Something I have learned in my years of working Osage, is that the better woods will almost always have a center core that is Straight,with few small limbs. Now that kinda is a no brainer, but some trees will put on limbs later in life, due to certain things that happen to them throughout their growing cycle.
Of those really good trees, I have found that the VERY GOOD ONES center core will be dead! It is an odd thing really,but makes perfect sense as those small limbs quite growing outward and die back, allowing them to be swallowed up by good straight wood.
I haven't figured out how to replicate this process yet, but I do my part by trimming small trees of their early limbs, when they are small, letting them become encased by good outer wood growth, oh,,,,, someone is going to be very thankful for me someday as there are several nice young trees on my farm that I have been pruning for a few years now.
Pat, the core on this tree was dead, and of no use.
