Using birch

[chizlr40]

I have purchased property that has a lot of mature birch trees. I was wondering how birch would be to work with as I never used it before. I have a small cutting operation to do small boards and was wondering about turning some bowls. Any help is appreciated

[PBWilson]

I've found that Birch works similarly to Soft Maple or Cherry except that it is a bit more brittle. Pieces that have some grain runout or figure tend to chip or tear out more than most. It's got a nice luster when finished so I tend to think it's worth the extra effort.

Good luck with cutting up that tree. It's so nice when trees can be saved from the fireplace or mulch pile.

[KLaz]

I enjoy working with birch.  A bit more brittle than maple, but finishes nice.  The cabinets doors and countertop edging below are all of birch finished with satin poly.

   

[shoottmx]

I used a bunch of yelow birch a few years ago, much of it for secondary wood in cases work. I thought it worked and looked great.

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[FS7]

I made my mother a printer stand from birch. It was not my favorite. It was hard and heavy and just looked rather plain. Takes stain well and all of that, just boring. I ended up using the remaining boards I had for a baseball bat and cutting boards.

[5thumbs]

I built a Roubo style workbench out of  flame birch. Very heavy - which is what I wanted. vSo far (3 years) no problems with chipping and it doesn't seem to dent very easily.

[mr_skittle]

Here in Northern MN we have an abundance of Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) and a lesser amount of Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis). There are also many other native and cultivars out there. Be sure you know what species your's are because they aren't all the same.

Up here it's often used as a substitute for Maple. It is a plenty hard and durable wood but can be brittle and prone to tear-out, but no more than hard maple. It finishes easily and shows a lot more grain than you might expect once you stain it. I picked up a lot at an auction and have been using it as a secondary wood and for drawer sides in my furniture. It makes good firewood too.

[thewalnutguy]

I have purchased property that has a lot of mature birch trees. I was wondering how birch would be to work with as I never used it before. I have a small cutting operation to do small boards and was wondering about turning some bowls. Any help is appreciated

I've had no problems working with birch. My 50 acres has quite a few birch trees, although their numbers are declining and I now have few birch of much size. In the past there were quite a few of 20+ inches in diameter. I built a complete kitchen for a friend using birch, and they're quite happy with the results. Some of the pieces have quite dramatic figure.