Wisteria is a plant that that is usually seen as a vine or as a shrub/bush, I suppose primarily in the South. It has beautiful purple/blue flowers that hang in grape-like clusters and can be seen in various home landscapes or in the wild. And it can grow to almost tree-like proportions….the one I removed in my back yard was 6” in diameter with a twisted trunk nearly 6 feet tall. So it is not a wood that is likely to be available commercially. Here are a few pieces showing the figure and grain of the pieces I cut. I’m not sure if it is spalted or not, but it looks pretty neat. It is a coarse grain, quite soft and light. I’ve made a small number of boxes and crosses from it that look pretty nice. The first photos are just the sawn wood and the darker ones are what it looks like when dampened with water to get an idea how it will finish. Just thought I’d share a few pictures of some wood that many will probably never see, unless you cut your own!
-- Mike P., Arkansas, http://mpounders1.blogspot.com
7 comments so far
DaddyZ
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2008 posts in 1213 days
#1 posted 331 days ago
Very True !!
-- Pat - Worker of Wood, Collector of Tools, Father of one
TrBlu
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#2 posted 331 days ago
Wisteria is unique. That color is not spalting. That is the natural overlay of the vine.
Nice work on the crosses.
I made a pen with some Wisteria from my parents yard. The “wood” is more difficult to turn because it has very hard and very soft places. It does not have as much character when turned.
Here is the project that included my Wisteria Pen: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/64621
-- The more I work with wood the more I recognize only God can make something as beautiful as a tree. I hope my humble attempts at this craft do justice by His masterpiece. -- Tim
TrBlu
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326 posts in 798 days
#3 posted 331 days ago
Sorry. I did not mean to double post.
-- The more I work with wood the more I recognize only God can make something as beautiful as a tree. I hope my humble attempts at this craft do justice by His masterpiece. -- Tim
Dez
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#4 posted 331 days ago
I have a few pieces of it, it came from a friends yard here in WA but none of mine are more than 2 1/2” to 3”. I figured I might make a rustic table for the deck!
It is fairly soft and flexible even a year after harvesting and it does have some interesting colors.
-- Folly ever comes cloaked in opportunity!
TrBlu
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326 posts in 798 days
#5 posted 331 days ago
I soaked a piece in Minwax wood hardner until it sank. The let it dry before turning on that pen. That helped a lot, but still had some softer spots.
-- The more I work with wood the more I recognize only God can make something as beautiful as a tree. I hope my humble attempts at this craft do justice by His masterpiece. -- Tim
Roger
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#6 posted 331 days ago
Wysteria, mysteria…...Wow!
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net
mmh
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#7 posted 331 days ago
Very nice color and grain. Too bad it’s hard to get!
-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe
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