Cutting up wood

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sbwertz

sbwertz

Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
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Location
Phoenix, AZ
For me, cutting up interesting pieces of wood is like Christmas Morning! You never know what treasures you will find inside! I have a couple of tree trimmers who bring me "interesting" pieces. I can hardly wait to get them on the bandsaw! (One was a gall caused by mistletoe on some mesquite...that held some beautiful pen blanks!)

I can go out and spend a whole morning just cutting up pieces of logs and branches to see what treasures are hiding inside. This morning I found a couple of pieces of old mulberry that had fallen down behind some pallets, and been out in the weather, lying on the granite, for a couple of years. When I cut it up, I found spalting and some lovely grain.

Only problem is, I have WAY more wood than I can really use. (Not to mention several tons of mulberry in the back yard!) But do you think I pass up a nice piece when it is presented to me? You jest! "Of course I want that six foot carob log." Now what do I do with half a ton of carob? It is green as grass, and will take the rest of my natural life to dry. But it is beautiful! And I still have more than half of that desert ironwood log.....

My husband has started waiting for the tree trimmers with a shotgun......



Sharon
 
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Sharon, I think most of us understand. When we love that special looking wood it's, hard to turn it away. Especially when it's delivered to us.

Would a dedicated microwave help speed the drying time? I've read discussions about it but, never tried it. Have fun with the band saw. And, you know the routine, no pics, didn't happen.:biggrin:
 
Sharron been there I had the wood addiction....Just loved everything about it cutting it was therapeutic and just love the surprise of seeing what was inside....

To us it is GOLD...money in the bank sitting out there waiting to be cut....


BUT


I didn't have too much space I had wood in my whole back yard on my porch and down my driveway....


To the neighbors it looked like junk over the coarse of about 3 years I had code enforcement to my place 3 times....


I finally gave up and gave it all away....


Wish I was living in the middle of nowhere....


.
 
It's tough to pass up a nice piece, chunk, or block of wood. I have piles and stacks in my hobby room and garage. One thing I've done is when I meet someone just getting started I fix them up with a to go bag to help them help me clean up. I'm sure it would be nice to sell some but things like that never seemed to go my way. When you figure it all out let us know how to fix it so my wife doesn't have to go to extremes like your husband. I think she's really close to being there.
 
Sharon, can you lock the shotgun where he can't get to it:biggrin:
It is very addictive, this timber thing.:wink: As someone else suggested, make up a box that can be given to a new member just starting out, paying it forward so to speak.
Kryn
 
sbwertz said:
Now what do I do with half a ton of carob? It is green as grass, and will take the rest of my natural life to dry. But it is beautiful!
Sharon
Click to expand...

You could try to turn that green Carob into rough turned bowls, let them dry and then final turn and finish. Might only have to wait a year or two instead of forever.:biggrin:
 
Give it away by the boxful? I give it away by the TRUCKLOAD! (Ask William TRIW51).

At the moment, I have the greater part of twenty 50 year old pollarded mulberry trees in my 1/3 acre backyard. Fortunately I have a 7' block fence, so the neighbors don't see it LOL. I've given away about 6 pickup loads to local woodworkers, and taken another truckload across country with me, dropping off pieces as I went. I share it with anyone who will stand still long enough...I'll ship YOU some for the cost of postage LOL.
 
Sharon,

This year's AAW symposium is in Phoenix...grab a truck load of whatever you want to get rid of and set up a vendor booth at their show! Slap a price on your pieces, put up a sign that says, "Show Special: 25% off everything" and generate some spending money... :-)

For more info on the show: AAW Symposium 2014 - American Association of Woodturners

Once you load that page, click the red button that says, "Tradeshow" - about half way down the right hand side of that page is the email and phone number for the person that can set you up with a vendor table.

Their symposium was in my home town a few years ago and there were several vendors that just sold turning blanks, misc blocks, pen blanks, etc.

I was planning to hit that show but ended up with a conflict.
 
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