Catalpa, any good?

[warno]

I have about 17 acres that I'm welcome to cut anything on the ground, dead, or leaning from. Most of its catalpa from what I can tell.

So like the title says, is catalpa any good? How long to season?

 

[mike van]

It'll dry in one season, if it's split & stacked. A lot like tulip, I suppose. Kind of weather resistant, a man turned the finials on a fence here 30+ years ago, they were painted, never rotted away. If it's on the ground, I don't suppose I'd give it long though.

 

[Scrounger]

I hauled home many trailer loads of craptalpa. It was already on the ground and cut to length (tree service). Hard to pass up free wood with some of the work already done. It's not the best wood, but it'll burn and make heat. If your not five years ahead and can afford to be a wood snob, take it. If your splitting by hand the parts with knots will be a bugger.

 

[warno]

I've started to process this stuff over the weekend and it must have not been down long, because I'm getting moisture readings of 30-40%. It's strange though when I knock 2 pieces together it makes the loud "crack" noise instead of a "thud".

With those moisture readings will it still be good for next year? The stacks are in open grass lot in direct sunlight and wind.

 

[Fred Wright]

It will be OK to burn next year. Catalpa dries relatively quickly. Keep it dry... it will rot fairly quickly, too if left exposed.

 

[ElmBurner]

The general scoop on catalpa is that it is a fairly light/soft wood that is pretty rot resistant. Don't expect a lot of BTUs from it, but it shouldn't rot away from sitting out in the weather. They used to make fence posts and stuff out of it.

It grows crooked and seems to break a lot in the weather, so the trees usually are pretty raggedy looking.

If you are a fisherman, watch for the grubs! Great for bait.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Beautiful flowers on the tree for sure. Very light when dry. If you need it grab it, you might have to load the stove a lot.