200 Year Old Maple

[James White]

I have an 8' section of a 200 year old maple tree that was rescued from the log splitter. You can read about that here.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=123808

What I would like to know is if you had this lumber to work with. What thickness would you like it to be? I am a fan of thicker lumber just because I like the majesty that it suggests. But I am far from being experienced in working with figured woods. So what shall it be? I have been doing all 9/4 but I am open to any suggestions. 5/4"? Would some of you then resaw that? More than likely these will be 24" wide. I have some concerns regarding stability if the pieces are thiner. How about thicker 12/4,16/4?

[Myk Rian]

Wow, that would make a nice coffee table at an 8/4 or 12/4 cut slab.
Going to be some wild grain in that one. Nice find.

[Mike Cruz]

My 2 cents? I would want it to be in dried 8/4 or 10/4 slabs. That way, when planed down, you will still be at 6/4 or 7/4. Personally, I would think that 12/4 may become a bit heavy to work with.

That is a beautiful log! Lucky you!

[keith jensen]

You have got to post some pics of the final cuts, it is one gnarly looking log and probably a pain to haul around.

[Paul Atkins]

I think I would rip it down the center along the worst parts and go from there. Who knows what is inside? You might only be able to get some turning stock from part of it too. Thicker is better, but the drying can be excruciatingly long. A side note that I had never thought of before was about the 200 year age. Only the pith is 200 years old, the next ring is 199 etc. until the outer ring which is only 1 year old. I have a 4x4 redwood post that I've been telling everyone that it is 325 years old, well one ring is.

[lou sansone]

the thickness depends on what you want to use it for. personally I would saw it in 5/4, 7/4 and 9/4 and one piece at 13/4 for leg stock
lou

[Arnold E Schnitzer]

I hope you have a metal detector...

[James White]

I hope you have a metal detector...

Yes I do. Only they are one time use and cost $22 each. Are the less expensive metal detectors (<$70) useful for this?

James

[James White]

Thank you all for your input. I will still need to give this some more thought. I would like to cut a variety of thicknesses. However that will mean having to dry them separately and and I do not process enough lumber to do separate batches in the kiln. Anyone think that 10/4 and 9/4 in the same batch would be an issue. I would think that they are close enough to dry together.

James

[Homer Faucett]

I would definitely recommend cutting these heavy, as the wild grain is going to cause quite a bit of wood movement to occur as this dries, and there will be more milling required on this wood than on straight-grained wood. That's just in my experience with going from log to lumber with figured maple, though. Maybe others have different experiences.

Personally, I don't see the benefit of cutting both 10/4 and 9/4, as you don't gain much difference in thickness there. Good luck. That's a nice looking log.

[James White]

Homer,

I have already cut some at 9/4. My thinking is is that 10/4 would be more friendly to resawing into two 4/4 pieces - the kerf and destabilization after resaw.

James

[Myk Rian]

Yes I do. Only they are one time use and cost $22 each. Are the less expensive metal detectors (<$70) useful for this?

James
One time use? What kind is that?
I have a Cen-Tech paddle type from HF and am happy with it.

[John Shuk]

One time use? What kind is that?
I have a Cen-Tech paddle type from HF and am happy with it.
I think they call them bandsaw blades.;)

[Narayan Nayar]

Wow. Don't show this to any turners. They'd go gaga for a chunk of a log like that.

[David Keller NC]

James - I'ts not clear from reading the thread whether you're asking because you want a few suggestions as to what would be the most useful to you, or whether you intend to sell it.

If you're going to sell it, my thought is that you will get more money from sawing it up into turning blanks, and in that case, most turners would highly prefer that you not dry it. The best way to treat it under those circumstances is to pour melted paraffin wax over the pieces so that it's protected from extremes of humidity and will stay "green".

If you intend to slab it up and sell the slabs, I would recommend against putting this into a kiln unless you've a lot of experience drying burls. A normal kiln cycle that would be fine for straight-grain or even curly cherry will likely blow this wood to smithereens.

[Casey Gooding]

Personally, I would have it all cut at 8/4. You can then resaw later and still have 3/4" material or bookmatched into thicker pieces.

[James White]

One time use? What kind is that?
I have a Cen-Tech paddle type from HF and am happy with it.

Myk,

Sorry that was my poor attempt at humor. I did as John suggested mean band saw blades. I need to start using the smiles.:D

James

[James White]

James - I'ts not clear from reading the thread whether you're asking because you want a few suggestions as to what would be the most useful to you, or whether you intend to sell it.

If you're going to sell it, my thought is that you will get more money from sawing it up into turning blanks, and in that case, most turners would highly prefer that you not dry it. The best way to treat it under those circumstances is to pour melted paraffin wax over the pieces so that it's protected from extremes of humidity and will stay "green".

If you intend to slab it up and sell the slabs, I would recommend against putting this into a kiln unless you've a lot of experience drying burls. A normal kiln cycle that would be fine for straight-grain or even curly cherry will likely blow this wood to smithereens.

David,

Thank you for the advise. Just not sure what would be desirable. Your idea out turning blanks may be a good idea at this point. This log was just too big to try and trim down and get it on the mill. So today I sawed it in half. There is very little sap wood and at least the center section was not all that flattering. But you never know. It was already dark when I was done. Ill have to take some photos in the morning.

Dennis,

"a chunk from the middle in a 14" circle"

Do you mean a cookie (perpendicular to the log)? Or do you mean a 1/4 sawed piece form the center?

