# Is Oregon Hazelnut wood good for woodworking?



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Is Oregon Hazelnut wood good for woodworking? I didn't find much of anything on here or on the web :-(


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

We grow filberts in Oregon (aka Hazelnut LOL)Sorry Bob I've never used it on a project. Sorry for the Razz


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Thx Jim, Oregon produces 99% of the nations filberts and it is a fine grained wood. That is about all I found out on the www


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

They say it grows into trees, (I've only seen shrubs). But I didn't find anything either.


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## tyskkvinna (Mar 23, 2010)

Things I learned about Hazelnut trees while using my google-fu:

1- They grow fairly quickly, and be cut down every 10 years to the stump (used for lumber) - the tree will resprout
2- They are generally considered not worth cutting down because the nut is expensive enough to keep it
3- The tree does not have to grow very big in order to yield nuts, so the lumber tends to be kind of small
4- http://www.westnut.com/about.php This place keeps track of hazelnut growers in Oregon and has been known to give out timber information to those who call and ask.

From what I could discern, if you've got it, it's good to work with, but nobody wants to sell it.


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## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

we make walking sticks from our English Hazelnut bushs thats all thier good for really they never grow in to trees


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Hazel nuts here in Water World, aka Wetern WA, are more like big bushes, but i have found one that was cut down with a 12 inch + trunk. That is why i was wondering what kind of trouble I might expect. I suppose i'll pain the ends, rip it and wait and see ;-) I think it may b e in its latter life cycle. The center of the trunk is starting to rot out.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Bad news. I thought I was getting some hazel nut, but I have decided it is maple. I didn't see any maple leaves in the slash piles, but the butt end trunk is too big to be hazelnut and the bark looks like maple. Trouble is all those young hardwood barks look the same ;-(( What I thought were probably hazelnut leaves in the slah pile from a distance turned out to be magnolia upon closer look.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

BTW, thanks for the link Lis.


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## dequinox (Jan 15, 2016)

I've carved some tomahawk handles out of 2" or so branches. They have a light and strong, and a very stiff feel to them. I haven't done anything larger than that size though.


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## Wilbo (Dec 28, 2016)

I just had 14 large trunks of diseased Barcelona hazelnut milled (cut to 4/4 lumber, air-dried, kiln-dried, planed) and look forward to my first (?) project with this white unruly wood. My neighbor is burning the trees and gave me the trunks to use as I please. The mill owner was interested in seeing the lumber and took a share for milling it. So far, zero dollars. I wonder what to make with it.

Here in Oregon, we say filbert trees grow hazelnuts and no filbert grower is going broke; price is high and the yields are steady, except where the blight is killing the older trees.


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## JADobson (Aug 14, 2012)

I made a pen from English Hazel a few years ago. It is in my projects. I found it very uninspiring as there is essentially no grain.


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