Flowering pear

[jrich7970]

So the hurricane (well, it was a tropical storm by the time it got to us) blew through today and trashed my neighbor's flowering pear.

I have two questions:

a) has anyone ever made a pen out of this, and how does it look? The wood looks a little boring to me.
b) if said wood in nice for a blank, if I cut some of that wood to "near blank" size, how long would it take to dry out enough to use?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[DrD]

A local sawyer has advised me that if I were to air dry some of the felled oak on my property, that I would need to sticker it and protect it from rain, and expect it to take about a year for each inch of thickness for the wood to get to the proper moisture level - I'm guessing 10 t0 12 %.

 

[jrich7970]

A local sawyer has advised me that if I were to air dry some of the felled oak on my property, that I would need to sticker it and protect it from rain, and expect it to take about a year for each inch of thickness for the wood to get to the proper moisture level - I'm guessing 10 t0 12 %.

Hmmmm. So a year then. It wouldn't be outside though, it would be cut into maybe 1 inch x 1 inch "slices", and then just sitting in there in my shop.

 

[egnald]

I salvaged some from a tree in my yard here in Nebraska about a year ago (winter storm damaged). I've made a couple of pens with it, and they are pretty plain, but I tried to pick out pieces that had some darker areas and more interesting grain, small knots and such.

I have heard that the wood likes to crack when it is drying. I let my logs dry in the house for about a year before cutting them into blanks, and upon checking I find that some of the blanks appear to have cracks on the ends that I don't think were there when I originally cut them, so if you cut it before drying you might want to oversize things.

More than anything I did it for the sentimental novelty of having pens made from wood that came from my yard.

Dave

PS Here is a picture of one of them - worm holes and all.

 

[jrich7970]

I salvaged some from a tree in my yard here in Nebraska about a year ago (winter storm damaged). I've made a couple of pens with it, and they are pretty plain, but I tried to pick out pieces that had some darker areas and more interesting grain, small knots and such.

I have heard that the wood likes to crack when it is drying. I let my logs dry in the house for about a year before cutting them into blanks, and upon checking I find that some of the blanks appear to have cracks on the ends that I don't think were there when I originally cut them, so if you cut it before drying you might want to oversize things.

More than anything I did it for the sentimental novelty of having pens made from wood that came from my yard.

Dave

PS Here is a picture of one of them - worm holes and all.View attachment 243536

Well the top is interesting. I was surprised by the color of the wood. I'm going to grab a few logs that would fit into my band saw and let them sit in my basement for a year. Or, maybe I'll cut one, and leave the other sit. Just to see if there's a difference.

 

[Charlie_W]

Woodturners who embellish their pieces prefer pear... especially when embellishing with pyrography.
Remember to cut out the pith and seal the ends of whatever you cut. Some folks speed up the drying in various ways.... microwave, food dehydrator, drying cabinet with light bulb for a little heat and convection with/without a fan.

 

[1080Wayne]

I would leave a few lengths of that outside under the leaves and lawn clippings for a year to let it spalt .

 

[jrich7970]

Woodturners who embellish their pieces prefer pear... especially when embellishing with pyrography.
Remember to cut out the pith and seal the ends of whatever you cut. Some folks speed up the drying in various ways.... microwave, food dehydrator, drying cabinet with light bulb for a little heat and convection with/without a fan.

OK, so I've never done or even considered this before. So I have to split the log, then cut out the center (the pith), is that what you're saying? Then seal the ends? But the rest of the log (since I cut it lengthwise to get the pith out) does not need to be "sealed"? And what does sealed mean anyway?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[jrich7970]

I would leave a few lengths of that outside under the leaves and lawn clippings for a year to let it spalt .

With the bark removed? Cut? Or just the plain old logs?

 

[1080Wayne]

With the bark removed? Cut? Or just the plain old logs?

I would try just the plain old logs with bark on , and ends unsealed (no wax or paint) . I can`t judge how long it might take . Your conditions are much wetter than mine . Dry for me is 5-6% . The larger the diameter , the longer it would take . On small diameter pieces (< 3 inch) , pith cracking isn`t usually a huge problem when the ends are well sealed .

 

[jrich7970]

I would try just the plain old logs with bark on , and ends unsealed (no wax or paint) . I can`t judge how long it might take . Your conditions are much wetter than mine . Dry for me is 5-6% . The larger the diameter , the longer it would take . On small diameter pieces (< 3 inch) , pith cracking isn`t usually a huge problem when the ends are well sealed .

Yeah, I just got done watching a bunch of YouTube videos on it.

I've selected a handful of logs that are no larger than 3 inches in diameter because that's about all I can handle in my band saw.

So the ones I put inside, I'll seal the ends. The ones I put in the garden, I'll, well, just put in the garden.

Now, all I have to do is wait a year.

Thanks for the advice!

Jeff