Should I use weeping willow to build a teardrop trailer?

I have heard (heard, not proven out or studied) that willow wood is somewhat toxic; I do not know if it was willow in general or a specific willow, but that’s what I read somewhere. If you are serious about working with it I would recommend snooping into it. Gotta be worth a try, those trees get to be absolute monsters around here, NW Oregon. Good luck.

-- Power tools put us ahead of the monkeys

The only experience I have with willow is cutting it out as a huge landscaping weed. I found it to be extremely wiry and prone to almost instant rotting. It will be interesting to see what the collective LJ wisdom is.

-- "Checking for square? what madness is this! The cabinet is square because I will it to be so!" Jeremy Greiner LJ Topic#20953 2011 Feb 2

Yeah, I think you should use it. It nails well without splitting and bends fairly easily. Report back and let us know how it holds up.

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

Very stinky as firewood, carves quite nicely while still “wet” or “green”..and actualy has some nice figured grain in spots , but can also be very bland.
What I’ve used, and it was from the next door neighbour lady like yours,worked very well.

(why I got it was we came home from vacation and one BIG branch had taken out a section of our joint fence, and most of my sons’ sandbox, cover and all…)

-- Glen, Vernon B.C. Canada

It’s pretty. As I recall, it was quite nice to turn while green. Here’s a bowl I made from weeping willow crotch

I have not used it but I have looked into it a lot because I have 4 HUGE willow trees on my property.

One of the common uses for willow is artificial limbs for what ever thats worth.. Its a light almost white colored wood and I am sure its very usable for many woodworking projects. I would assume its a lot like Basswood in that it carves easy and yet still considered a hardwood.

One of my willow trees in my front yard is looking sad and I have debated having it milled.

-- Dan - "Collector of Hand Planes"

I have a large stock of Black Willow harvested from a wind-break in a muck field in north-central Indiana. I have sawn and dried several loads. Very light weight and really soft, easy to over-work. You can dent it with your finger nail. It has a very nice grain and finishes nice. Just not a good wood if the project is going to be bumped or used in a rough way. Very nice for a what-not shelf or a stand that won’t be abused.

-- Just another beautiful day in paradise.

It is used for cricket bats traditionally. This suggests it must be fairly tough and resistant to denting and splitting. The wood used for bats is always pretty bland, almost without grain.