The most densely populated areas of the natural range of G. dioicus <\/em>include Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. The range extends into smaller parts of neighboring states such as Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, southern Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky. Isolated pockets can be found across a much wider range including: Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and central New York.<\/p>\n Gymnocladus dioicus Range Map<\/p><\/div>\n For the sake of simplicity and common understanding I will hereafter refer to G. dioicus <\/em>as Kentucky Coffeetree.<\/p>\n The heartwood of Kentucky Coffeetree ranges in color from orange to a darker reddish brown. The sapwood of the Kentucky Coffeetree is yellow to white. The sapwood is very narrow and well defined against that darker heartwood.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree has an overall appearance and grain pattern similar to that of ash or oak.<\/p>\n The grain of the Kentucky Coffeetree tends to be straight and porous. The wood of the Kentucky Coffeetree has a coarse and uneven texture.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree is reported to range from moderately durable to very durable in regards to decay resistance. Kentucky Coffeetree is even reported to fare well in direct ground contact uses such as fence posts.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree receives mixed reports in regard to resistance to insect attack.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree is reported to have overall good working characteristics.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree is also reported to glue, stain, and finish well.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree has no characteristic odor.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree is not a common tree, and though it grows on a number of sites in the United States, it is not plentiful in any one location. Supplies for Coffeetree lumber are likely to be limited and mostly available only within its natural range in the Midwest and eastern United States. Prices should be in the mid to upper range for a domestic hardwood.<\/p>\n In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence. These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods<\/a>, Bell Forest Products<\/a>, NCWood<\/a>, WoodTurningz<\/a>, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, Griffin Exotic Wood<\/a>, Exotic Woods USA<\/a>, Got Wood?<\/a>, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U<\/a>. Note: ALWAYS green turn wet blanks from NCWood as their wax will not hold for extended drying periods.<\/p>\n Of these find vendors, only WoodTurningz is currently offering Kentucky Coffeetree for sale in sizes ranging from a pen blank for $0.95, a 6” x 6” x 3” bowl blank for $11.50 to a 3” x 3” x 12” mill spindle for $12.95.<\/p>\n Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Kentucky Coffeetree, this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.<\/p>\n A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer. I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand. It happens to me all the time!<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree finds use in furniture, cabinetry, fence posts, and as a utility wood.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree is not listed as being endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices<\/a> nor does it appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. <\/a><\/p>\n To the best of my knowledge, there are no special restrictions placed on Kentucky Coffeetree by the United States government.<\/p>\n I realize that inherent in working with wood is the killing of a part of the natural world that may be slow to return and if I become deeply concerned about this fact, I will have to find a new hobby. I hope that such a time does not come to pass or at least not any time soon. In part because I am concerned about legally and responsibly obtained wood, I am reluctant to buy from sellers outside of well-established and known vendors. I am highly unlikely, for example, to purchase any wood from auction sites, such as Ebay, because of uncertain sourcing and documentation, as well as the potential, even likelihood, of material being misidentified in order to achieve a higher selling price.<\/p>\n However, due to the commercial scarcity of some woods, resorting to auction sites such as Ebay or Etsy may be the only way to obtain some desirable domestic, or in some cases exotic imported, species that are not routinely commercially harvested. The potential risks of buying in these marketplaces have to be balanced against the desire to work with a specific species of wood. That is inherently an individual decision.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Aside from the usual hazards posed by wood dust, there are no known negative health effects associated with Kentucky Coffeetree. As always, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Kentucky Coffeetree<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Complete information about health hazards<\/a> associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database<\/a>. 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.<\/a><\/p>\n Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Kentucky Cofeetree.<\/p>\n This was my first time working with Kentucky Coffeetree and ideally my last.<\/p>\n The problem is not that there is anything specifically wrong with Kentucky Coffeetree other than, in my opinion, it is not a wood well suited for turning. It is very similar to Oak or Ash in that it is very coarse, open grained, and the fiber lift on the cross grain sections is substantial and extremely difficult to sand out.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree Interior<\/p><\/div>\n All woods with this same coarseness and open grain behave the same way when turned but they have other applications for which they are perfectly suited. Not all woods, in other words, are well suited for turning and my question becomes: Is it worth it to continue working with a wood that clearly isn’t suited for turning when I have a hundred other blanks that will turn beautifully with a minimum of fuss? I face this conundrum fairly often since I have a lot of wood from different sources, most of it obtained before I had a lot of experience and didn’t know much about one wood from another.<\/p>\n Hard, fine textured, and closed grain woods turn amazingly well and I think that I should focus my attentions there but then I feel guilty since I most likely bought the wood, or someone I care about gave it to me, so I really should turn it no matter what. But at some point the cost to me in frustration and expendable supplies (sand paper, disc holders, finish, some of which are quite expensive when quickly and frequently destroyed) seems just too high.<\/p>\n For example, I turned two different Mesquites yesterday and the results were amazing. Today I turned Sassafras and Kentucky Coffeetree, which are quite similar in behavior although not exactly the same color and not the same hardness, and it was struggle upon struggle. And let’s face it, neither wood is winning any beauty contests and that’s probably why they are utility woods. I went ahead and finished both but I am not sure that I will continue to make these tradeoffs.<\/p>\n Kentucky Coffeetree Side View<\/p><\/div>\n I’m sorry to say that Kentucky Coffeetree, in my opinion, just isn’t worth the effort it will take to sand it smooth nor is the finished result worth the cost of peripherals especially since it only measures 5″ x 2.5″. The wood looks meh, very much like Ash but with more orange color, but we are not talking bowl you over color like a Padauk just more colorful than Ash, Oak, or Sassafras. With so many brilliant hardwoods to turn out there, domestic and imports, spend the time on Cherry, Walnut, Maple, or one of dozens of hard, fine textured, and tight grained imports. Unless you have a compelling relationship with the Kentucky Coffeetree I don’t see the point. And if your issue is nostalgia for Kentucky, lots of decent hardwoods grow in the state, including Cherry and Walnut, so source a decent wood from the state and make the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool<\/a> system on my Robust American Beauty<\/a> lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck,<\/a> while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws<\/a>. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks<\/a>. Final finish is Shellawax<\/a>.<\/p>\n As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m sorry to say that Kentucky Coffeetree, in my opinion, just isn\u2019t worth the effort it will take to sand it smooth nor is the finished result worth the cost of peripherals. The wood looks meh, very much like Ash but with more orange color, but we are not talking bowl you over color like a Padauk just more colorful than Ash, Oak, or Sassafras. With so many brilliant hardwoods to turn out there, domestic and imports, spend the time on Cherry, Walnut, Maple, or one of dozens of hard, fine textured, and tight grained imports. Unless you have a compelling relationship with the Kentucky Coffeetree I don\u2019t see the point. And if your issue is nostalgia for Kentucky, lots of decent hardwoods grow in the state, including Cherry and Walnut, so source a decent wood from the state and make the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":3039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[154,168,171,272,181,183,200,210,217,221,230,239,240,241],"yoast_head":"\nGeneral Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
Working Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
Pricing and Availability:<\/h2>\n
Common Uses:<\/h2>\n
Sustainability:<\/h2>\n
Health Hazards:<\/h2>\n
My Personal Experiences:<\/h2>\n