Russian Olive

I have made a few flutes out of it. 95% of the time I have no problem but once in a while one will dry and twist a little.(I bore the blanks while the wood is still green.) It is a lovely wood.Some with more color than others.

Dont let it get away.Do try turning some!!!!

-- Mike,North Carolina

I have carved it. It carves well.

-- No PHD just a DD214

I have had some small pieces of Olive wood and find the colors and grain very pretty. The little bit I’ve had turned really well. I wish my neighbor had an Olive tree for the taking ;-p

-- Kenny, SW VA, Go Hokies!!!

Russian Olive is not an olive. It has a hardness near cherry and walnut. In the US it is an invasive species so use all of it you can. It was brought in during the dust bowl era and is extremely difficult to eradicate.

-- Bruce, Boise, ID

Many of my projects are made from Russian Olive. Dark center heartwood that looks great with oil and fills my color gap with a nice brown lying between oak and walnut. I think it looks good when cut anywhere between flat and quarter sawn. It tends to be rather splintery, if re-sawing, seal the ends asap. Better to re-saw then seal versus sealing the logs and planking out later.

The worst thing about this wood is the smell when cutting. Gagarific!

Thanks, guys, for all the great replies!
So far I’ve snagged eight logs, all 20” to 24” long and 6” to 10 ” in diameter. Yeah, I’ll go for more, but the contractor she is negotiating with has already seen the tree, and presumably his quote includes salvaging the timber.
In the Canadian prairies, any species that can withstand -40F is considered ornamental and exotic, not a weed!!

TY, all! Mostly I was dreading the news that it might be toxic or something.

-- Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I'm Poopiekat!!

Just finished a bowl of Russian olive, tricky to turn as the grain changes from hard to soft, but it is a pretty wood.

-- Colombia Custom Woodworking

Russian Olive is not an olive. It has a hardness near cherry and walnut. In the US it is an invasive species so use all of it you can. It was brought in during the dust bowl era and is extremely difficult to eradicate.

- johnstoneb

Yeah, I got it all over my yard, the stuff grows like a weed. Even if I dig it all up, it is all over the area and eventually comes back.

-- Daniel

I guess the opinions vary according to your local climate. It’s not a common tree in Manitoba. Though there’s plenty of cut wood in people’s yards available for the taking, this poor olive tree came down in an ice storm, and people are ringing her doorbell constantly to see if the logs are available. I’m glad I got a bunch of it already. Lee: That’s a fine turning you got there! I’ll have to laminate some stock together to make projects of that size.

-- Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I'm Poopiekat!!