I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas mill/
dealer. He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye, and he said
it came from Kentucky. I bought 5 or 6 nice wide planed boards about
8 to 10" long. Widest is about 12". It has an attractive Oak or Ash-
like grain pattern but it is much redder. He told me if finished with
oil or varnish, without stain, it would provide a natural color
similar to cherry but it wouldn't oxidize. It feels like it is a
little lighter than Oak and it is supposed to machine well.

I have Googled and found opinions that are all over the place with
regard to machining properties. Has anyone here have any experience
with this wood? How does it work? Any favorite finishes?

Thanks.

RonB

On Nov 9, 5:37*pm, RonB wrote:
I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas mill/
dealer. *He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye, and he said
it came from Kentucky. *I bought 5 or 6 nice wide planed boards about
8 to 10" long. *Widest is about 12". *It has an attractive Oak or Ash-
like grain pattern but it is much redder. *He told me if finished with
oil or varnish, without stain, it would provide a natural color
similar to cherry but it wouldn't oxidize. *It feels like it is a
little lighter than Oak and it is supposed to machine well.

I have Googled and found opinions that are all over the place with
regard to machining properties. *Has anyone here have any experience
with this wood? *How does it work? *Any favorite finishes?

Thanks.

RonB

OOPS - the boards were 8-10 FEET long

"RonB" wrote:

I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas
mill/
dealer. He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye, and he
said
it came from Kentucky.
-------------------------------------
Ohio is known as "The Buckeye State".

A Buckeye is defined as a "Worthless Nut".

Don't know why but it may have something to do with the tree.

Lew

On Nov 9, 6:13*pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"RonB" wrote:
I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas
mill/
dealer. *He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye, and he
said
it came from Kentucky.

-------------------------------------
Ohio is known as "The Buckeye State".

A Buckeye is defined as a "Worthless Nut".

Don't know why but it may have something to do with the tree.

Lew

Coffee Bean is supposed to be poison when raw.

On 11/9/2011 5:37 PM, RonB wrote:
....

I have Googled and found opinions that are all over the place with
regard to machining properties. Has anyone here have any experience
with this wood? How does it work? Any favorite finishes?
....

http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/32164

I've never tried anything with it; nothing I've ever heard would give me
much incentive.

If you learn something different, it'll be interesting to know.

--

On 11/9/2011 6:37 PM, RonB wrote:
I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas mill/
dealer. He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye,and he said
it came from Kentucky.

Sounds like the dealer doesn't know his products very well. Coffee Bean,
aka Kentucky Coffee Tree, and Buckeye are two *very* different things.

I bought 5 or 6 nice wide planed boards about
8 to 10" long. Widest is about 12". It has an attractive Oak or Ash-
like grain pattern but it is much redder. He told me if finished with
oil or varnish, without stain, it would provide a natural color
similar to cherry but it wouldn't oxidize. It feels like it is a
little lighter than Oak and it is supposed to machine well.

That description sounds a lot more like coffee tree than buckeye, but if
I were you I'd Google for photos of both, so you can verify which you have.

I have Googled and found opinions that are all over the place with
regard to machining properties. Has anyone here have any experience
with this wood? How does it work? Any favorite finishes?

No experience with either coffee tree or buckeye, so I can't help you
there, but I think your first step should be to find out which of the
two you actually have.

On Nov 9, 7:04*pm, Doug Miller
wrote:
On 11/9/2011 6:37 PM, RonB wrote:

I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas mill/
dealer. *He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye,and he said
it came from Kentucky.

Sounds like the dealer doesn't know his products very well. Coffee Bean,
aka Kentucky Coffee Tree, and Buckeye are two *very* different things.

I bought 5 or 6 nice wide planed boards about
8 to 10" long. *Widest is about 12". *It has an attractive Oak or Ash-
like grain pattern but it is much redder. *He told me if finished with
oil or varnish, without stain, it would provide a natural color
similar to cherry but it wouldn't oxidize. *It feels like it is a
little lighter than Oak and it is supposed to machine well.

That description sounds a lot more like coffee tree than buckeye, but if
I were you I'd Google for photos of both, so you can verify which you have.



I have Googled and found opinions that are all over the place with
regard to machining properties. *Has anyone here have any experience
with this wood? *How does it work? *Any favorite finishes?

No experience with either coffee tree or buckeye, so I can't help you
there, but I think your first step should be to find out which of the
two you actually have.

