Bradford Pear

[michaelpsutton2]

I have a Bradford Pear tree in my yard. For years i have loved to use it's long straight branches to make hiking staffs for my scouts. I dry the staves for about a year and they are close grained, creamy and relatively free of splits.

 

Is this type of pear good for modeling?

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

That should be very good.

In Europe they were and they are still using this wood.

One of the best advantage it can be work in every direction.

Could you show us a picture please?

If you want I can show a picture of european pearwood but because it is dried  with steam, the wood turns  some kind of pink.

[Crowe]

I love this wood. Great light color and holds a wonderful edge. Its also nice and flexible. BTW there is another thread somewhere discussing this topic

.I have just started a POF Sussex with Bradford Pear frames from trees that fell in Huricaine Sandy.

[Crowe]

While I think of it , I should mention the use of a dust mask when sanding or any other operation that creates sawdust. The dust can be irritating. Tony.

[uss frolick]

They are slow growing trees, hence the saying, "Plant pears for your heirs."

[Jaager]

This wood is different from Pyrus communis - Swiss pear.

 

Bradford pear - Pyrus calleryana  Bradford  -  is a rapidly growing ornamental originating in SE Asia.  Widely planted starting in the late 70's(?) in the US, when mature, it was found that this cultivar has one bad trait.  The branches grow up at an acute angle to the main trunk (which is often not more than 5-6 feet.  In high winds the branches split away from the trunk.  There are other cultivars with better habits.

 

The tree grows fairly rapidly. It grows well in spring and summer so both the spring and summer wood bands are fairly wide.  There is a color difference.   Excellent color with the spring wood being a lighter color, but neither are red or burgandy. The wood is dense, hard, nonporus, few, if any knots.   It works well and easily has a polished surface.  For small parts, it is often easy to get all spring or all summer, so there is no grain in that piece.

 

It should be useful for framing, planking, masts, yards and deck equipment.  I like working with it and how it looks.  I got a decent stock of it when a wind storm in central KY left one of my trees looking like a pealed banana.

[michaelpsutton2]

It must have some kind of oil in it. After sanding with 600, 1000 grit & 4x0 steel wool, I buff it vigorously with terrycloth scraps and a lustrous sheen rises to the surface.