Madrona Wood...

[bornagainbriar]

Who knows anything about Madrona wood? I've been doing quite a bit of business in cleaning and refurbishing pipes for a couple of years now rather seriously anyway, and have begun to venture into making my own pipes. I was trying to think of something that would give a pipe-crafter a cool "northwest flair". I have been considering using madrona wood to make a few pipes and see how it turns out. I know it is very dense (sinks in water) and am still trying to get scorch temperatures for the wood, as well as researching to see if it is a safe wood to use (as in non-toxic, one never knows...)

I picked up a couple of cool pieces that have some potential for nice grain as well as just a nice, well aged log has been quartered and has a great shape for cutting plateau style pieces.

Here's what my research has turned up:

• Madrona, also known as Arbutus, is a genus of at least 14 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, and is native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, and North America.
  
  North American members of the genus are called Madrones, from the Spanish name madrono. The European species are called Strawberry Trees because the fruits resemble strawberrys. The name "Madrone" is typically used south of the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California, and the name "Madrona" is used north of the Siskiyou Mountains. The name "Arbutus" is typically used north of the Canadian border.
  
  A species of Madrona, known as the Arbutus unedo tree, makes up part of the coast of arms (The Bear and the Strawberry Tree) of the city of Madrid, Spain. A statue of a bear eating the fruit of the Madrono tree is located in the center of the city, Puerta del Sol. The image also appears on various public emblems, taxi cabs, and other city infrastructure.
  
  The Madrona was important to the Straits Salish people of Vancouver Island, who used the bark and leaves to create medicines for colds, stomach problems, and tuberculosis, and as the basis for contraceptives. The tree was also connected to certain myths of the area.
  
  It is very low in pitch, having almost none.

I have heard of walnut and cherry, as well as apple being used, but never madrona. Any suggestions? I see it being used in all sorts of artsy type things, as well as kitchen utensils, bowls, flooring and furniture.

Anyone use it for pipes??

[RadDavis]

Paolo Becker uses strawberry tree wood for pipes. Don't know if the NA wood is the same as the European.

Rad

[bornagainbriar]

Paolo Becker uses strawberry tree wood for pipes. Don't know if the NA wood is the same as the European.

Rad

It is the European species of the same tree. Apparently the tree was brought here by some Spaniards many moons ago and planted here in the Puget Sound area. Thank you Rad for the comments. I'll look into their work. Much appreciated.

[caskwith]

Are you talking about the wood from the tree itself or the burl growing underneath it? It is the burl that is use for Briar and Strawberry pipes.

[bornagainbriar]

What I currently have on hand are knurled (above ground) pieces. I have access to roots as well, but was unaware that a Madrona tree produced and sort of underground burl on a regular basis, just a standard typical deep root system.

[bornagainbriar]

Rad, thanks for the suggestion to get a hold of Paolo Becker. We have exchanged emails a couple of times.

caskwith, Paolo did also confirm that it is the root of the tree they are using.

That being the case, I will probably move forward with the above-ground stock that I have and see what comes of it, while i pout the word out for root Madrona material.

Cheers.

[KurtHuhn]

If you can, try to get it fairly fresh and before it starts to dry out, so that you can process and cure it the same way briar cutters do. Or, if you can find a mill that actually processes Madrona root burl like that, even better!

[bornagainbriar]

If you can, try to get it fairly fresh and before it starts to dry out, so that you can process and cure it the same way briar cutters do. Or, if you can find a mill that actually processes Madrona root burl like that, even better!

there is a shop locally that works quite a bit with Madrona, mainly for cabinetry and flooring. I thought I saw some beams there 4" think I'd guess, but nothing that looked like root burls. Still searching. Looking for a cool Northwest flair. Might have to settle on accents...

[fastredx]

A friend in northern California sent me some small pieces of Madrona to use for tampers. What he sent didn't show much grain. He also sent me some Honey Locust. It is very hard and has some nice coloration. He makes rustic pipes from it (the Madrona as well). The Locust shines up nicely-as nice as briar does IMO. I've used it for tampers and have some pieces (limb wood) that are large enough to for pipes. Intend to make one from it soon.
This is a Locust tamper.

[Sawdust]

If you are looking for burl, you might try these people. I've gotten wood from them in the past and they were alway good to work with.
https://www.gilmerwood.com/items.php?sp ... one&CID=38

[Literaryworkshop]

Just popping in to say I'm enjoying the discussion. I'd love to see the results of the madrona wood, as well as the honey locust.

I hadn't thought of using walnut for a pipe. Shoot, I've got a bunch of thick, dry pieces of claro walnut lying around. Now you've got me thinking...

[Rodneywt1180b]

This post has been here a while but I'm also highly interested in trying Madrona (aka Madrone) in pipes. The only thing I can add is Arbutus is in the same family (Ericaceae) as briar and is a sort of cousin to Manzanita which was used for pipes back in WWII when Briar couldn't be imported. I think it might be Manzanita that has a burl at the roots but I have never dug any up so I'm not certain.
Another NW wood that has a history of being used for pipes is Rhododendron. It was also used during WWII along with Manzanita and Mountain Laurel.
I've made one really ugly pipe out of a Rhododendron limb. I may make another resembling a corncob from it too. The limb isn't large enough to actually carve a stummel with a stem from it. The wood from the limb is very fine grained, dense and a light yellow color. The wood works and smokes well. It had no taste that I could pick up on the initial smoke and smokes significantly cooler than maple, I'd say it's on a par with Briar that way. The wood also seems to be holding up well but that's harder to be certain about because the pipe is only a few months old. I would like to get a piece large enough to carve a proper pipe. I'm not sure if Rhododendron produces a burl at the base or not.

EDIT
**** Mountain laurel is a bad idea for pipes. I was reading another earlier post in this section and apparently mountain laurel is poisonous.********

Rodney