I have Googled Coffee Bean and Kentucky Coffee Bean and have found
close up pictures of wood that looks like mine. Some say it works
well, others say it doesn't. One says it works a lot like Hickory,
which means it might be a little difficult. With this variance of
opinion I was hoping someone here had some experience and tips.

BTW, at least one of these sites also referred to it as Buckeye.

Confused -- but will be working with it in a day or two.

RonB

On 11/9/2011 8:25 PM, RonB wrote:

I have Googled Coffee Bean and Kentucky Coffee Bean and have found
close up pictures of wood that looks like mine. Some say it works
well, others say it doesn't. One says it works a lot like Hickory,
which means it might be a little difficult. With this variance of
opinion I was hoping someone here had some experience and tips.

BTW, at least one of these sites also referred to it as Buckeye.

Weird. They're not remotely similar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_coffee_tree
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_glabra

While buying oak and cherry from a local sawmill in 2005 I came across
Kentucky Coffee Tree. Knew nothing about the lumber. The dealer said these
trees were planted as ornamental shade trees in the local town about a
hundred years ago and now were dieing off. The mill was selling the
material for a buck a BDFT. I bought 75 BDFT of 8/4 material and built a
workbench top 2"x30"x 84" with a 4" apron from the stuff. Nice heavy bench
top and it has stayed flat. I liked working this wood; it machined OK,
worked well with hand tools and took an oil finish well. I would use this
lumber again if I could fine the material.



MGH

OK - More research and what I bought was Kentucky Coffee Tree. Pretty
wood that is supposed to finish up nicely. Comments I have seen so
far range from "nice to work with" to "hardest thing I have every put
in my saw mill".

Anybody else have experience?

I probably will tomorrow.

RonB

On 11/10/2011 2:57 PM, RonB wrote:
OK - More research and what I bought was Kentucky Coffee Tree. Pretty
wood that is supposed to finish up nicely. Comments I have seen so
far range from "nice to work with" to "hardest thing I have every put
in my saw mill".

Anybody else have experience?


I had never heard of it...

Go to following link and do search for it...didn't find a way to get a
direct link from the search result to post, sorry.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch

--

On Nov 9, 7:13*pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"RonB" wrote:
I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas
mill/
dealer. *He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye, and he
said
it came from Kentucky.

-------------------------------------
Ohio is known as "The Buckeye State".

A Buckeye is defined as a "Worthless Nut".

Don't know why but it may have something to do with the tree.

Buckeye is the name of the nut that grows on the
Horse Chestnut tree. The nut looks like a Buck's eye,
and is not edible by people.

I never heard the tree called that before -- sort of like
calling oaks 'acorn trees'.

But since you've verified that what you have is Kentucky
Coffee tree wood, that's irrelevant.

--

FF

On 11/10/11 4:22 PM, Fred the Red Shirt wrote:
On Nov 9, 7:13 pm, "Lew wrote:
"RonB" wrote:
I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas
mill/
dealer. He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye, and he
said
it came from Kentucky.

-------------------------------------
Ohio is known as "The Buckeye State".

A Buckeye is defined as a "Worthless Nut".

Don't know why but it may have something to do with the tree.

Buckeye is the name of the nut that grows on the
Horse Chestnut tree. The nut looks like a Buck's eye,
and is not edible by people.

I never heard the tree called that before -- sort of like
calling oaks 'acorn trees'.

But since you've verified that what you have is Kentucky
Coffee tree wood, that's irrelevant.

--

FF


Probably calling the wood by that name.
I've often heard people refer to Hickory as Pecan.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:04:41 -0500, Doug Miller
wrote:

On 11/9/2011 6:37 PM, RonB wrote:
I just bought a small load of assorted hardwoods from a SE Kansas mill/
dealer. He had some Coffee Bean, also called it Buckeye,and he said
it came from Kentucky.

Sounds like the dealer doesn't know his products very well. Coffee Bean,
aka Kentucky Coffee Tree, and Buckeye are two *very* different things.

I bought 5 or 6 nice wide planed boards about
8 to 10" long. Widest is about 12". It has an attractive Oak or Ash-
like grain pattern but it is much redder. He told me if finished with
oil or varnish, without stain, it would provide a natural color
similar to cherry but it wouldn't oxidize. It feels like it is a
little lighter than Oak and it is supposed to machine well.

