5 ms·
Is elder wood unusually sappy, knotty, or hard to cut? I can easily imagine people blaming the supernatural when a woodcutter's axe sometimes gets stuck or a wh
by legerdemain 4y ago
Is elder wood unusually sappy, knotty, or hard to cut? I can easily imagine people blaming the supernatural when a woodcutter's axe sometimes gets stuck or a whittler's knife slips in his hands.
- _a_a_a_ 4y agoAFAIK it's very low grade weak stuff. Barely wood at all. (edit: But elderflower cordial diluted with fizzy water is stunningly good IMO)
- legerdemain 4y agoI know the flavor of elderberry. I was just surprised by there existing folklore for collecting elder wood. In my experience, elderberries grow on a bush that isn't much good for anything other than being a garden plant.
- JasonFruit 4y agoMy understanding is that elderberry is not really the elder referred to in European folk stories.
- grafelic 4y agoElder wood does have some uses, it is perfect for creating homemade turntable unipivot tonearms, since it grows straight, has a hollow core and is very stiff when dry.
- _a_a_a_ 4y agoHuh! And light weight. Actually makes sense too. The things you learn here... Incidentally, reminded me, I'd heard opuntia spines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia AKA prickly pear) were used for the needles waaaay back. Can't find a ref but heard it on a TV program. FYI. Edit: can't play this but see if this is informative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxuPDTlIofY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxuPDTlIofY "Making Phonograph Needles from a Cactus"
- NikkiA 4y agoThe elder trees I grew up with were more like a slow-growing bamboo, a thin 1mm to 2mm surface wood around a pith centre. In fact, wiki's page on pith uses elder as it's example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pith#/media/File:Elder_pith.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pith#/media/File:Elder_pith.jp...