# Is Magnolia wood a suitable woodworking wood?



## Planeman40 (Nov 3, 2010)

I ask this question a I read where the much loved and famous old magnolia called the Jackson Magnolia that dates from the days of President Andrew Jackson is to be cut down due to age and decay. It is located next to the White House on the south facade and is the oldest on the White House grounds. This has been decided by the United States National Arboretum.

I am thinking it would be a nice thing to ask if the cut down tree could be donated to Lumberjocks and parceled out to members in some kind of equitable manner. Maybe making it a project among us to build something for the White House or Congress. Anyway, if magnolia is a suitable wood for woodworking, I would like to write a request of the National Arboretum to see if it would make the donation.

Please give me and others your thoughts.

Planeman


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

WOW … that would be awesome. Magnolia grandiflora (which the Jackson Magnolia is) is easy to work and is sometimes mistaken for maple and/or poplar … suitable for all sorts of woodworking! Write that letter, Rufus! Sounds like a great idea!


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

Could be cool but, the White House has an AWESOME woodworking shop with full time carpenters at work every day using nothing but the best tools and materials to build everything from some new closets for FLOTUS all the way to complete full authentic reproductions of furniture. Recently a barn in Maryland was determined to have been built at the same time as parts of the white house. The entire barn was purchased and the reclaimed wood has been used to make several period correct pieces for the house. I'm willing to bet that the wood shop has already got their "dibs" in…


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

when I lived in St. Marys, GA several years ago, the city had these HUGE Live Oak trees
in the middle of town that dated back to George Washington's time.
the four oaks were planted in 1799 on the day George Washington was buried in Mt. Vernon.
when the giant oaks reached the apex of their life cycle, they were ceremoniously harvested and most
of the usable lumber went to Maryland to be used in the hull restoration of the USS Constellation sailing ship.
the unusable limbs were cut up into small souvenir pieces for the St. Marys residents and officials.
I made a nice plaque out of some the wood to hang in City Hall with a brass plate describing the history.

so it goes to show you that just about every twig of an important tree goes to good use somehow.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1997/07/08/met_211032.shtml#.WkL5TlV5W00

.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

> so it goes to show you that just about every twig of an important tree goes to good use somehow.
> http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1997/07/08/met_211032.shtml#.WkL5TlV5W00
> - John Smith


Not always! When I worked in shipbuilding, the flight decks of some aircraft carriers and the teak decks on the battleships were unceremoniously ripped up and hauled to a trash dump to be burned. It was U.S. government property, even as trash which didn't allow it to be salvaged. It wasn't a tree, but the wood was beautiful, free of any blemishes. The same was true of the ammunition ships which used 3" thick DF as dunnage in the ammo magazines. If you tried to take any of it, you could be arrested for stealing government property.


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