That description sounds a lot more like coffee tree than buckeye, but if
I were you I'd Google for photos of both, so you can verify which you have.

I have Googled and found opinions that are all over the place with
regard to machining properties. Has anyone here have any experience
with this wood? How does it work? Any favorite finishes?

No experience with either coffee tree or buckeye, so I can't help you
there, but I think your first step should be to find out which of the
two you actually have.
Buyckeye is horse chestnut, isn't it? Nice looking wood but not
terribly strong from what I remember.

On 11/10/2011 5:02 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

Probably calling the wood by that name.
I've often heard people refer to Hickory as Pecan.

Same Genus, different Species. One is, more often than not, sold as the
other. AAMOF, mills make no distinction between the logs when milling,
and they are not graded separately, so you pays your money and gets what
you got.

--
www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

On Nov 10, 7:51*pm, Swingman wrote:
On 11/10/2011 5:02 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

Probably calling the wood by that name.
I've often heard people refer to Hickory as Pecan.

Same Genus, different Species. One is, more often than not, sold as the
other. AAMOF, mills make no distinction between the logs when milling,
and they are not graded separately, so you pays your money and gets what
you got.

--www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

Like this whole tulip poplar thing up here in Kanuckistan. One yard
was showing me 'tulip wood' and I saw the green streaks and I said:
"you mean poplar?" He said: "Sure"...LOL
Lately I have been intrigued by olive wood. The colour...wow... NO
idea yet how it works, but sure can be pretty.

"RonB" 8 to 10" long. Widest is about 12". It has an attractive Oak or
Ash-
like grain pattern but it is much redder. He told me if finished with
oil or varnish, without stain, it would provide a natural color
similar to cherry but it wouldn't oxidize. It feels like it is a
little lighter than Oak and it is supposed to machine well.
with this wood? How does it work? Any favorite finishes?

I have worked several pieces with Kentucky Coffee Tree. It works like
walnut and has
a bit of chatoyance. Its a nice light rose tone untill oil finish touches
it, then it resmbles red oak in color.

I used water base urethane with no stain and the wood kept the slightly
rosey hue. Very nice.

Kentucky Coffee Tree is the state tree in Kentucky. The leaves and beans
strongly resemble Catalpa.



Jim in the Bluegrass

On 11/10/2011 6:51 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 11/10/2011 5:02 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

Probably calling the wood by that name.
I've often heard people refer to Hickory as Pecan.

Same Genus, different Species. One is, more often than not, sold as the other.
AAMOF, mills make no distinction between the logs when milling, and they are
not graded separately, so you pays your money and gets what you got.

Yeah, my local supplier (Fine Lumber in Austin) puts it all in the same bin
marked "Hickory/Pecan". I kinda wish they wouldn't do that. Yes, they are
related and the lumber is similar, but they ain't the same. I have a big stack
of Shagbark Hickory (from Missouri) drying in my shop right now, and it's quite
different from the batch of Texas Pecan I had a few years ago. One look at the
trees themselves and you can tell that the lumber isn't going to look or behave
the same. Shagbarks have very tall and straight trunks with very little canopy
until you get near the top (sometimes 60-80 feet), whereas Pecans spread out
much earlier and much wider. In my case, the Hickory is darker than the creamy
colored Pecan, and appears to be more stable as well. Temperature and humidity
changes cause more movement in that Pecan than any other wood I've used.

--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

On Nov 10, 3:57 pm, RonB wrote:

OK - More research and what I bought was Kentucky Coffee Tree. Pretty
wood that is supposed to finish up nicely. Comments I have seen so
far range from "nice to work with" to "hardest thing I have every put
in my saw mill".

Anybody else have experience?

I probably will tomorrow.

No experience working with it, but there's one growing in the front
yard. Had a tree guy out to thin out some stuff a few years ago, and
he pointed out two trees on the property that are rare around here.
One was the Kentucky Coffee Tree, and the other a Mimosa. I thought
the first was a locust or some such - a weed, and the other I couldn't
see for the vines growing all over it. Now they're my two favorite
trees. It's funny how someone telling you you have something rare
tends to make you value it more. Kind of like the Antiques Roadshow,
but in wood.

R

On 11/10/2011 5:22 PM, Fred the Red Shirt wrote:
On Nov 9, 7:13 pm, "Lew wrote:


Buckeye is the name of the nut that grows on the
Horse Chestnut tree. The nut looks like a Buck's eye,
and is not edible by people.

