Some Rather Unusual Wood · Sawinery Woodworking Guild

Some Rather Unusual Wood

I should have had this picture last month, for everyone to guess what it is. This is some rather unusual wood I bought yesterday; Thermally Treated Ash. They put the lumber in a kiln and somehow remove all the oxygen. Then they raise the temperature high enough to normally cause the wood to burn; much higher than is normally used for kiln drying wood. Because there's no oxygen in the kiln, it can't burn. But the wood changes color to something similar to walnut, almost like it's charred. This coloration is all the way through the wood.

Ash is a hardwood, with a Janka hardness of 1320, a bit higher than red oak. so, it's a great wood for building furniture. This Modified Ash is supposedly good for outdoor furniture and decks too, as it is resistant to rot. Going to make an end table with it, to see what it's like to work with.

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