Argentine Osage Orange

I also realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations.  This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store.  Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.

Health Hazards

The sap from freshly cut Argentine Osage Orange has been reported to cause dermatitis in some individuals.

In addition, the long-term negative effects of exposure to sawdust of any species are well documented.

It is important to remember that although many people may, or may not, be sensitive to any given wood the only experience that truly counts is your own, so use reported side effects as guidance but not as a substitute for cautious and safe practices.

Appropriate protective equipment is therefore always recommended when working with this, or any other, wood, exotic or domestic, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.

Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database.  Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.

Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Argentine Osage Orange.

My Personal Experiences                       

I was only working with a small piece of Argentine Osage Orange in pen blank size so my experience is inherently limited.  That said, I have made larger objects from American Osage Orange and had very good experiences with it and given the similarity between the two woods I would expect to have positive experiences with the Argentine variety as well.

As expected, I did find the wood to be quite hard but that in turn meant that it turned cleanly and easily on the lathe.  The freshly cut piece required little sanding to achieve a very fine finished surface that was ready the application of the cyanoacrylate pen finish system that I prefer.  The color was excellent and provided a high degree of interest to the finished piece.

Overall, despite the small size of the piece that I worked with, I was quite pleased with Argentine Osage Orange and would be happy to work with it again in the future.  As it happens, I have several bowl blank sizes of Argentine Osage Orange that I found on a clearance sale so I am certain to work with larger sizes in the future, a prospect that I look forward to indeed.

As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever their wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!