Jeri, you said:
"How many people left with a piece of the offending X-tree? I have a hunk, mostly bark, and I'm trying to figure out if I can turn it into jewelry."

So have you considered that the tree's bark might actually be worse than its bite? Or that you might be barking (or debarking) up the wrong tree? That you might be getting more than you barkined for?

Is making jewelry out of the bark of the stump that treed you something like having the hair of the dog that bit you? I wooden do it, myself; I get all splintery just thinking about it.

Yrs in paronomasia,
Blessings,
Barbara