This is not a For Sale thread. It is to show the differences in usable Cholla wood.
Well, the title is wrong because there are 26 named varieties. This thread is only going to apply to the two most common that produces wood that can be worked into dazzling works of art, or just nice pieces of wood that will make good looking projects.
The first and largest Cylindropuntia Fulgida. It is commonly called Jumping Cactus, or Chain Fruit cactus. It normally yields anywhere from 1" to upwards of 12" OD material. I have one that was over 17" across when I split it up, but a lot was very punky and it had about a 6" void in the center. The trunk can be anywhere from 24" up to 6" from the ground before branches start.
Here are some pictures of Fulgida Cactus from my yard. Notice the birds nest. The cactus is only about 4 feet tall.
This is what the wood looks like in "lumber" form.
the Cholla is 1/4x3/4" and set in a dado on Hickory. The blue tape is there to keep the pieces of bullet lead from getting lost. One day I'll go ahead and fill the with epoxy. I think that gonna be pretty soon as I'm doing epoxy job right now so, Maybe.
The next picture shows slabs I cut from some pretty big stock. They are short, but between 3 1/2 - 5" wide and 6 - 7 1/2" long and all are 7/16" thick. I have some trunks over 3 feet long that one day I'll cut up and make lumber.
This is Versecolor lumber. Small pieces but are to show the difference in the wood and the natural holes. The second picture shows I was lucky and got a couple of pieces that were over 19" long. Pretty solid wood compared to Fulgida. The turned piece is just over 12 1/2" long and from 1 3/16 and 1 1/2" diameter, with a hole ID 5/8 on the flat end and 3/8" on the round end.
These pictures shows the trunks without bark. The three on the left side are Fulgida, and the other is Versecolor. It's the same in the last picture. You can clearly see the difference in pith size of each Cactus.
I hope those of you looking for Cholla will check out this thread and know what type of cactus wood you are wanting to get for your particular projects.
I posted this for all, because @DWasson contacted me in a PM and asked for some Cholla. What he asked for was borderline of both varieties. Hope this helps................ Nubs
Well, the title is wrong because there are 26 named varieties. This thread is only going to apply to the two most common that produces wood that can be worked into dazzling works of art, or just nice pieces of wood that will make good looking projects.
The first and largest Cylindropuntia Fulgida. It is commonly called Jumping Cactus, or Chain Fruit cactus. It normally yields anywhere from 1" to upwards of 12" OD material. I have one that was over 17" across when I split it up, but a lot was very punky and it had about a 6" void in the center. The trunk can be anywhere from 24" up to 6" from the ground before branches start.
Here are some pictures of Fulgida Cactus from my yard. Notice the birds nest. The cactus is only about 4 feet tall.
This is what the wood looks like in "lumber" form.
the Cholla is 1/4x3/4" and set in a dado on Hickory. The blue tape is there to keep the pieces of bullet lead from getting lost. One day I'll go ahead and fill the with epoxy. I think that gonna be pretty soon as I'm doing epoxy job right now so, Maybe.
The next picture shows slabs I cut from some pretty big stock. They are short, but between 3 1/2 - 5" wide and 6 - 7 1/2" long and all are 7/16" thick. I have some trunks over 3 feet long that one day I'll cut up and make lumber.
This is Versecolor lumber. Small pieces but are to show the difference in the wood and the natural holes. The second picture shows I was lucky and got a couple of pieces that were over 19" long. Pretty solid wood compared to Fulgida. The turned piece is just over 12 1/2" long and from 1 3/16 and 1 1/2" diameter, with a hole ID 5/8 on the flat end and 3/8" on the round end.
These pictures shows the trunks without bark. The three on the left side are Fulgida, and the other is Versecolor. It's the same in the last picture. You can clearly see the difference in pith size of each Cactus.
I hope those of you looking for Cholla will check out this thread and know what type of cactus wood you are wanting to get for your particular projects.
I posted this for all, because @DWasson contacted me in a PM and asked for some Cholla. What he asked for was borderline of both varieties. Hope this helps................ Nubs
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