That is incorrect. Buckeye is the name of the nut that grows on the
buckeye tree. The nut that grows on the horse chestnut tree is called,
unsurprisingly, the horse chestnut.

Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) and horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
are related, but distinctly different species. I used to have one of
each in my yard, but the horse chestnut died a few years ago. FWIW,
horse chestnut makes damn fine firewood.

On 11/10/2011 6:37 PM, wrote:

Buyckeye is horse chestnut, isn't it?

Same genus, different species.

On 11/10/2011 9:40 PM, Jim wrote:
"RonB" 8 to 10" long. Widest is about 12". It has an attractive Oak or
Ash-
like grain pattern but it is much redder. He told me if finished with
oil or varnish, without stain, it would provide a natural color
similar to cherry but it wouldn't oxidize. It feels like it is a
little lighter than Oak and it is supposed to machine well.
with this wood? How does it work? Any favorite finishes?

I have worked several pieces with Kentucky Coffee Tree. It works like
walnut and has
a bit of chatoyance. Its a nice light rose tone untill oil finish touches
it, then it resmbles red oak in color.

I used water base urethane with no stain and the wood kept the slightly
rosey hue. Very nice.

Kentucky Coffee Tree is the state tree in Kentucky. The leaves and beans
strongly resemble Catalpa.



Jim in the Bluegrass

??????? a bit of chatoyance ??????

I don't understand when used as a property of wood, would you please
explain what you mean.

On Nov 10, 9:45*pm, Steve Turner
wrote:
On 11/10/2011 6:51 PM, Swingman wrote:

On 11/10/2011 5:02 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

Probably calling the wood by that name.
I've often heard people refer to Hickory as Pecan.

Same Genus, different Species. One is, more often than not, sold as the other.
AAMOF, mills make no distinction between the logs when milling, and they are
not graded separately, so you pays your money and gets what you got.

Yeah, my local supplier (Fine Lumber in Austin) puts it all in the same bin
marked "Hickory/Pecan". *I kinda wish they wouldn't do that. *Yes, they are
related and the lumber is similar, but they ain't the same. *I have a big stack
of Shagbark Hickory (from Missouri) drying in my shop right now, and it's quite
different from the batch of Texas Pecan I had a few years ago. *One look at the
trees themselves and you can tell that the lumber isn't going to look or behave
the same. *Shagbarks have very tall and straight trunks with very little canopy
until you get near the top (sometimes 60-80 feet), whereas Pecans spread out
much earlier and much wider. *In my case, the Hickory is darker than the creamy
colored Pecan, and appears to be more stable as well. *Temperature and humidity
changes cause more movement in that Pecan than any other wood I've used.

--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, eat the taco.http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

This has a grain pattern that is somewhat similar to Pecan or Red Oak,
but definitely its own look. The main discriminator is its color.
The wood I bought is more red - lightest similar to Red oak but darker
features are nearly rose in color. He advised it works up well but it
is prone to splitting. With an oil finish the color should he similar
to Cherry.

The fellow I bought it from is an interesting guy. His family owns
one of the historic buildings in Coffeyville and it's adjacent to one
of the banks the Dalton Gang tried to rob. He advised on a
documentary about the gang. He is an artist, a gun enthusiast and
avid woodworker. It sounded like he makes a fair amount of money from
his lumber business and a lot from identifying and cutting rifle and
shotgun stock material from his lumber. He had two walls lined with
square-cut chunks of figured 2-1/2" shotgun and rifle sized Walnut;
and he was heading for a Tulsa gun show this weekend. As I recall he
said he would get anywhere from $50 to $200 for each chunk; and some
of the folks who buy them will resell them higher. I bought some
Walnut, Red Oak, White Oak (quartersawn) and the Coffee from him at
his standard price of $1.75. He sells poplar for around $1. All is
air dried for 2-3 years and finished in one of his kilns.

I also bought a big chunk of Walnut that measures 58" x 18" x 2-3/8"
thick - $50. I suspect there is another rocking horse inside of it
somewhere.

RonB

On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:44:01 -0500, k-nuttle
wrote:

chatoyance

It describes wood that reflects light differently when viewed from
various angles. See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ggJD7Tjgs
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

On Nov 11, 8:06*am, Nova wrote:
On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:44:01 -0500, k-nuttle

wrote:
chatoyance

It describes wood that reflects light differently when viewed from
various angles. *See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ggJD7Tjgs
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

Now, that video is a pretty neat definition of the word. It is good
to know what the proper term is because I have always called the light
effect of finished wood "iridescence" .

