't have rings?

They found Methuselah's named carved in one...

--
Kevin Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
In a recent poll, seven out of ten hard drives preferred Linux.

On Apr 15, 12:55*pm, tom koehler
wrote:
The information plaque says there aee no growth rings. The cross
section of a trunk looks like a single homogeneous woody mass, and
feels
quite solid and woodlike.

Tom,

I specialized in Botany in undergrad and grad school. The trees you
are describing are monocotyledon. These have their vascular system
spread through the whole trunk in bundles. Other monocots are palms
(Arecaceae), screwpines (Pandanaceae), bananas (Musaceae), Yucca,
Aloe, Dracaena, and Cordyline.[3].

Dicotyledons (what we usually call wood) have the vascular cell types
seperated. There is a ring of cambium. Inside that ring are the
vascular types that carry water upward (heartwood). Outside the ring
of cambium are the living vascular elements that carry food downward
(sapwood).

THat's a very simple description, but ... Anyway, palm is turned
regulalry so I see no reason whay Joshua couldn't be. It would
probably turn similarly to palm.

On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:09:57 -0500, scritch wrote
(in message ):

On 4/15/2010 9:55 AM, tom koehler wrote:
Just got home from a trip out west. Me and SWMBO travel with a home made
teardrop trailer and this time we went to the western deserts in California
to see some of the spring bloom. Got some swell pics, and when I saw the
Joshua Trees, I had an idea... what about wood from these trees? Maybe they
aren't properly a tree, but by golly, the trunk looks like wood and feels
like wood. The information plaque says there aee no growth rings. The cross
section of a trunk looks like a single homogeneous woody mass, and feels
quite solid and woodlike. I really wanted to cut a chunk off one of the
downed dead and very dry trunks I saw there, but it is Federal land and a
National Park. Taking a chunk of that wood would have been a Very Bad
Thing.
My query, then, is, is it wood, or not? The followup question naturally
would
be, has anyone worked with this stuff? Is there a reasonable and legal
source
of this maybe wood? I know I could probably google these questions, but
thought I'd get better quality answers straight from the well.

tom koehler

Wait a minute! How do they know Josuha trees are thousands of years old
if they don't have rings?



arrgh, there's the rub. So far, there are fair estimates, and that's it.
Pictures taken of a particular stand a hunnerd years ago, and then comparing
with a contemporary picture of the same stand and finding some trees in both
pics. Current estimating methods in some circles is to say that they likely
grow "x" inches per year, and then extrapolate the mergafferator into a
conclusion that some of the bigger trees are maybe a hundred and fifty years
old, give or take 20 or 30 years or so. Approximately.

I just think it would be fun to turn some of this stuff. I saw plenty of dead
and very dry Joshua trees in the desert, and they seemed quite solid and
reasonably hard... and illegal to cut a chunk offa government land.

chicken with no bone, cherry with no stone, and now wood with no grain, oh
my.

tom koehler
--
I will find a way or make one.

On Tue, 20 Apr 2010 8:31:09 -0500, ebd wrote
(in message
):

On Apr 15, 12:55*pm, tom koehler
wrote:
The information plaque says there aee no growth rings. The cross
section of a trunk looks like a single homogeneous woody mass, and
feels
quite solid and woodlike.

Tom,

I specialized in Botany in undergrad and grad school. The trees you
are describing are monocotyledon. These have their vascular system
spread through the whole trunk in bundles. Other monocots are palms
(Arecaceae), screwpines (Pandanaceae), bananas (Musaceae), Yucca,
Aloe, Dracaena, and Cordyline.[3].

Dicotyledons (what we usually call wood) have the vascular cell types
seperated. There is a ring of cambium. Inside that ring are the
vascular types that carry water upward (heartwood). Outside the ring
of cambium are the living vascular elements that carry food downward
(sapwood).

THat's a very simple description, but ... Anyway, palm is turned
regulalry so I see no reason whay Joshua couldn't be. It would
probably turn similarly to palm.

Thanks for the info, and in a digestible form. I want a chunk of this stuff,
but have not yet found a legal source.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.

the trees grow near palmdale all over the place - look for one that has
fallen down

"tom koehler" wrote in
message net.net...
On Tue, 20 Apr 2010 8:31:09 -0500, ebd wrote
(in message
):

On Apr 15, 12:55 pm, tom koehler
wrote:
The information plaque says there aee no growth rings. The cross
section of a trunk looks like a single homogeneous woody mass, and
feels
quite solid and woodlike.

Tom,

I specialized in Botany in undergrad and grad school. The trees you
are describing are monocotyledon. These have their vascular system
spread through the whole trunk in bundles. Other monocots are palms
(Arecaceae), screwpines (Pandanaceae), bananas (Musaceae), Yucca,
Aloe, Dracaena, and Cordyline.[3].

Dicotyledons (what we usually call wood) have the vascular cell types
seperated. There is a ring of cambium. Inside that ring are the
vascular types that carry water upward (heartwood). Outside the ring
of cambium are the living vascular elements that carry food downward
(sapwood).

THat's a very simple description, but ... Anyway, palm is turned
regulalry so I see no reason whay Joshua couldn't be. It would
probably turn similarly to palm.

Thanks for the info, and in a digestible form. I want a chunk of this
stuff,
but have not yet found a legal source.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.

On Wed, 21 Apr 2010 0:05:29 -0500, Bill Noble wrote
(in message ):

the trees grow near palmdale all over the place - look for one that has
fallen down



Thanks for the info, and in a digestible form. I want a chunk of this
stuff,
but have not yet found a legal source.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.


Thanks for your reply, Bill. Unfortunately, I am back home from my vacation
trip, and am in northern Minnesota. Now, if you were able to get a nice
chunk, about so big, I'd be glad to pay the UPS shipping plus a modest
stipend for your efforts. remove any appearances of "nospam" and "invalid"
from my return address. Note that the word "net" appears twice in my address.
We could discuss the details.
tom koehler


--
I will find a way or make one.

does anyone on this NG live in the palmdale/mojave area?

"tom koehler" wrote in
message net.net...
On Wed, 21 Apr 2010 0:05:29 -0500, Bill Noble wrote
(in message ):

the trees grow near palmdale all over the place - look for one that has
fallen down



Thanks for the info, and in a digestible form. I want a chunk of this
stuff,
but have not yet found a legal source.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.


Thanks for your reply, Bill. Unfortunately, I am back home from my
vacation
trip, and am in northern Minnesota. Now, if you were able to get a nice
chunk, about so big, I'd be glad to pay the UPS shipping plus a modest
stipend for your efforts. remove any appearances of "nospam" and "invalid"
from my return address. Note that the word "net" appears twice in my
address.
We could discuss the details.
tom koehler


--
I will find a way or make one.