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Osage Orange
Osage Orange is a dense, ultra-durable exotic hardwood prized for its incredible strength, stability, and vivid golden-yellow heartwood that slowly deepens to a warm brown with age. At G&H Hardwoods, our stock is sourced from high-quality Argentine material giving you straighter, cleaner boards that are ideal for high-performance projects like traditional bows, musical instruments, tool handles, premium turned pieces, and other specialty work where you can’t afford to compromise. Its fine to medium texture takes a sharp edge and finishes beautifully, delivering crisp details and a smooth, polished surface that really stands out in finished projects. If you’re looking for a smaller-format hardwood that punches way above its weight in both looks and performance, Osage Orange is a fantastic choice—and we’re happy to help with wholesale orders and in-house milling services if you need boards surfaced, or straight edged(s2s, s3s, s4s), or prepared to custom sizing for your next build.
Specifications:
- Common Name(s): Argentine Osage Orange, Bois d’arc, Hedge Apple, Horse Apple, Osage Orange
- Scientific Name: Maclura tinctoria (closely related to Maclura pomifera)
- Distribution: Tropical America (Argentine and South American material) and south-central United States for the related domestic species.
- Tree Size: Typically around 50–60 ft (15–18 m) tall with 1–2 ft (0.3–0.6 m) trunk diameters. Imported Argentine stock is often straighter and larger.
- Average Dried Weight: ~54 lbs/ft³ (≈855 kg/m³)
- Janka Hardness: ~2, 620 lbf (11, 640 N)
- Crushing Strength: ~9, 380 lbf/in² (64.7 MPa) estimated
Grain/Texture:
Grain: Osage Orange typically shows a mostly straight grain, though some boards can have a slightly irregular look. Overall, the grain tends to be tight and clean, giving the wood a neat, well-defined appearance.
Texture: Osage Orange has a fine to medium texture with a subtle natural luster. That combination helps it take on a smooth, bright surface and adds to the wood’s bold, polished character.
Texture: Osage Orange has a fine to medium texture with a subtle natural luster. That combination helps it take on a smooth, bright surface and adds to the wood’s bold, polished character.
Rot Resistance:
Osage Orange is extremely rot resistant and is widely respected for its long-lasting durability. It has a reputation as one of the toughest domestic woods for outdoor exposure, which is a big part of why it has been valued for demanding exterior uses for so long.
Workability:
Extremely hard and dense, Osage Orange can feel tough on tools, producing a crisp, glassy surface. It machines cleanly with sharp carbide, turns beautifully, and takes glue and clear finishes very well. Despite its density, it has a relatively mild dulling effect on sharp cutters compared with other heavy exotics.
Common Uses:
- Accent Pieces / Custom Furniture
- Specialty Items
- Specialty Wood Items
- Musical Instruments
- Turned Objects
Osage Orange has a long reputation for strength and hardness, offering exceptional durability for bowyers, turners, and instrument makers. It features brilliant yellow heartwood that slowly mellows to a warm brown, delivering a dramatic color story along with stability and a service life that can span generations. Argentine-sourced material builds on that reputation by offering straighter, wider, and cleaner boards.