Hi . This will probably be an unusual question . A man in Wynndel B.C. uses his wood lathe to make pens and other projects. One of his projects was turning the core of a large pine cone to use as part of the pen . When first viewed the finished pen looked like waves breaking and another pen resembled flames . I wondered if the inner core of the pod of the monkey tree could be used for turning ?I spoke to FoxGlove Nursery on Saltspring Island . The owner said the inner core stays with the tree and he was not about to climb the tree to get one as it is unclimbable . Would the inside of the pod be too soft to work with ? Any thought's ? Thanks . Roger
If you mean the core of a Monkey-puzzle cone, that's far too soft for turnery. You'd need one of the pines with a hard-centred cone such as Pinus coulteri.
I looked at some photos and suspected the core would be too soft . What would happen if it were allowed to dry out and age a year or so ? I suppose it would still disintegrate .Is there a particular time of year the pods fall from the tree? Thanks. Roger
The cones break up in September; the central core stem of the cone stays on the tree, gradually rotting away and disintegrating over the next few months. You won't find them intact on the ground. Shed Monkey-puzzle seed, September: