Mountain ASH.

[gandsande]

OK so after years of the Mountain ASH dropping berries into the pool. The wife finally put the order in for a trimming. at ground level she told me. Little did I know what i was about to find. she was about 14 inches a the base and knots and burls then its twisted all over it.

WOW to say the least colors and even spots of spalting already going on.

My big question I am hoping someone can tell me is if it's worth the efforts to dry and cut up?

Suggestions? Direction on proper prepping is
Greg.

 

[1080Wayne]

If it has colour , knots , twists , burl and spalt , why wouldn`t it be worth some effort ?? 14 inch dia is a long slow dry with fairly high risk of end checking even when the ends are well sealed . Lengthwise sawing through the center would help . Quartering would be even better , but might not leave you with large enough pieces . If you only want pen blanks , you can cut them a bit oversize and let them dry , but seal the ends well .

 

[KenV]

I love to turn it -- good color and nice figure in the local Rowan wood. A bit softer than birch, but better than cottowood or balsam popular.

Works better in general for bowls and beer taps, pepper mills than pens, but when you get a special piece, go for it. It is good wood!!!

 

[Bowl Slinger]

Every tree that I cut up im am in awe of the natural beauty within. The most important thing to remember if you decide to save the wood for projects is to dry it as slow as possible. All wood is going to crack, some worse than others. Seal the end grain with wax or use old latex paint (we all have a bunch of this laying around). I dry my wood in the basement just because it stays pretty much the same temp and humidity year round. I do get end checking but its only an inch or so deep. For the most part I cut the log into sections that are about 2-4 inches longer than the diameter. I then split the logs as close to the middle as possible and let them sit to dry. There are a couple of things that you can control. If you leave the bark on the half rounds the wood will have a tendency to spalt. I strip the bark off some pieces and leave it on others. If you cut off all air circulation (like wrapping in a tarp) you will cause mold to grow and it will spot the wood. Stack the wood in a way to where it will have some circulation. Do not place it outside where the sun and wind can affect it, the wood will surely split open no matter what you put on the end grain.