Any ideas on how to slice this???

[Chris Fontana]

I live in the north end of the Sacramento Valley and have access to wood from orchards that are being replaced. I had asked a friend to get me some green almond wood and also said I was looking for the stuff he wouldn't want to split for firewood. Something with character. Well yesterday I stopped by to pickup some almond and black walnut he had cut for me. I had just about a pickup full when he said come over to the trailer I have something special. It is the main fork from a 30 to 40 year old almond tree with 4 or 5 limbs coming out the top of it. It took two of us to lift it. Before I start cutting this I thought I would ask for ideas on which way to slice it.

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[Steve Vaughan]

Wow, that's a nice piece right there. I think what I'd do is take my saw and slice it parallel without the pith, well, maybe a tad off each side of the piths, into 3 or 4 slices overall. Then, I'd make me a really nice deep fruit bowl. Then I'd make a really nice large platter, maybe 2, depending on how you do cut it. And then another bowl, not as deep, from the piece you cut for the platter.

[Paul Williams]

Steve's idea is much better as far as risk of cracking goes, but I would be tempted to try a bowl with the four pith centers evenly spaced in the side wall. I've done that with several smaller pieces, but you do have to take care of the cracks that are almost guaranteed to develop as you turn. I also wonder what it would look like if you centered the pith center from the main branch in the bottom of a bowl and turned away the branches so that their centers are removed. I am not experienced enough to really be mking reccomendations, just my idea of what I maight try.

[Brodie Brickey]

I think the first question is 'What lathe/swing do you have to work with?'

If the entire block is within the swing, then you could just split along the pith. Turn the pith away, clean up your outside shape and try to core a couple bowls out. You probably won't get a tight nested set, but you should get multiple bowl cores (1" thick in the rough, maybe 3 cores). Cover each core inside and out in Anchor seal and paper bag it for 3 months. The other side should render out 1-2 platters. I'd look at re-sawing 1.5 - 2" thick slabs on a band saw if you have the capacity.

Alternate option: You can mount the whole thing on the lathe and round out a rough shape through multi axis turning. Then use supporting blocks to resaw with a chainsaw, before coring or bowl turning.

[bob svoboda]

Something like that should only be cut with a very sophisticated and specialized machine. It so happens that I possess such a machine, so if you would just send it to me...............:D

[Richard Bell CA]

Chris:

Greetings from the other end of the Sacramento valley. We are indeed fortunate to live in an area with an abundance of free wood (I am presently working my way through a pile of Claro walnut in my driveway).

I would probably cut it through the larger piths along the direction of the scale, then see where to position the bowls. I cut some almond from up your direction several years ago and I found was it was much more difficult to dry without cracking than the Claro. This will be particularly true with all of the grain directions in that piece. As Brodie said, completely anchor seal the roughed bowls and try to dry them slowly. Depending on the thickness, it may take more than a few months to dry - it is a pretty dense wood.

Another option is to cut it green to a thin bowl, then let it warp to wherever it wants to go. I don't use this method, but I know a lot of people here do and they may be able to provide some guidance if you choose to go this direction.

Good luck

Richard