It never occurred to me that eastern redbud would be a good wood for projects, but it is. The pieces we have that aren’t rotten are too small for bowls, etc. The larger trunk pieces are mostly full of rot as you can see in the pictures. I hate to cut them down because they still bloom on some live branches, but that is early spring only & for the rest of the year, they have really become unsightly overall.
Interesting info on eastern redbud wood:
https://easternredbudtrees.finuvol.com/eastern-redbud-wood/
The link mentioned tools, among other things. (The bowl that is shown is beautiful!)
A few years ago we went to a Mennonite farm market in SE Tennessee. I bought a food sized mallet from there. Hubby balked at first, but he LOVES it now. He uses it to pound meats to thin them. Usually chicken, but sometimes beef and pork. It’s his go to tool before he gets them on the grill.
I bet a piece of redbud would make a great food mallet.