Wood Gloat

[wabbitpoo]

My first haul of the year (well, its a haul for me).

The elephant's foot is the largest piece, at nearly 3' high and 18" across at the base.


What I believe is a cherry, together with the ubiquitous beech and birch and other bits and pieces. Largest piece is probably 16" diameter. The few bits I have tried are already nicely spalted (pics to follow).




Am wondering how best to cut the elephant's foot down, as my lathe can only do well-balanced blanks up to 12" diameter!

 

[Blister]

The elephant's foot is the largest piece, at nearly 3' high and 18" across at the base.
Image

A lot depends on the lathe you have and what size bowl you can turn on it , as to how to prep this trunk section ?

 

[wabbitpoo]

As I said, up to 12" diameter, if well balanced. Am wondering if I should get a couple of bigger bowls, plus some smaller squarer bits for boxes etc.....

Its not yet seasoned, so I will be sealing ends and storing under a tarp for a year or so, but I have to cut it up to move it any further!


too much wood!

 

[Blister]

Do you have a chainsaw ?

 

[Bemused]

Nice blag :mrgreen:
The large one,
Maybe cut 20" log off of the bottom and quarter it down the length to have four pieces of quarter sawn for end grain hollowing.
The remaining upper part, slit down the length though the pith to get two half's for bowl blanks.
This should leave a little extra salvage on each end grain to cope with checks.
Then paint the end grain and a couple of inches of the adjacent sides with any old paint to slow the drying down.

Often helps to chalk out the proposed cutting first

All the above without prejudice

 

[wabbitpoo]

Do you have a chainsaw ?

Yes.

thanks for the advice. Given that I need to cut it in half for now (so I can move the flippin' thing) I may as well leave it in two pieces for a year (although its always tempting to start using it sooner). i do have the rest of the bulk of the tree in that pile, so I may be sick of seeing it by then. You think its a cherry?

 

[Blister]

Ok

If it were me I would cut off the pointed top part then cut the trunk in half

Lay the trunk's down , supported on each side to keep it stable , then cut it down the middle , when you get half way put a wedge in the top to stop the wood gripping the chainsaw blade , seal them up and store somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight

also a good idea to put some scrap ply under the log so when the chain exits the wood it does not go into the soil / ground , saves your chain :wink:

 

[wabbitpoo]

You mean, cut along the pith, THEN seal and store? My inclination was going to be just to cut it in two (to make 2 smaller logs) and to seal and store those.......

 

[Bemused]

My wood seems better if split on the pith, less checks but see what blister says as he has being doing it an awful lot longer from a wood turning point of view.

 

[davebrac]

it looks like cherry to me. yep cut the pith out as it will crack along it. why not rough turn the blanks and seal the ends it will dry a lot quicker that way

 

[OldWood]

This should be a sticky type post so that those of us who get a good haul of something can show it to all !!

Here's mine !

It's Elm - English, alternatively Wych in that it has no beetle and was a full grown tree, but there's no green lining in the wood and the professional who identified it for me considered that a major identifier. Regardless it is elm and all the major branch wood is available. Sadly we think the 30" + bole went for logs.

Rob

 

[Neil Farrer]

OK, here's half of mine, I got the second half the next day. The first lift was hollow and you can see some of the rotten dark red wood but the reason I kept it is that the sound rim which is about 6 to seven inches thick is sound and it is heavily burred. The second days harvest was all the branch wood which was around two and a half tonnes and was about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. This lot was going for firewood!! So far I have got through about 25% of the wood and have got seventy blanks from it most a minimum of 8 inch square and between 2 and 4 inch thick.

 

[jumps]

having about 1.5 tons of pine to get rid off, and got rid of 3 tons of eucalyptus and another pine, this thread isn't amusing me ......

 

[OldWood]

OK, here's half of mine, I got the second half the next day. The first lift was hollow and you can see some of the rotten dark red wood but the reason I kept it is that the sound rim which is about 6 to seven inches thick is sound and it is heavily burred. The second days harvest was all the branch wood which was around two and a half tonnes and was about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. This lot was going for firewood!! So far I have got through about 25% of the wood and have got seventy blanks from it most a minimum of 8 inch square and between 2 and 4 inch thick.

Anyone explain how Neil has managed to post at 23.57 when my radio clock here in Edinburgh is reading 23.21 ?

Neil - I've seen a Robinia tree in a park - I had no idea it would grow so large. Are they quite common ? What's the wood like?

Rob

 

[OldWood]

having about 1.5 tons of pine to get rid off, and got rid of 3 tons of eucalyptus and another pine, this thread isn't amusing me ......

LOL, Jumps !!

 

[katellwood]

Jumps

Do you have some wood to get rid of if so where in Kent are you

Thanks

 

[Neil Farrer]

Anyone explain how Neil has managed to post at 23.57 when my radio clock here in Edinburgh is reading 23.21 ?

Neil - I've seen a Robinia tree in a park - I had no idea it would grow so large. Are they quite common ? What's the wood like?

Rob

As for the time, no idea? its still 2340 with me in Hertfordshire??!!

As for the tree, I am sure that some of you are aware but for those not, (Well id'd by the way I forgot to mention it was Robinia!) it is not native to the UK but is North/central American and was planted in ornamental parks (where this one came from) over here. One benefit of the wood grown here is that straight timber is a rarity, twists, knarls and burrs are normal. The wood is pale green to light brown and it smells of freshly cut wet nettles when sawn wet. It is very strong, hard and very close grained. I have turned it when dry before and it was a joy to turn, very consistent and predictable. Like a kid with a new toy, I couldn't resist sticking a bit on the lathe even though it had only been felled two days when I did, and I selected a bit an inch thick about an inch and a half in from the pith and made a 10 inch platter. I wanted to see how much movement there would be as it dried. The weight has fallen by about 20% so far and I am amazed that as stubborn as a mule it hasn't moved or cracked one little bit. So happy days, the really thick blanks I have cut at six and seven inches thick might well see the lathe sooner than I thought, be it four years rather than six? I hope that this wood will give off the kind of shimmer that the stuff I'd turned dry before will - be even happier then!

 

[jurriaan]

Robinia is one of my personal favorites. Don't forget to experiment with ammonia - you can smoke it to dark brown just like oak.

As for wood gloat pictures:

my weekend gloat - American Red oak, a piece 24" across and 20" high and a large piece, 28" across at the bottom and 36" high.

Here is the blank on my lathe. a 35" bowl should be possible. Unfortunately, at the moment, I have to help the 3 HP motor to get it spinning and I have to reset the inverter after stopping it, because it isn't beefy enough to brake it down from 200/min in 10 seconds. My preferred weapon to attack it is the 1" Ashley Iles bowl gouge.

 

[OldWood]

Anyone explain how Neil has managed to post at 23.57 when my radio clock here in Edinburgh is reading 23.21 ?

Neil - I've seen a Robinia tree in a park - I had no idea it would grow so large. Are they quite common ? What's the wood like?

Rob

As for the tree, I am sure that some of you are aware but for those not, (Well id'd by the way I forgot to mention it was Robinia!)

If you dangle your mouse over the photo it shows the title - so 'well id'd' by chance nothing to do with skill !!

Rob

 

[jumps]

Jumps

Do you have some wood to get rid of if so where in Kent are you

Thanks

I'm West Kent, but the wood is already spoken for (as part of a complex barter involving trailers and a mini digger...)

Just frustrated that before I had the lathe I was getting rid of cherry, apple, yew etc and since getting it it's been huge amounts of pine and eucalyptus