Can I get blanks this way? REVISED

[Perry Holbrook]

Now that I have a larger lathe, I'm starting to look for bowl blanks. The local sawmill has a rather large Ambrosia Maple log in their yard. It's 36 -42" across 12 to 14 ft long. The part nearest the trunk has a nice irregular shape. I have already got most of the trunk section that was in their "free firewood" lot. It looks nice.

My question is this. I have spoken to the mill about getting part of this log, and they said, "just tell us what you want". I was thinking I could get them to make the first cut to produce a slab that has the natural edge and cut about 8" thick. I could then cut the slab up into blanks that would be maybe 12x12x8, producing 12 to 14 blanks per slab.

Anyway, If they can cut it that way, will this give me useable wood.

Thanks, Perry

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It will Perry.

If it is still green, I'd seal the endgrain on the blanks to slow downing the drying process and help reduce cracks.

[John Keeton]

Perry, were it me, I would not do bowl blanks 8" thick. With a 12" diameter, most bowls with a good form would be no larger than 4" tall - perhaps 5" at the most. Seems like you would be wasting a lot of wood and/or paying for wood you won't use.

[David E Keller]

Anything bigger than the large flat rate box, and it'll cost you an arm and a leg to send that wood out to all of us!:D

Depending on the swing of your lathe and the end product you're hoping to get, it sounds like you could get some blanks up to 18-20" in diameter. That might be nice for a large salad bowl or two. Even at that diameter, six or seven inches is as deep as I would go.

It may be better to leave it in log form or log sections with end grain sealed until you have a project for a piece of the wood.

Photos of that beast will be greatly appreciated.:D

[Allen Neighbors]

I echo John K, and David K. Unless you have a good coring rig... then you could make hundreds of bowls -- natural edged sets that would sell for high dollar.
Ryder truck to haul that stuff to me, wouldn't cost you that much... hint, hint... :D

[Perry Holbrook]

Thanks for the guidance. I'll go talk to him to see what we can work out on price.

Perry

[Cathy Schaewe]

Doesn't seem like he's taking the hint, guys.

Perry, I'll even have somebody come and get all your spare pieces ....;)

[Ryan Baker]

Grab the chainsaw and get that tree home! (Yes, the whole thing.) Chunk it up a couple inches more than the diameter so you can get it moved. When you get home, cut up a pile of blanks to keep you busy and stuff away the rest for later.

[Thomas Canfield]

Perry,

One additional comment. I would have a pith slab cut out that is about 15% of diameter, 5" on the 32 to 36" diameter sections. That slab can then have the actual pith cut out of it leaving some very nice "quarter sawn" type material that can be also used for turnings. Leaving any of the pith raises problems that are best avoided, but don't ask how I know.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with Thomas. Make sure they cut the pith out.

[Steve Kubien]

I like Thomas's idea. A 5 or 6" slab taken with the pith on centre will produce some amazing stock. I will also echo the comments of others... An 8" deep bowl which is 12" in diameter is useless from a functional standpoint. Too deep to have the the table and the "lines" of it will look weird. With that much wood available, get a coring rig. It'll save you a ton of time, work and wood.

[Dave Ogren]

Perry,

Which saw mill is it ?? Sunrise ?? I can give you some bowl blanks from hickory and locust if you like.

Dave

[Nate Davey]

My wife and I will be up in Asheville tomorrow to tour the Biltmore estate. I can pick up any unwanted pieces you may have laying around.

[Perry Holbrook]

OK, so I'm back from the sawmill. He does not sell logs, but he is willing to saw it up for me to my specs. The log is 28" dia x 12 ft long. There is a total of 3 logs. There is 350 to 400 bd ft per log. I checked on one of the sites that some of you have mentioned as a source. He gets $ 7 to $9 per bd ft, waxed.

He gave me a per bd ft price. Rather than saying what it is, what would you say would be a good price.

Thanks
Perry

[John Keeton]

Perry, keep in mind that when one buys "a blank" or "several blanks" the price of $7-9/bd ft reflects not only the original wood acquisition, but also the cost of milling the logs (as you are going to do), cutting them into usable blanks, sealing them, transporting them, storing them, and the time investment of keeping them on hand so they can be either used or sold a few at a time. In addition, there is the risk involved of loosing some of the blanks to cracking, etc.

To me, 1200' of turning stock is way more than I would want to fool with. I might be interested in flat stock for furniture in that quantity because I have barn storage, and prep includes only stickering it in the barn.