Crap - another word to remember! Maybe I'll stick with
iridescence. )

RonB

On 11/10/2011 9:45 PM, Steve Turner wrote:
On 11/10/2011 6:51 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 11/10/2011 5:02 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

Probably calling the wood by that name.
I've often heard people refer to Hickory as Pecan.

Same Genus, different Species. One is, more often than not, sold as
the other.
AAMOF, mills make no distinction between the logs when milling, and
they are
not graded separately, so you pays your money and gets what you got.

Yeah, my local supplier (Fine Lumber in Austin) puts it all in the same
bin marked "Hickory/Pecan". I kinda wish they wouldn't do that. Yes,
they are related and the lumber is similar, but they ain't the same. I
have a big stack of Shagbark Hickory (from Missouri) drying in my shop
right now, and it's quite different from the batch of Texas Pecan I had
a few years ago. One look at the trees themselves and you can tell that
the lumber isn't going to look or behave the same. Shagbarks have very
tall and straight trunks with very little canopy until you get near the
top (sometimes 60-80 feet), whereas Pecans spread out much earlier and
much wider. In my case, the Hickory is darker than the creamy colored
Pecan, and appears to be more stable as well. Temperature and humidity
changes cause more movement in that Pecan than any other wood I've used.


Yep, that's part of the problem, the pecan that makes the good nuts that
you can eat doesn't make very good lumber, except for smoking meat.
AAMOF, much of it is hybrid stock and anyone selling that stuff for
hardwood lumber is ripping off the customer.

What we called hog pecan, and milled and used when I was a kid in S
Louisiana, is what is intermingled with the different species of hickory
in the hardwood wood pile. The trees are easier to tell apart, but once
cut the wood is often indistinguishable in all aspects.

--
www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

On 11/11/2011 9:06 AM, Nova wrote:
On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:44:01 -0500, k-nuttle
wrote:

chatoyance

It describes wood that reflects light differently when viewed from
various angles. See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ggJD7Tjgs


Thanks. While I had seen the property in wood, I had always thought
that the word referred to property of jewelry stones, and the like.

I guess someone old can learn some thing new.

Jack wrote:
It describes wood that reflects light differently when viewed from
various angles. See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ggJD7Tjgs


Yup. Chatoyance causes the "Star" in rubies and emeralds.

I believe iridescense describes the color changes on the neck feathers of
blackbirds, as an example.

Jim in KY

The wood I purchased was Kentucky Coffee Tree, which I was surprised
to find does grow in southeast Kansas in limited quantity; as will as
several southern states. For those who run across Coffee Tree lumber
- some comments)

During the past couple of days I have been building 30" bracket
shelves for three of our grandsons. The projects involved some slide-
in dovetail joints, routed edge trim and some simple band-sawed
decorative brackets. They gave me a fairly quick chance to learn a
little about the wood.

In a nutshell - the wood is nice to work and attractive. It has a
grain pattern similar to red oak but the unfinished color ranges from
light rose to dark brown. Working characteristics are more similar to
Walnut than Oak. It machines nicely, leaving few burns and the areas
that did burn left a dark to bright purple color that sanded out
pretty easily. I routed about 35 feet of edge trim and wall-attach
rail with Ogee and a shallow cove bits and it showed very little
tendency to splinter or split out. However the wood did seem to show
tool marks even after being routed slowly with new bits. I also
noticed faint tool marks after running it though the surface planer;
but the wood sands easily and actually left a surface similar to 220
machine sanded Oak after machine sanding with 150 and a light burnish
with 0000 steel wool.

While machining the wood was nearly odorless with a faint Oak like
smell. But on one occasion where I generated some heat I noticed an
incense-line odor. One thing I did notice, at least with me, was a
little respiratory sensitivity. The first trip to the miter saw put
some dust in the air that immediately caused some minor throat tickle
and coughing.

I haven't finished the shelves yet but I prepared an unstained test
strip using only BLO on one end and wiping poly on the other. Both
darkened the color significantly, with the BLO being slightly darker.
The color reminds of Golden Oak but the browns appear to be deeper and
richer. The lighter tones range from gold to rose.

The main reason I am posting this is because I had some difficulty
finding consistent information regarding the wood. Maybe some poor
schmuck like me can Google this in the future.

RonB