Tupelo Wood Uses?

[Haoleguy]

To add pasture acreage I have a hired expert clearing a few more acres. For a few of the better logs I'm saving them for flooring, doors, etc, however, I'm a bit stumped on what to do with the tupelo trees I have growing around the existing pasture. Up in these parts tupelo is not so common and thus people don't know what to do with them...no wood sawlog prices listed. Has anyone used tupelo for furniture or trim or other besides firewood? I'm thinking of having a harvest table made from one of the bigger trees but am still stumped on what to use them for.......Gary

[forgeblast]

I have seen a guy using tupelo to make bread bowls.
Tupelo Bread Bowl by csj10092 on Etsy
Tupelo Bread Bowl at Lehman's

[Haoleguy]

Very nice. This is the example I'm going by for a table .... Vintage Flooring & Furniture / Products / Furniture ....Gary

[RobertBrown]

We have lots of water tupelo down here. I have never heard of anyone using it for anything other than dunnage or pallets.
This species we have only grows in the slews and the trunk looks sort of like a hickory in that it's long, tapered and thick at the bottom. You must have a different variety up there, might be more useful.
I would expect that it's likely to split and not as hard as an oak, more like a gum tree

[ctny yankee]

We use tupelo for carving decoys. It brings big bucks, but you need clear pieces at least 5x9x18 or larger (inches that is)!

[forgeblast]

Ctny Yankee do you have any pics of your decoys? Do you have a favorite to carve?

[ctny yankee]

Never posted pics before but I'll try. Here's a few recent ones. My favorite is the one I'm doing at the time.

[ctny yankee]

BTW, by big bucks I mean I pay $30-$65 for a single piece of wood.

[forgeblast]

My favorite is the one I'm doing at the time. I can truly understand that. Real nice carvings and color too, do you airbrush them? Is the bottom piece added after or carved into the decoy?

[AchingBack]

From wikipedia: Uses

Tupelo wood is used extensively by artistic woodcarvers, especially for carving ducks and other wildfowl. In commerce, it is used for shipping containers and interior parts of furniture, and is used extensively in the veneer and panel industry for crossbanding, plywood cores, and backs. The wood can be readily pulped and is used for high-grade book and magazine papers. In the past, the hollow trunks were used as "bee gums" to hold beehives.

Tupelo trees are popular ornamental trees for their mature form, shade, and spectacular Autumn leaf colors.

Tupelos are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Endoclita damor.
Tupelo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia