Comments on: Boxwood

By: Hampus Carlsson

Hampus Carlsson — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 06:34:43 +0000

In reply to Fermanus Baare. I carved a little figure from true boxwood and it sank in water

By: Patrick-Gilles Maillot

Patrick-Gilles Maillot — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 07:18:12 +0000

Following the box trees killed by the box moth about 4 years ago in France, I had several good-sized, dead trees I kept for later use. I just finished a guitar fretboard made out of a single piece of boxwood and that turned very well and is a pleasure to play. Not the easiest wood to work with but worth the effort.

By: Filip

Filip — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 11:49:15 +0000

Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is a really great wood, if you have a sharp knife you can actually not use sandpaper (as was often done hundreds of years ago in Europe). The largest trunks of Buxus sempervirens are in the French Pyrenees, Turkey and in England (favorable climate). Boxwoods often reach great sizes because they are long-lived, the problem is that they grow extremely slowly. Often wood grains are 0.5 mm thick! There is another species of true boxwood (Buxus) that grows to a considerable size – this is Buxus colchica. It grows in the Caucasus and local carpenters even make boards from it (sic!). Unfortunately, real boxwood wood has one big flaw – it warps. Even after 20 years of seasoning, when something is made of it, it can bend significantly.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 11:43:02 +0000

In reply to Fermanus Baare. Hard to ID from the pics, but density is very commonly varied by plus or minus 10% of average, so possibly still within acceptable range.

By: Fermanus Baare

Fermanus Baare — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 03:53:41 +0000

In reply to Fermanus Baare. This stays on the bottom of the water tub so it is heavier than 63 yet this site says 61 for the buxus [boxwood] species available. I think it looks like it. What do you think ?

By: Fermanus Baare

Fermanus Baare — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 19:21:58 +0000

Can any of the buxus be heavy enough to sink like a stone ?

By: Robert Nicholson

Robert Nicholson — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 12:04:38 +0000

One of the characteristics of wood that is not often mentioned is resistance to abrasion.
A traditional croquet mallet has a hickory shaft, and a D shaped head of European boxwood (often referred to as English Box). Generally 250-300mm long and about 125mm across, the head is often turned out of a single piece of box, often a branch or small trunk, The striking ends are grooved and fitted with copper bands (the heartwood is usually centered on the striking faces). Think of it as a piece of branch turned into a cylinder with a piece sliced off the bottom.

I have three of these boxwood mallets (although one is rectangular), one has clearly seen a lot of action, yet the striking ends and the bottom show very little wear. Even the varnish finish shows little damage or discolouration.

So is the obsession with hardness all that important?

I was told a long time ago that one of the Australian ironbarks was used in the rams of icebreakers due to its extreme resistance to abrasion. I have not been able to verify this, the story could very well be apocryphal.

I would think that for quite a number of applications, the abrasion resistance would be very important, so why is little written about it?

By: Dithmar Guillaume

Dithmar Guillaume — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 07:05:46 +0000

In reply to Michael McGrath. To my surprise I noticed that in the south of France most larger box trees are now sprouting again from the trunk. I was sure this invasive moth had caused an ecological disaster and that boxwood would have permanently disappeared. But a miracle has happened! The moth has become part of the natural food chain and boxwood is establishing itself again.

By: D. Weaver

D. Weaver — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 00:33:07 +0000

In reply to Jim Fellows. use the cap iron / chipbreaker on woods like this. Planing across the grain can lead to edge chipout.

By: Ruchir

Ruchir — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 04:21:01 +0000

In reply to spanner48. These whole forests of box are purely fictional. They are called chikari trees and are already locally extinct inany places. The forests in the Himalayan regions are already extremely fragmented and under pressure from local as well as international demand for timber, medicines, minerals ( 'Himalayan' is a very good tag to add to any product!). Whatever few trees that are still surviving are better left alive as living creatures that have been a part of the ecosystem rather than be hacked, chopped and sold off to the other side of the world to be turned into silly trinkets of 'rare Himalayan boxwood'

By: D. Lanthier

D. Lanthier — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 21:30:11 +0000

In reply to Eric. I don't know for chin rest but for woodwind instruments, we seal the wood with linseed oil. That would also allow you to wash your tools without damaging the wood.

By: Danijel Šiprak

Danijel Šiprak — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 06:45:16 +0000

In reply to Dani. I was wrong, this is not Buxus. After more thorough research I realised this is Phillyrea latifolia from Oleaceae family, closely related to olive tree. Looks very much like boxwood. Sorry, my mistake!

By: Dani

Dani — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 07:52:53 +0000

Hi! I love wood and I’ve been visiting this site for years now. In my opinion it is the best place to learn about wood in general on internet!!! Respect to Eric!!!
In my homeland Croatia’s Mediteranian parts (Dalmatia) boxwood is a very common species, and although most of it is shrubs and small sized trees, yesterday I saw a beautiful wild boxwood tree with trunk diameter of over 50cm!
Now I’m sorry that I didn’t take a picture of it to post it here but will do that in a separate comment on next occasion…

By: Justin Pickford

Justin Pickford — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 12:58:09 +0000

In reply to Michael McGrath. Yeah but are there ANY areas where conservative logging would be ok? Boxwood siemerveins is Huey dense in Eastern Europe like Slovakia to Germany to Gorgia to Switzerland to Hungary and EVERYWHERE inbetween

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 16:57:36 +0000

In reply to Hasan.

Species in the calycophyllum genus comes to mind. https://www.wood-database.com/wood-finder/?fwp_genus=calycophyllum

By: Hasan

Hasan — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 01:17:50 +0000

You mentioned, “Other species in different genera tend to have similar appearances and working characteristics”. Can you name a few substitutes for boxwood?

By: Michael J. Amphlett

Michael J. Amphlett — Tue, 14 May 2019 16:29:18 +0000

In reply to Michael McGrath.

The larvae of Cydalima perspectalis (box tree moth) mostly attack the foliage of Buxus species, but apparently can also damage the bark, which is more likely to permanently damage or kill the tree. More info here, and a project on which I work: https://www.cabi.org/ISC/datasheet/118433

By: Michael McGrath

Michael McGrath — Mon, 13 May 2019 15:34:09 +0000

Here, in France, the box trees have been decimated by the box moth and there are many good-sized, dead trees along the verges.
Is the wood damaged by the moth and how long can the dead tree stand before the timber ceases to have any value as a resource.
I’ve been reluctant to cut any down to test, as I’ve been told they can survive a couple of attacks. Most of the box in our region have been bare for two or three summers now.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 18:10:06 +0000

In reply to Spencer Nitchie. I wouldn't be surprised if some makers leave the areas of high wear completely unfinished. I'm not sure what's standard practice though...

By: Spencer Nitchie

Spencer Nitchie — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 15:41:47 +0000

I have made small boxwood massage tools and was wondering what would be the best finish to use? What do they use for a violin chin rest for example? Something that oesn’t irritate skin?