Spalted Hackberry - Woodturning (ASMR)

The hackberry tree (Celtis occidentalis), also known as common hackberry or American hackberry, is a large, moderately long-lived deciduous hardwood native to North America, thriving in a wide range from southern Canada through the eastern and central United States to northern Mexico. This resilient species typically reaches heights of 40 to 60 feet, though it can grow up to 130 feet in optimal bottomland habitats along rivers and floodplains, where it prefers moist, limestone-rich soils but adapts to a broad range of conditions including dry uplands, urban pollution, drought, wind, and poor soils. Featuring a straight trunk up to 2 feet in diameter, arching branches, and a broad, rounded crown, the tree is easily identified by its distinctive grayish-brown bark covered in corky, wart-like ridges and protuberances that become more pronounced with age. Its asymmetrical, coarsely textured leaves turn yellow in fall, while small, inconspicuous flowers in spring give way to sweet, dark purple drupes that persist into winter, providing essential food for over 40 bird species, butterflies like the hackberry emperor, and mammals, making it a vital wildlife host in forests, savannas, and urban landscapes.

Spalted hackberry wood, derived from the Celtis occidentalis tree and enhanced by fungal decay that creates striking black lines, streaks, and intricate patterns against its light yellowish-gray to pale brown heartwood and creamy sapwood, offers woodworkers a visually dramatic yet versatile material with a coarse, uneven texture and mostly straight to slightly interlocked grain. This ring-porous hardwood machines and turns well with sharp tools, glues easily, and takes stains and finishes beautifully to highlight its unique spalting, though it can cause tearout on interlocked areas or splintering if not planed at shallow angles; the spalting process often softens the wood, requiring stabilization with epoxy for durability in projects like bowls or furniture. Renowned as one of the best North American hardwoods for steam bending due to its flexibility and shock resistance—outperforming even walnut in some tests—spalted hackberry is moderately heavy at about 37 pounds per cubic foot, not particularly rot-resistant, and commonly used for turned objects, veneer, bent parts, cabinets, and affordable furniture as an ash substitute, though it may develop blue-gray stains if not harvested in winter.