# Working with Hackberry



## Skip_Evans (Sep 6, 2007)

I have turned what I believe is hackberry. It is really white, turns great, and has straight grain. The only problem is, it oxidizes(?) and turns grey and black especially on the end grain. I have a half a tree of this stuff and hate to give up on it. What can I do to stop the oxidizing. I tried a dark mahogany stain but it still looked ugly.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

If you do have Hackberry the pores of the wood will tend to get gray along with the endgrain. I love this affect and use in when designing projects. The sidegrain really stands out with these dark lines. The lines are somewhat like the Cathedral grain of oak.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Skip_Evans said:


> I tried a dark mahogany stain but it still looked ugly.


That is one thing about hackberry, it does not stain worth a darn. It will take a dye though if you don't like the natural color. I'm with John get to know how it is going to oxidize and use that to your advantage in design. It can make for some stunning pieces worked right.


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