Thread: SageBrush - From the Dessert of Idaho

Hi Jim,
Sagebrush? I would not have thought it would be big enough. Do you have some? If so, I am really curious to see how it looks. I tried some manzanita a couple of years ago. I was so disappointed. There was almost no character to the wood. None of the pieces were big enough to go cross grain.


Cheers,

Rick

There are certain places here in Idaho where the sage brush grows BIG, however your right most is pretty small in diameter. My mom had a bowl turned out of the base of a sagebrush that grew and was removed from their property. It was fantastic! unique features.

Im going to make a trip out to the dessert this weekend to find some , I'll let you know how it turns out. My idea is to turn sagebrush as a niche market for my pens..

Jim

Hi Jim,
Well, I must say that you really got my interest yesterday. I searched and searched the internet and could find very little as far as things made with sagebrush. You will have your niche, at least for a little while until others see what you are doing.
I would be interested in seeing pics of what you bring back, not to mention of the pen you make from it.


Cheers,

Rick

Ok.. So I went out to the dessert with saw in hand and found some Sagebrush and deforrested a small area of dessert! Got it home and started to turn.... It was not an easy turn as sage brush grows in bundles of "strands" and eventually grows together forming a base then branches off. I found a few sections of the brush that I could use.

I turned these for a slim line and is my first attempt. I hope you can tell what I did and see some of the detail.

Turned around

Jim In Idaho..... my shop has the hint of sage!

The first pic shows... what? A black cat on a moonless night?

But I do like the grain shown in the second pic. How much of what you 'harvested' was worth turning? Would you consider adding it to your regular repertoire?

Jim,
Very cool. I would love to see something bigger like a cigar that would really show off the wood grain. So, do you think the effort of going out in the desert, sawing off the wood and turning was worth it?
Is it a heavy wood or very light?

Thanks for sharing that with us

Rick

Yeah I think I will continue this venture. The hardest part is finding sagebrush that is big enough around and solid. I agree on turning something a little bigger. But the grain is really pretty cool. So far, searching around, I have not seen anyone else that turns sage brush. For my location (we are in a dessert) this should raise some eyebrows. Besides... there always a story in how I narrowly escaped the BLM and rattle snakes just to get the wood to make this fine pen!

I'm turning a perfume "thingy" (for lack of a real word) for my wife out of a chunk. I will post it when I get it done.

Turned Around and Smell'n like sage -

Jim In Idaho

Originally Posted by Jiminidaho

For my location (we are in a dessert)...

Unless you're that fruit that sinks to the bottom of jello, I think you mean 'desert'. As in a dry, barren, sandy region, naturally incapable of supporting any plant or animal life.

Originally Posted by Jiminidaho

Turned Around and Smell'n like sage -
Jim In Idaho

Mmmmm, sage. My favorite dessert. Needs lots o' Cool Whip though.

Yes Jim, I tried some sage but there wasn't any color--not even a brown like your picture. Guess I'll go try again sometime. Have you got Mesquite up there in your part of the country? Some of that can be pretty nice. I've come up with some red mesquite a few times--BEAUTIFUL stuff.

Jim the sagebrush has a nice colour and grain pattern to it. If you can harvest bigger pieces it will definately be a good thing for you. You can look at as a rarity of supply and command a higher price for a scarce resource. I wish you well in your endeavours.
Darren