# Cotoneaster?



## bugbear (4 Apr 2014)

I cut a dead branch off a garden plant, and it was very hard to cut.

Later on, I noticed that the wood was very dense and heavy, even after drying (on the firewood pile).

Sadly, the logs had checked badly during drying.

Some trials in the workshop reveal the timber to be extremely dense, hard, dark coloured
and fine grained.

Have I discovered a good material for handles?

Does anyone have knowledge or experience of cotoneaster as a timber, not a garden plant?

Here's the plant:

http://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/plan ... aster.aspx

BugBear


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## Tazmaniandevil (4 Apr 2014)

Watch out for the barbed thorns. They get stuck in your skin and can go manky & runny. I use small bits of stems for turned apple stalks. Haven't tried turning it though.


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## Jonzjob (4 Apr 2014)

Tazie, I think that you may be refering to pyrocanther, a lovely wood to turn but if you have 75 yards of the dammed stuff you learn very quickly just how bad the enormous thorns can be. It ain't called firethorn for nowt.

Cotoneaster doesn't have any thorns. We have a load of it in the garden, but I am not allowed to attack it very much and haven't tried turning it, but as you say, it is hard.


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## Tazmaniandevil (5 Apr 2014)

Could be. We had loads in the garden when I was a kid & the old dear referred to it as cotoneaster. There's a nice example of it in the corner of our garden now with those 10 foot long thorns. I attack it with the chainsaw every too often to keep it under control.
Firethorn is a far better name for it.


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## Grahamshed (5 Apr 2014)

Yep, thats Pyrocantha. The thorns really hurt in your finger.


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## nev (5 Apr 2014)

I always thought a cotoneaster was some kind of South American militia


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## Grahamshed (5 Apr 2014)

Or American south religious festival ?
Cotton Easter


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## Spindle (5 Apr 2014)

Hi

I always thought it was pronounced coto-ne-aster :roll: :-" 

Regards Mick


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## Grahamshed (5 Apr 2014)

It is


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## Jonzjob (5 Apr 2014)

Or even pronounced kəˈtoʊniːˈæstər :shock: :shock: but that's wiki fer yer?

You must have some strange plants on your side of the world Tazi? None of our have thorns of any kind. I want to attack a patch at the bottom of our garden that's about 30 foot or more deep and 10 foot high. I'm not sure just what's living in there though? Could be a load of travelers for all I know :? :?


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## dedee (5 Apr 2014)

My guess is that you have probably seen this page already but just in case you missed it
http://www.bilsandrye.com/store/p7/Coto ... _Wood.html


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## Jonzjob (5 Apr 2014)

I've just ordered 6 of those and they are all identical :? :? apparenty :lol: :lol: 

130 beer tokens :shock: :shock: that's 155 wine tokens this side of the cut!!!

Still. You have to admire a sense of humour init?


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