I have seen osage orange at the lumber dealer a number of times but never knew how nice the wood looks with finish on it. Usually the pieces we have are pretty gnarly and not really very straight. But I love how Bruce from KS has embraced that trait and made an awesome functional piece from it. Let’s check it out:
I love Osage Orange, it is an ugly duckling that blooms into a swan. What I love about the wood is the strength, the resistance to decay and the natural curves, as well as the color. There are Osage Orange (called “hedge” locally) fence posts in this area that are over 50 years old, still standing strong. When exposed to sun, the beautiful yellow-orange turns gray…but just the upper millimeter or so. I used the Jamestown varnish diluted with naphtha. Multiple coats. I’m curious to see how effective the UV protection of the Jamestown varnish will be. The bench is about 7 feet long and weighs over 300 lbs. The bench seat board is about 3 inches thick.
36 Responses to “Osage Orange Bench – Viewer Project”
Absolutely Beautiful ..I love to see when someone embraces the natural look of the wood, and this is a great example of working along with nature to produce a great piece of art that is functional as well.
Thanks so much Joe. My goal exactly.
Beautiful wood and it turns great. Dry it cuts like a rock and will ruin a bandsaw blade faster than hitting a nail.
Your bench looks great. Where at in KS. I went to K-State, my wife is from Concordia.
dw
Hey, Thanks so much! I live in Lucas. My good friend, Craig, who owns the sawmill, is a graduate of K-State. I’m an out of stater, grew up in Mississippi, but I have adopted K-State. :)
In Texas the Osage is Bois d’Arc and is used for fence posts as well. Its as hard as a rock. I tried cutting a tree down with an ax once and the tree won. It has beautiful wood once it is cut.
That bench will out last you, and your grand children. Great job!
Hi Carl. Thank you so much. I agree. It is that very quality of the wood which attracts me to it. It may be a little (lot) extra effort, but it will last. This was my first “commission.” It sits in front of a beautiful antique shop in Ellsworth, KS. People love the feel of it. You sit and it doesn’t budge. Great to sit on, relax and drink a cup of coffee as you visit the town folk walking by.
This is very nice, the figure on that wood is awesome. You should make a bunch and sell them!
Thank you so much, Mark. That “design” is by worms. Those logs were on the ground for well over a year. There is very little sap wood in Bodock, which is really the only wood the worms can (or will) eat. Perfectly etched out by those little guys. I used a sand blaster to clean it, then stained the whole piece, then sanded off the very superficial layer…to give that contrast. I also, played around with the chainsaw a little to put some longitudinal grooves there.
I’ve made a couple of archery bows out of Osage in years past and love the wood also. It’s one of two of nature’s finest spring woods. The other being yew. Yew and osage were the woods of choice for handmade bows before the advent of fiberglass. The main difference being that yew is relatively fragile, and was used for target bows, while osage is tough as hell and was used for hunting bows.
The wood is bright yellow when first cut, but oxidizes over time to a rich chestnut brown. (if not exposed to the elements) The older the piece, the darker the brown. It’s heavy, hard and tougher than hickory. Only one in a hundred trees has a trunk straight enough to make bows.
I made all the cleats on my boat out of osage. A wonderful wood when you can find it.
DD
Thanks, Dan. I have a friend in my hometown of Thaxton, Mississippi, who asked me to bring home some straight pieces for staves. He has made several homemade bows of other woods, but wants to try the Osage. I will be taking some home with me over the Holidays.
That is one heavy duty bench, and beautiful looking also. Can you tell me about the patterns I see on the legs and the uprights on the back? Are some of them natural?
Yes, Dean, that pattern is a natural one. I discovered it a while back by picking up a piece lying on the ground with the bark sill on. The bark fell off, and there were these grooves etched out by worms. You don’t really see what a great job they’ve done until you clean out the debris with a wire brush (or sand blaster). That is just one of the characteristics that makes every piece like a snowflake, totally unique.
That’s a great looking bench. I really love the way that the OO looks and the color is great!
Thanks John. It does get darker when exposed to sunlight. Without a protective varnish or finish, it will actually turn a very homely gray within a year. This bench is now a dark chestnut color, but no graying. I really should do some tests with pieces using different finishes.
This sounds like this wood is a challenge to use. I see you were to the challenge. Beautiful
It’s like submissive wrestling. If you want to conquer it, you first have to give into it.
Yah it is really a neat wood! It is amazing how well the heart wood turns especially when it is dry. I moved to Kansas from Oklahoma where we also called it Bois d’ark. It comes from the french description of the wood Native Americans used for bows [I think]. One of the hardest woods there is. The saw mill guy near here won’t touch it. The hedge apples are said to be a good insect repellant.
