Sargent Juniper?

[Dario]

We were driving this weekend and saw these juniper pieces on a sidewalk...the termite in me just can't pass these up.

These are much harder than regular cedar and judging from the bark...will probably yield some interesting pieces. These` are the slow growing kind...probably Sargent Juniper (but I am not 100% certain) and most likely about 35 years old judging from the neighborhood where I collected these from. For reference, the widest of these is about 10" and only 2" thick. It will be hard to mill because they are gnarly...but I am determined.

Oh yeah...this is an official wood gloat [}]

 

[JimGo]

My tongue is on the floor...WOW!

 

[Yarael]

Good catch there. I notice I keep looking at trees and things as a pass by each day on the way to and from work. Just for things like this. Cant wait to see what it turns out once it is milled and all that good stuff.

 

[chigdon]

That looks gorgeous!

 

[Jim15]

Nice find, they look great.

 

[johncrane]

Good onya Dario' better in you hands mate than in someone's fire' will make nice pens l think. []

 

[jjenk02]

I don't burn wood in my fire place anymore, I convered to a gas one so I could keep all the wood.[8D][}]

 

[wdcav1952]

Remember the phrase "a face only a mother could love"? This is the woodturner's version of that! [] Here we are, grown men and a few women for culture, and we are all drooling over some pieces of twisted wood. What is worse, most of us wish we had beat Dario to it!

Great find!!!!

 

[pete00]

ok ...add another almost grown man drooling......nice find Dario

 

[DocStram]

I think that's "Arthritic Juniper". Good job of keeping your eye's peeled.

 

[GBusardo]

Great Find!!!! Now you get to turning so we can see the result!!! []

 

[Rifleman1776]

Should be wildly beautiful. Show us some cut pieces.

 

[Dario]

Frank,

Do I treat/oil the bandsaw blade before chopping these? It doesn't have much sap but where there's some...it has a lot, and they are STICKY! (smells great though...I know the aroma is a love-hate relationship to most).

You deal with cedar which is relative to these...any recommendation on how I should cut these? I do have an idea but no harm asking the expert [].

Thanks!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by Dario
<br />Frank,

Do I treat/oil the bandsaw blade before chopping these? It doesn't have much sap but where there's some...it has a lot, and they are STICKY! (smells great though...I know the aroma is a love-hate relationship to most).

You deal with cedar which is relative to these...any recommendation on how I should cut these? I do have an idea but no harm asking the expert [].

Thanks!

I had to look over my shoulder to see who the "expert" was standing behind me. []
I haven't worked with much fresh cedar. I have never treated my blades. So can't advise on that. Cedar has never given me any problems cutting. But do be aware that for some folks, I'm one, the dust can be a powerful sinus irritant. I must use mask and dust collector or suffer awful afterwards. My resaw blade is a 3/4"X4tpi Timberwolf, works great. I recently bought some new blades and told the folks at Suffolk that I thought my old blades hadn't lasted very long, he asked what kind of woods I was resawing. When I told him cedar and osage orange, he laughed and said those were two of the hardest woods on blades there is. OO is just plain hard, cedar has a sort of erosive effect and dulls blades quickly as compared to many other woods. Lets see some cut pictures.

 

[Dario]

Thanks Frank!

I am using Timberwolf 1/2" x 4tpi (and 3tpi for wet) so I should be fine. problem with the 3 tpi is that you can hardly see the figure in the wood if you don't sand or plane it.

I will get to it as soon as I find time [B)]. I'll try this week but if not within a week I promise [].

 

[JimGo]

A week?? I'm gonna have to write a complaint letter to Jeff. How dare you post stuff like this and tease us, then make us wait a whole WEEK to see it!!!

 

[JimGo]

BTW, search the photo gallery - Daniel has a very pretty Juniper pen in his, and I'd bet that your stash will have even more figure than Daniel's blank.

 

[Dario]

Thanks for the pointer Jim. I also found one made by TC here.

One thing I noticed...I know I posted on that thread but now it is gone.[?]

Okay you twisted my arm hard enough...I will try to mill a few tonight. []

 

[alamocdc]

Holy cow!!! Drool, drool!!! You know what to do.[]

 

[angboy]

Originally posted by wdcav1952
<br />Remember the phrase "a face only a mother could love"? This is the woodturner's version of that! [] Here we are, grown men and a few women for culture, and we are all drooling over some pieces of twisted wood. What is worse, most of us wish we had beat Dario to it!

Great find!!!!

And it's a good thing we're here[:X] to bring some much needed culture to this place! (Of course, I'm not above drooling at attractive things either...)[][]

 

[Dario]

Here is a pic of what I got milled tonight. Honestly it is not as nice as I expected but the pieces are quite nice. Some have specs of birdseye and a few have curls...not tight though. Even though it is still rough (direct from 3tpi bandsaw), this wood just shimmers after I applied some BLO on it. Would be interesting to see it finished.

I will make a pen or two and see if the wood is nice. As originally mentioned, this wood is harder than cedar (feels almost like maple...fingernail test wise) but still a softwood and I expect it to possibly splinter like cedar still..

 

[JimGo]

WOW that's pretty! Love the color, and the curl. Can't wait to see the pen(s)!!!!

 

[alamocdc]

Ooh, aah, ohh! Looks like nice stuff to me buddy! If you don't like it, send it to me.[}][]

 

[Dario]

Originally posted by alamocdc
<br />Ooh, aah, ohh! <b>Looks like nice stuff to me buddy</b>! If you don't like it, send it to me.[}][]

I agree...still nice. That is why half of these (shown) are already spoken for by my wife! [:0]...(and me []). Good part is, I can mill about 200 pieces more from the remaining wood.

I did produce almost as much scraps due to the twisty nature of the wood. I also tried to get as much wood along the grain as advised by Frank.

The darker red (almost maroon-ish) ones are from the fresh portion of the wood. The brown pieces are from dead portions...may have been dead for years because they feel very dry.