Hickory

[CrealBilly]

What's it good for? Would like to see pics please - thx

 

[PChristy]

around these parts it is good for Lexington style hickory smoked Bar B-Q - other then that I have no clue

 

[charlie s]

After building my kitchen cabinets out of hickory I decided the rest of my hickory lumber was firewood. It finishes beautifully but it will dull everything it touches; halfway through the project I sent off all my blades and shaper bits to be sharpened, then again after I finished. I'm happy with the cabinets but it's just not worth the trouble. Another thing: it will splinter on you for absolutely no apparent reason. Very frustrating.

Charlie S

 

[JackLeg]

Axe handles, hammer handles, and BBQ!

 

[WoodWrangler]

Firewood?

Na, just like the others have said ... VERY hard, dulls blades ... but it can be worked with patience. If it's "wet" (fresh cut) it would probably be good for chair making -- Windsors maybe?

 

[Trent Mason]

I think they use that to make bats, but you'd have to go over to the spinny side. :nah:

 

[CaptnA]

one of the wood sources here carries hickory on occassion- Genett lumber down on the river. I've seen some nice furniture pieces from it and some turnings although the turnings were small. Find figure in it and its very pretty wood.
its a hard wood and along with ash is used in making ladders. I'm not 100% sure why but second growth hickory is reported to be the wood of choice for wooden ladder rungs. Some fire departments used wooden ladder exclusively - tradition - strength- won't conduct electricity.
then of course handles for tools as mentioned.
I've heard of hickory splintering- odd that a wood that supposedly splinters is used for handles that undergo great shock such as an axe handle.
I'll go up the river later and see if I can get some pics of a hickory rocker.

 

[RandyJ]

My brother and brother-in-law are both drummers and use Hickory sticks exclusively. :icon_thum Never noticed a problem with them splitting.

I did turn a pen from one of my brother's broken drum sticks and he was quite pleased with it.

Go ahead and get that lathe you've been wanting and turn a few sticks for your drummer friends!

 

[Dragon]

Just like any wood, hickory WILL split and splinter is its tensile strength properties are exceeded. CaptA you're correct in that hickory was the preferred wood for FD ladders though today the trend is away from wood and aluminum, (which replaced wood due to lighter weight), and towards fiberglass. Been far too many years for me to recall the trivia as to why the FD's preferred hickory over other woods. I'd have to look that one up.

I've got one stump table that I made from hickory that was blown down by hurricane Opal back in '95. My first table and it's still with me. Heavy as lead still even though it's lost nearly 100 pounds since I first cut it out.

 

[cptully]

No actual knowledge her, just speculation :eusa_thin:

Hickory is used for smoking because it smokes for a long time rather than burning...

A charred ladder is probably still climbable:icon_scra, while a burning one is quite risky... A kin to ; :saw:

Chris

 

[Gotcha6]

I think Chris is onto something there. There's probably enough porosity to the wood that it can be wetted down and avoid rapid burn through as opposed to an aluminum or fiberglass ladder that would just melt away. Telephone companies used them for years and would not allow employees to paint one in case a crack developed so it could be seen.
I guess that's why most fire departments also like grass ropes over synthetics for certain applications.

 

[Tom Dunn]

A friend of mine had hickory floors in the main area of a home he had built. The cabinets were hickory as well IIRC. Floor was stunning, actually, and Mission stlye furnishing really "brought it all home"!