Live Oak

There are a number of icons of the deep South. One of my favorites is the live oak tree. Driving toward home from the North I know I am getting close when I see my first one. And when I see a live oak tree covered with Spanish moss I really begin to feel at home.

Live oak is a peculiar tree because it does not grow long, straight. trunks. Everything is curved. For this reason, it is very rarely produced by commercial sawmills. This was not true in the past. Woodworking is often a discipline of straight lines and square corners. But not in the specific area of boat and ship building. Shipwrights were in great need of wood that was naturally curved. Southern live oak was seen as a wonderful wood for this purpose.

When the USS Constitution was built in Boston, many of her timbers came from the live oak forests of coastal Georgia. And though she was built in the 18th century, she is still afloat and under commission with the US Navy.

Live oak is very strong and rot resistant. In most harvested trees, the sapwood is light in color and is discarded as being soft and prone to rot. In live oak, the sapwood is beautifully dark and is as strong as the rest of the tree.

A carpenter who works with live oak must become an expert at sharpening his own tools. Because the tough live oak dulls tools very quickly.

At Osprey we harvest our own live oak as opportunity presents. The nearest sawmill I am aware of that processes live oak is up in Georgia. So I find wood where I can and mill it myself. Then it goes thru a lengthy process of air-drying. As for the curved nature of the wood, that is not a factor in making small items like urns.

In offering live oak on our website, we are aware that it is not always available. But when it is available, the urns are truly unique and beautiful.