Anyway it is always good to find someone who has found a good use for the wood. There is plenty of it around. Nice looking bench!
Thank you, Gary. In my hometown of Pontotoc, MS, there is an annual “Bodock Festival.” It’s too bad, that I had to grow up and move away to discover how wonderful the wood is. I don’t know why, but I simply love the stuff. Of course, that could be inexperience. But, first loves, have a way of holding their own special place in your heart.
Wow, that looks like a tricky wood to work with. I like the colors! If you don’t mind sharing, how much did the wood cost you?
Workability is about the same as white oak. Maybe a bit harder and heavier, depending on the piece. It doesn’t split or tear-out easily. It has no wax or pitch problems so it doesn’t gum up tools or cause problems in finishing. Takes a nice polish. The biggest drawback is that it’s hard to find in large, straight grained pieces. And it tends to make a lot of bright yellow sawdust.
DD
One of the wonderful things about Kansas is the abundance of natural resources for art, especially wood and stone. My friend Craig, who owns the sawmill, gave these pieces to me. (kinda of sorry to tell you that!) LOL
Wow! Too bad the bench was not posed with the Bodock tree/Osage fence you built. Gorgeous-gorgeous. The design is especially attractive. I wonder if is it as comfortable to sit on as it is to look at?
Is there a dealer in Ellsworth, KS that sales your work?
Glad you asked. ;) Mark and Josie Roehrman have an incredible antique shop on main street of the historic cowboy town of Ellsworth, KS. If you are ever passing thru on I-70, it would be well worth your time to take a little detour, less than 20 miles south, to see. It is a beautifully redecorated creation from a remodeled old building with three floors. All combined it is nearly 15,000 square feet. The two of them did the whole thing. Coffee shop, diner, even a beautiful realistic cowboy bar downstairs that feels like you have just stepped back into time 150 years. I have never seen anything like it. Having my bench just outside their front door is an honor indeed. Actually, this is my very first BENCH. Mark told me what he wanted…”a bench”… as I got to know he and his wife, their beautiful antique shop, their goal of having people slow down and smell the roses of life, well, this came to mind. That’s how it happened. I was just the conduit of something that was suppose to be. :) Delivering it was such a great joy. He trusted me completely (why, I have NO idea.) When I pulled the cover off of it in the trailer, the look on his face was the greatest reward. The two of us got it unloaded, then sat down with our hernias, and immediately, people were stopping asking about it. He did pay me something for it, but never was a price discussed beforehand. As far as I was concerned, the experience was the greatest compensation.
That’s a great story. Good for you!
Wow. This is so different than jointing and squaring stock and building something that way. It’s really cool how the natural look of the wood was used. Very cool!
Never knew about the worms, looks great!
Love the rustic feel of the bench. Would love to have on at my house
Never heard of that species before! Wondering if I can get it over here in California.
It’s not generally available in California except at specialty hardwood dealers. And certainly not in the large pieces like Bruce used on his bench.
DD
My understanding is that osage is so prone to darkening that UV absorbers only slow but don’t prevent it. Osage contains chemicals that are strong UV absorbers themselves to protect the plant from the sun, but when these chemicals absorb the UV, they break down into dark colored byproducts.
The best part of that bench is that you wont find another bench like it anywhere in the world. Its truly unique. Awesome work.
Nicely done. Artful. Did you consider some form of joinery that didn’t include the bolts and nuts? I love the uniqueness and beauty of the bench. Also the longevity of the item is great to ponder…who’s going to be sitting on that years and years from now?
This is not something that I would put in my backyard (personal preference) but I think its a great project. The ossage orange looks great on it! Very nice job.
Bruce,
Awesome bench, My dad and I were cutting Hedge here in Illinois last weekend. We love the heating qualities of the wood, it burns long and hot. We were joking around about how nice the wood may look in an outside table or chairs, seeing this has inspired me to give it a try. We are building our own sawmill so we may need to saw some hedge!!
That bench will be around for years!
Fenceposts made of hedge have been in the ground for at least 100 years around here (NW Missouri), and are still so hard that you can’t drive a nail in it.
We’re working on a hedge project ourselves- we’re a CSA Artillery reenacting unit, and have just whittled out a new axle tree for our cannon out of a hedge timber. I’d imagine my grandkids won’t have to replace it!
I have several Bois D’Arc trees I am removing from my property here in central Texas. I have two already cut down, but not cut up yet with 3 or 4 more still standing on my property. If you have any interest in these trees, or any parts of them, I would be willing to send photos to you. I am very well aware of the unique qualities of this wood, as I do quite a bit of woodwork myself. Please advise if you are interested.
Thanks, JM