Osage Orange Bench

Viewer Project - By Bruce from Kansas
Added on November 24, 2009

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.

Discussion

Joe Corda November 24, 2009 10:18 am

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.

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 6:04 am
  
  Thanks so much Joe. My goal exactly.
  
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dylder November 24, 2009 10:27 am

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

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 4:54 am
  
  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. :)
  
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Carl November 24, 2009 11:20 am

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!

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 4:58 am
  
  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.
  
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mark williams November 24, 2009 12:02 pm

This is very nice, the figure on that wood is awesome. You should make a bunch and sell them!

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 5:04 am
  
  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.
  
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Dan Drabek November 24, 2009 4:43 pm

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

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 5:10 am
  
  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.
  
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Dean (aka Onboard) November 24, 2009 5:01 pm

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?

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 7:36 am
  
  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.
  
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John Daugherty November 24, 2009 5:53 pm

That’s a great looking bench. I really love the way that the OO looks and the color is great!

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 6:03 am
  
  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.
  
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Claude Stewart November 24, 2009 5:54 pm

This sounds like this wood is a challenge to use. I see you were to the challenge. Beautiful

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 5:47 am
  
  It’s like submissive wrestling. If you want to conquer it, you first have to give into it.
  
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Gary Bell November 25, 2009 6:29 am

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!

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 5:56 am
  
  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.
  
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Peter November 27, 2009 8:28 am

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?

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- Dan Drabek November 27, 2009 12:05 pm
  
  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
  
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- Bruce November 28, 2009 5:18 am
  
  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
  
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Sunflower101 November 27, 2009 7:02 pm

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?

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- Bruce November 28, 2009 5:43 am
  
  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.
  
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  - Doug McPherson November 30, 2009 8:15 am
    
    That’s a great story. Good for you!
    
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Matt M. November 28, 2009 3:48 pm

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!

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Mike November 28, 2009 7:11 pm

Never knew about the worms, looks great!

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Rick Kruse November 29, 2009 9:18 am

Love the rustic feel of the bench. Would love to have on at my house

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zontobi November 29, 2009 7:24 pm

Never heard of that species before! Wondering if I can get it over here in California.

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- Dan Drabek November 29, 2009 7:35 pm
  
  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
  
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Araldite November 29, 2009 8:52 pm

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.

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Clifford Giel November 29, 2009 9:53 pm

The best part of that bench is that you wont find another bench like it anywhere in the world. Its truly unique. Awesome work.

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Doug McPherson November 30, 2009 8:04 am

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?

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Lubras November 30, 2009 9:04 am

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.

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Adam M November 30, 2009 9:16 pm

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!!

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Eric August 11, 2010 2:44 pm

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!

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John Macdonald January 2, 2011 8:43 am

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

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Aaron November 5, 2016 2:57 pm

This bench looks awesome! Can I ask how you went about prepping and then finishing the wood? I am wanting to do some work with Hedge for my parents ranch house south of Manhatten.

Thanks, Aaron

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Bob McGuire January 28, 2017 7:11 am

Amazing bench! Tell me the amount of time invested. What dollar value would you put on the bench? I make canes, hiking staffs, candle logs and coffee tables out of Bodoc limbs and wood. Middle Tn. has lots of the trees, as they were once used as living fences before barbed wire was invented. Praised by farmers as, “Hog tight, horse high and bull strong!”

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Lynn Baxley April 4, 2022 6:30 pm

Do you still work with hedge? I have 2 LARGE trees by my driveway. They are under the power lines and the utility company is pressuring me to have them cut down. They will do the cutting. Hedge trees are a part of my family heritage and I have an affinity for them. I would like to see this wood go to a good use instead of a landfill. Would you be interested in them? Kansas City,KS

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John September 5, 2024 4:58 pm

Incredible! How has the color held up over the years with the UV protection? Thank you!

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Osage Orange Bench

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