IMO, if you could take one log, at $1/ft, cut to your specs, that would be reasonable. You really do not know what the rest of the log holds until they saw it, and at that point, it is yours!

Others may feel differently.

[Charlie Reals]

OK, so I'm back from the sawmill. He does not sell logs, but he is willing to saw it up for me to my specs. The log is 28" dia x 12 ft long. There is a total of 3 logs. There is 350 to 400 bd ft per log. I checked on one of the sites that some of you have mentioned as a source. He gets $ 7 to $9 per bd ft, waxed.

He gave me a per bd ft price. Rather than saying what it is, what would you say would be a good price.

Thanks
Perry

Perry, I can't help you on the price except to say if it is something you want then a good price is whatever you are willing to pay. I have a load of blanks coming today and the shipping is 1/3 the total. You get to have it custom cut.
jm2cs Charlie

[steven carter]

Perry,

Don't know about the price, but thought I would mention that in my experience, maple has a much shorter "shelf life" than many other species. I don't have any empirical data to back this up, but maybe others have had the same experience. I would hate for you to buy wood and have it go bad on you, no mater what the price.

Steve

[Perry Holbrook]

I do not want all this wood. I am thinking 1 of the 3 logs. Most of you don't know me or my work. I am a production guy. I sell small boxes to galleries all over the country, about 150 of them, including at times the Smithsonium. All my boxes are mixed media, wood, copper,steel, glass.

Some of my boxes are turned, but are nothing very special in shape. I have a design in mind for a somewhat limited production of round boxes (cannon ball or smaller) that will combine it with steel and glass. I was thinking this maple would be a good choose for the wood. A couple hundred boxes would not be out of the question.

I can't put a direct link to my web site, but if you look for kopperwood you can find my site with pictures if you are interested.

Perry

[John Keeton]

Perry, first let me compliment you on the quality and artistry in your work!! Some nice stuff.

But, I will echo what has been said here on the shelf life. Even one log is A LOT of wood. Most of your boxes do not appear to consume much wood - in fact, from the pics, it looks to be less than a board foot per box, at most.

Your work involves joinery, as well, and that requires stable wood. While Ambrosia maple is very interesting wood, it seems your work has a lot of variety. 350 - 400' would lock you into doing Ambrosia maple for a long time - after it is dry enough to use.

Storing that much wet wood can get very involved. It could mold and/or rot - quickly.

So, this decision needs to be made keeping in mind your personal needs, and your ability to deal with the wood once it is cut.

[Thomas Bennett]

I buy quite a few logs and have them cut for turning blanks. If your sawyer can slab the whole log , have him cut the pith out as mentioned in the previous posts. Then cut the pith out of this center slab. Those side peices make great large spindle turnings. If you can move the remaining side peices, take them as-is. Cut them to length at home, make them as round as possible with a chainsaw and core them out.
Here in Southeastern Ohio I would pay somewhere between $1.00-$2.00 a BF for a cut up log as described. If you do your math, the individual blanks don't cost thatr much.

[Perry Holbrook]

Thanks for the great feedback so far, some things I had not considered.

John, this new design would not be jointed, just a simple round cannon ball/soft ball with about 1/3 of the top off for a glass lid, and some type of metal stand. Turned green, dried, and re-turned. I wouldn't need the finished boxes until next spring.

I've got a professional bowl turner friend who may want the some of the larger blanks for his use, matter of fact, I saw him at a show Sunday and he happened to mentioned he was having a hard time getting ambrosia maple right now. That's when I got the idea of this log.

Thanks again .

BTW, the mill wants $2.

Perry

[tom martin]

Perry,
That's not a bad price. I have done something similar with a local sawyer and it presented some problems out of the ordinary for him. He runs the saw and his wife stacks. Needles to say a 5 inch by 24 inch by 8 foot plank weighs a lot!
He is a long time friend and charged me a little less than your quote.
As far as keeping it for a while, I left it long and waxed the ends and stickered it . When I want to turn, I cut what I need and rewax the cut end.
I did this as an experiment and generally just get the chain saw out and start cutting my blanks off the log.
If your log is ambrosia maple, I would jump on it at $2 bft!!!!
Tom

[Allen Neighbors]

An 8" deep bowl which is 12" in diameter is useless from a functional standpoint.

Except: It'd be absolutely great, as a Hot Bun/Biscuit Bowl.... :D:p;)