Walnut Tree, is the timber worth saving

[marku]

Gerard

Thanks for the encouragement, I am hoping to bribe a couple of friends with some bulk bags of logs plus free beer to get on the other end of the saw.

Good tip about the wedges, will be sure to make some before we start.

Mark

 

[jkljosh]

Hi Mark

You might want to touch base with Andy Fellows at PrimeTimber (www.primetimber.co.uk) in Fareham although I don't know whether he would be interested in buying/converting the tree. I should say I've no commercial link to him other than having bought a beautiful boarded air dried burr elm log from him at the beginning of the year. He specialises in highly figured wood like this, and when I was choosing the elm he had some incredible walnut (including the root ball) that he'd recovered and thence converted into boards, guitar blanks etc. He might be worth contacting if you want to make the most of the bigger bits that you've got - he's got the gear and the subject matter expertise to get the most out of this dwindling resource.

Cheers

John

 

[paulm]

I might be good for all of five minutes on the end of that saw Mark before I ran out of steam and needed a break for a cuppa, might take a few days to get through that stump (hammer) :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[marku]

Thanks, I will give prime timber a call and have a chat to see if they are interested in converting the larger bits of timber,

Quite looking forward to having a go at the stump, I have signed up one mate for an unpleasant Sunday morning of sawing if I sort the saw out in time.

Paul you are more than welcome to come over and be in charge of tea breaks, I thought maybe a good hour or two sawing and we might get it cut in half. You might be right when you say weeks, there is only one way to find out!

Has anyone got any ideas what to put on the saw blade as lubrication, wax etc.

Mark

 

[Nick Gibbs]

Fantastic idea. We showed something very similar in a recent Living Woods. Thomas Flinn sell an excellent two-man saw for only about £50. It is really good. We'll feature you in the mag. Sounds amazing.

Nick

 

[marku]

Thanks

We will try the old saw, probably for about 5 minutes before ordering a new saw from Thomas flinn, I imagine we will try the Thomas Flinn saw for about 10 minutes before ordering a very large Stihl Chainsaw.

I think we will just have to give it a go and see what happens!

Mark

 

[Tony Spear]

I've just remembered - in the late 50s/early 60's, there used be adverts in the local newspapers asking people if they had any Walnut trees and offering to buy them. Some of them even offered a "finders fee" to anybody who could tell them of any Walnut trees that could be located!

Funny old World innit?

 

[marku]

Well I managed to sort the saw out today, sandblasted it and then rubbed it down with the DA sander, the deep pitted rust was to deep to remove. Sharpened it in the vice with a file. We also have a very short broom handle now.

Couldn't wait to try it out so got the stump down and started sawing, not too bad it took about 1 hour solid to get just under half way through on my own the saw works surprisingly well but it is hard work.

The wooden wedges suggested by Gerard are essential.

I am hoping to finish this of on Sunday, just praying the wood is worth the effort.

More pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/108358094@N07/

Mark

 

[dickm]

"When I were a lad............" Well, anyway, back in the 1950s, used to work with my grandfather on a two handed saw exactly like that. In fact, it's still in my shed. Was always surprised how, once you'd got into the rhythm, it wasn't THAT hard work. But getting the timing right took practice - nothing more likely to raise tempers than starting to pull while the other guy was still on his (or her - SWMBO has worked with me on the saw occasionally) pull. And really frustrating if you made the mistake of trying to push and bent the saw so it jammed. But once you'd got the rhythm, the "singing" noise from the saw was great music.

 

[paulm]

Looking good Mark, you've done well doing it just by yourself !

I don't think you'll be disappointed when you get through it, fingers crossed

Cheers, Paul

 

[marku]

Well its in half, it got smaller towards the bottom and only took about half an hour to finish cutting it this morning.

Its not dark like some of the other bits,

I will post some more pictures tonight when I get home.

What do I do with it now????

Mark

 

[nicguthrie]

That is truly gorgeous looking timber you have there. And I don't say that to just anyone yanno...

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

 

[paulm]

Looks good Mark

Hard to know what to suggest to do next without being there and being able to look at it properly.

Possibly tidy it up a bit more on the uncut sides and bottom if you can to get rid of any rubbish bits, while preserving as much of the dark heartwood as possible.

After that it's probably a case of deciding what you want to do with it, which will then suggest the best way to further break it down if needed ?

Cheers, Paul

 

[marku]

Could really do with suggestions of what to make out of it, it is a big bit of timber and would be a shame to cut it up too small.

I guess you would turn it on the lathe Paul but any other ideas, not that there's anything wrong with that, I just don't have a wood lathe. Also I think there is enough useful wood to make a few things if you want some for the lathe.

Mark

 

[paulm]

I'm not so good on the ideas/creative front to be honest Mark, even my wife asks me why I can't make things that aren't round :lol:

Just to demonstrate my lack of imagination the only things I can think to suggest are to make sure you have a couple of decent chopping/bread boards as they do look great and will get used every day !

Other than that then I guess you're into furniture of different types, small cabinets, tables, jewelry boxes, clocks etc depending on level of experience and kit available ?

For these other uses the timber will need to be well seasoned before use, and you could cut into a range of sizes to season and that you are likely to use and/or can further reduce later, perhaps 1", 2" and 3" thick planks, kept as wide and as long as possible in the first instance ? If in doubt keep it all as big and as long as possible, but try and isolate any pith to minimise splitting.

Don't cut it too thin as it will warp/twist when drying out and you will likely need to remove a fair bit of timber later to get it flat again to use. Stacking any cut planks with untreated softwood spacers around 1" square cross section, every 18" or 24" or so to allow the air to circulate and dry them out, and put some heavy'ish weights of some sort on top of the top plank to help prevent the stacked pile distorting as it dries. End grain needs sealing as well of course.

Then you don't have to worry about what to make just yet as it will likely be two to three years before most of it is ready to use ! :lol:

Look forwards to helping out a bit next week or two once you are ready and if it still suits.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

Looks fabulous 8)

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[marku]

Thanks, for the help,

I wasn't sure if a lump of wood like that would suit any particular purpose but I guess it could be made into anything as you say.

If I end up cutting it up with the hand saw they will be at least 2" wide, the first cut was not that straight, I think this was a result of using the two man saw on my own, the other end was doing its own thing. Amazingly people developed bad backs, colds and various other medical complaints when asked to help with this job, even a crate of seasoned logs and a night in the pub didn't work as a bribe.

Next job is to cut the rot and waste off to make sawing easier.

I might also invest in a new saw, the one I cleaned up has several teeth missing and a few more damaged ones which can't help. The saw did prove it can be done and surprisingly quickly.

Mark

 

[morfa]

If I lived anywhere near Hampshire, I'd totally come down and help out with the sawing. It's the kind of daft physical stuff that I like. As others have said, once you get into a rythmn, I reckon it wouldn't be that bad. But then I'm looking forward to taking a week off work to dig up the garden.

 

[marku]

Thanks, You are right its no where near as bad as you think it would be, it is still hard work though. Shame your not closer.

Mark

 

[Tony Spear]

Dificult to judge the size with nothing (or hardly anything) in the pictures to give scale. However from the original pictues, it looks like a pretty hefty lump.

If so, unless you know somebody with a "bowl saver"don't use it for turning

There's a guy around my area, who makes toy boxes etc. and whenever I see him at various "Country" events, he invariably says to me that he can't understand wood turners "You take beautiful wood - and then chuck most of it on the floor!!