Replies

1. 
   DavidxDoud | Mar 29, 2005 06:00am | #1

   David,  I've sawyered a few logs of it,  but haven't used any for projects,  so don't have experience beyond log>lumber -

   I didn't find it exceptional in any mechanical respect,  sawed about like ash - appearance resembles red elm a bit - as far as quartered vs flat,  whaddu like?  flames or straight grain? - - for small boxes or frames,  quartered is always nice - larger projects,  the flatsawn grain is interesting - -

   true quartersawing is tough to do on bandsaw mills,  sawing thru and thru gives a variety of figure,  and I'd recommend that if you don't have specific uses in mind -

   "there's enough for everyone"
2. 
   Bioman | Mar 29, 2005 01:50pm | #2

   Caffeinated or de-caffeinated.  Hope the latter, or the dust could keep you up all night.  Sorry, couldn't resist. View Image

3. 
   Napie | Mar 29, 2005 04:49pm | #3

   I used quite a bit of it years ago and loved working with it.  Great grain and color, not to hard, machines well and stable.  I have tool box made of it that is 20 years old and has held up great traveling to job sites, it looks great too.

4. 
   WillGeorge | Mar 29, 2005 08:52pm | #4

   Maybe you could sell it to STARBUCKS for Corporate Office paneling?

   Sorry.. I had to.. I never heard of kentucky coffeewood..

   Learn something every day! 

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/29/2005 1:53 pm ET by Will George

1. 
   tailsorpins | Mar 29, 2005 09:31pm | #5

   Thought I'd share this website.  Although it's obviously out of OHIO, it's resolved many, many inquiries brought to me regarding tree identification, from Tennessee to Texas.  I'm sure these are more scientific sites, but here it is:

   http://www.oplin.org/tree/

   And the facts about the coffeetree are even there!  Seems early settlers used it's beans for making coffee.

   John

1. 
   dlneub | Mar 30, 2005 01:57am | #6

   Thanks everyone who responded. I found out a fair bit on the web but the personal experiences like napies are always more helpful. I'll let you know how it goes if you're interested...dave
   btw-this is the only official state tree that has the states name in it's name. The bean are poisonous but when aged and cooked are not but they make a lousy cup of coffee. Maybe I will try to sell some to Starbucks and make some bucks. : )

   Edited 3/29/2005 6:59 pm ET by David

1. 
   WillGeorge | Apr 01, 2005 07:27pm | #10

   like napies are always more helpful..

   YEP! Especially if ya baby sit as I do!

5. 
   hairball | Apr 01, 2005 07:01am | #7

       This is probably totally meaningless, considering the hippie days are long gone, but I just had to toss this little tidbit out there - Kentucky coffeetree glows yellow under a blacklight. That could be pretty interesting in the right application.

1. 
   dlneub | Apr 01, 2005 12:33pm | #8

   That's pretty amazing. Where and how did you find that out? I'll have to find some interesting application for this information...dave

1. 
   hairball | Apr 01, 2005 01:07pm | #9

       I learned that at a cabinet shop I was working at about 15 years ago. There are actually quite a few other species that share this quality. Coffeetree is probably the most abundant of them all. They glow in different colors, too.

2. 
   dlneub | Apr 07, 2005 05:38am | #11

   well I just checked it out and you are correct. The yellow glow was eerie and beautiful at the same time. It really made the grain stand out. Too bad you can't make it look like that all the time- maybe you can if you eat the right mushrooms...dave