Osage v Hackberry

[Jamesh76]

It's common to hear how hard Osage is. Hard to cut, can't drive staples into it for fence posts etc. I tell ya, I was cutting some Osage today on my band saw, cut pretty good. Then I was working on a piece of Hackberry..... talk about a head ache it takes so long to cut. Across the grain is fine. With the grain, it took me 15 minutes to cut the width on 1 side of a stave. Very slow going. I'm not sure if its faster with a draw knife or not. I wasn't moving very fast with that method either. I have heard the grain is woven on hackberry. Idk I love it as a bow wood but it's sure difficult to work down.

[jaydee2trad]

time and more experience will tell you even more. does it have a long seasoning period too?

[Jamesh76]

I'm not sure, just grabbed a piece and rough out. I hold it a couple inches off the concrete and drop, listen to the sound usually. Haven't had much success with the prong moisture meters. Weighing themselves a pain also. The sound when dropped or tapped on concrete and feel when thinning with a draw knife will usually tell me. I typically rough to.bow dimensions and floor tiller then sit them on my rack a couple months.