Brian Effinger
01-26-2010, 9:48 PM
This is an 8" x 2-1/2" oak bowl I started turning around Thanksgiving. I'm not really sure what kind of oak it is, though. It is finished with a few coats of danish oil and buffed. I'll say this about the oak - it is not an easy wood to dry. Slow is the key here. ;) I thought the wood had a lot going on in it - from medulary rays, to bark inclusions and birds-eye figure, so I am glad I didn't screw up the drying.
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This wood was an accidental find. I found a large tree had fallen over in the woods adjacent to a local neighborhood, and just had to go back to get some. I was on the expressway heading to a clients house to measure for an addition, and was lost in thought, so I missed my exit. I got off at the next and worked my way back to the road I was supposed to be on, when I saw this tree down. It looked like it had fallen over across the sidewalk and into the street. Someone (town highway dept., I presume) had cut it back to the tree line. The heartwood of the exposed end was very dark, so I initially thought it was walnut, until I got a closer look, and saw the rays. There was 25' or so of tree and one log laying there, so after my appointment, I swung back and got that log. I took it home, split it in two with the chainsaw, and was amazed at the coloring of the heartwood, so I threw the saw in the pick-up and went back for some more. I cut up several more sections until I got up to the thicker brush, and was too lazy to get through it, so there is still a lot left. I have a feeling it is still there.
After working with a little of it, I figured out why it fell over. The center had started to rot away. Fortunately there was plenty of wood left. If I get ambitious sometime in the next few weeks, and it is cold enough so the ground is frozen, I may go back for more. Near the bottom, the trunk was probably 24 to 30 inches in diameter, maybe more.
I have one more blank that is roughed and just about dry now, as well as a hollowed out form, that will be an ornament when I get around to turning an icicle.
Thanks for taking a look, and for putting up with my story. Comments and critiques are welcome. :)
Brian
139896 139897
139898 139899
139900 139901
This wood was an accidental find. I found a large tree had fallen over in the woods adjacent to a local neighborhood, and just had to go back to get some. I was on the expressway heading to a clients house to measure for an addition, and was lost in thought, so I missed my exit. I got off at the next and worked my way back to the road I was supposed to be on, when I saw this tree down. It looked like it had fallen over across the sidewalk and into the street. Someone (town highway dept., I presume) had cut it back to the tree line. The heartwood of the exposed end was very dark, so I initially thought it was walnut, until I got a closer look, and saw the rays. There was 25' or so of tree and one log laying there, so after my appointment, I swung back and got that log. I took it home, split it in two with the chainsaw, and was amazed at the coloring of the heartwood, so I threw the saw in the pick-up and went back for some more. I cut up several more sections until I got up to the thicker brush, and was too lazy to get through it, so there is still a lot left. I have a feeling it is still there.
After working with a little of it, I figured out why it fell over. The center had started to rot away. Fortunately there was plenty of wood left. If I get ambitious sometime in the next few weeks, and it is cold enough so the ground is frozen, I may go back for more. Near the bottom, the trunk was probably 24 to 30 inches in diameter, maybe more.
I have one more blank that is roughed and just about dry now, as well as a hollowed out form, that will be an ornament when I get around to turning an icicle.
Thanks for taking a look, and for putting up with my story. Comments and critiques are welcome. :)
Brian