James

[Dick Strauss]

A flat-sawn slab would work well for a bowl turner. It should be in a roughly 3:1 ratio of width to thickness.

Box/hollow form turners usually like the wood in an end-grain orietation (just like that for spindles).

Yes, we like interesting wood most won't consider for a project! I would be interested in a piece (side-grained) as well!

[John Michaels]

I've worked with lots of figured maple and milling it between 2.5 inches and 3.0 usually works the best. That way after it dries and the wood is planed the yield is about 2.0 inches. From there you can plane it down to less if needed, but keeping it thick is best. By looking at the the bark of that tree chances are if you try to get anything less than 1.75 inches you'll have a banana board on your hands. Think thick coffee tables, writing desks, dining room tables, etc. for that wood.

[Vic Damone]

Depending on the grain structure this could be of great value as instrument grade, for Basses in particular. Typically it would be cut in wedges roughly 5" decreasing to 3" for carved backs. Flatback and bout (sides) pieces would obviously require less thickness. If you haven't already cut it into lumber this is someone who might be able to give you some information.

http://www.newstandardbass.com/index.htm

[Keith Christopher]

Personally, I would have it all cut at 8/4. You can then resaw later and still have 3/4" material or bookmatched into thicker pieces.



my thinking. ^^ Very figured wood or wood with alot of inclusions I think it best when able to be bookmatched. Hard to match grain on figured woods.

[James White]

Two tanks of gas and three chain sharpening is what it took my Stihl 270c to saw this open. Not as hard as I imagined but certainly not the most pleasant thing to do. Breathing the fumes while pushing and crawling on my knees was the worst of it.

James

[James White]

I think this will yield more sapwood and burly slabs. Rather than having to chainsaw to trim things down. Not to mention me not hurting myself trying to manipulate this monster.

Dick,

I will keep the 3:1 ratio in mind. I think there is going to be lots of turning stock when all is said and done.

I appreciate the input from all of you Creekers.

James

[James White]

Some photos from todays yield. This 8' section is proving to be a real bear to wrestle with. But I did get an interesting set with a live edge all around 9/4"x48"x96". Some very nice spalting that is tough to see in these photos. Ill try and gets some better ones in the morning if anyone is interested.

Besides the matched set the other two photos are of pieces that may be good for turning?

James

[Mike Cruz]

Wow, beautiful! I for one would love to see as many photos as you want to post. Keep 'em coming...

[Dick Strauss]

James,
You are doing a great job with that wood!

Slabbing wood like that will go much faster if you don't cut straight across the grain but take a pass at say a 45* angle to take away 70-75% of the wood. Then cut directly across the log for the final pass from each side if extra depth is still needed.

[Myk Rian]

Besides the matched set the other two photos are of pieces that may be good for turning?
Or mantel clocks.

[James White]

Wow, beautiful! I for one would love to see as many photos as you want to post. Keep 'em coming...

Ok you got it! First is a better photo from the last big book match. You can see the spalting and curl much better and the color is allot better (not so red). Then is the next set to come off this half of the log. Not as spectacular as some of the others. But I like it, it is more uniform in width and I like that it is a little less radical. Not everyone wants there home to be an art gallery. Then a closer shot of the grain pattern. Next is the last big set from this side of the log.

[James White]

This one I almost regret slicing up. If you see the back side it is almost all burls that could have been separated into turning stock. Some of them still have plenty of meat left to them. I think this is about 5" thick along the bottom. Then I don't know what to make of the piece laying flat on the mill. It still has bark showing in the center of the slab. I wonder if that was sand blasted if it will reveal something nice.

James

[Scott T Smith]

Gorgeous log!

No problems on mixing 9/4 and 10/4 wood in the same kiln run.

Re inexpensive metal detectors, the cheaper the detector, the less depth that it will detect. The one that I use for my sawmill cost $1,300.00, but it's good for at least 3 - 4 of inches of depth in oak. You won't get that from a $70.00 metal detector.

[Simon Dupay]

Why resaw? why not cut it at 4/4? less drying time and less hassle

[James White]

Thank you Scott. I lucked out with this yard maple. It was located adjacent to the driveway were it would be convenient to hang all manner of signs and Christmas reefs. Not to mention taping for sap. The whole yard was covered with Sugar maples so I imagine they were all planted deliberately for sugar.

Simon,

I was concerned about the stability of this lumber at 4/4. Not only that but mixing lumber in the kiln is a no go. So unless I have enough of one or similar thickness to go in the kiln it will need to dry outdoors on it own schedule.

James

[James White]

Here are some photos of some of the slabs that this tree has yielded. I just posted an ad in the classified section. So if you are looking for a winter project jump on this. It is a super bargain.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1068915...7625378326511/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10689155@N06/sets/72157625378326511/)

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=153625

James

[Dan Hintz]

The wood in the pics is not the only wood around here... those are some sweet looking pieces. There was one odd-shaped piece that would make a really slick end table.

[Mike Cruz]

James, thank for following up with pics of the boards you got. Man, those will make some fantasic pieces of art. Good luck working with them and creating tables.

[James White]

Just posting this for someone who asked about turning blanks.

[Rick Pettit]

If you have started at 9/4 that is what I'd stay with. You know as well as me that it's much easier drying and stacking lumber if it's the same length and thickness.

[Dan Hintz]

James,

That stump has a boatload of blanks left in it... the two pieces sticking up from the main trunk would provide quite a few pens/stoppers. And I'd be happy to take those pieces off of your hands :D

Oh, and I'd be happy to dig that stump out of the ground for ya :p