Oregon Madrone From Mike Ash

[Jeff Nicol]

I came in from goofing off in the shop after a big thunder storm came through so I did not get soaked to the bone. But on the way I checked the mail and there was a large Priority box from Oregon in it!! Mike said he was sending me a piece of Madrone and I have never turned any of it ever so I am pretty excited to give it a go! It sounds like it may dance around during the drying so I will have to see what I can come up with to keep it from cracking and going crazy!

Pictures for proof,

Jeff

[Marty Eargle]

That's a fine looking piece of wood.

Seems like I can't go a day without seeing the word "Madrone" on these boards. Maybe Mike Smith will surprise me and bring some back to the east coast with him!

[charlie knighton]

give it a go, nice blank

[Jeff Fagen]

Very colorful,I can't wait to see what you turn from it.

[David E Keller]

Congrats, Jeff! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it... You gonna let it go all wrinkly?


...Maybe Mike Smith will surprise me and bring some back to the east coast with him!

I swapped emails with him a while back, and he indicated that he was looking for some madrone... You may be in luck!

[Marty Eargle]

Well that's good news. I figured he was going to bring back some gems for me to go pick through. I hadn't thought about madrone until recently...been hoping he could replenish his stock of curly redwood. My girlfriend wants a few small boxes to match the vase I made her.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is some nice looking wood Jeff. Looking forward to see what comes of it.

[Michael James]

Nice score amigo! Looking forward to see what magic you cast it's way!
mj

[brian watts]

can boil it .. that well help alot for cracking..

[Chris Burgess]

Great looking wood and a great gesture. Can't wait to see what you come up with. I know it will be great.

[Baxter Smith]

Congrats on the Madrone Jeff! I have only turned one piece but I was fascinated just trying to make little wispy shavings that seemed to float in the air. Have fun with the turning!

[Jeff Nicol]

It is heavy and dense stuff, and I like the smell of it too. It was wrapped up in plastic and very wet so I am sure it will have a lot of drying to do! I think I will definitely core out the middle and turn a bowl and a HF of some sort out of the center chunk. He sent me a little chunk of Mountain Mahogany and some Russian olive in another box. I roughed out a bowl from the Olive and I am still thinking on the mahogany. It is a smallish trunk with a little crotch and it is heavy wood with a beautiful coloring, so I can't wait to get into it.

Thanks again to Mike, my western wood connection!

Jeff

[mike ash]

Glad you are excited to turn some western wood Jeff. It's a very small payback for all the great tools and tips you provide us Creekers. I just hope it keeps you smiling for awhile.

Mike Ash

[Rick Markham]

Jeff, Wet madrone is amazing to turn. Letting it warp on it's own is really an experience as well. Turn it really really thin, and then just let it do it's thing, that will minimize any cracking. It will move before your eyes, so once you start hollowing you really can't stop until the inside is finished. ;) It cuts beautifully and comes off your gouges like ribbons of silk, It's a cool experience. Mike must be a good friend :D If you need to take a break when turning I would wrap mine up tight with a kitchen garbage bag.

Make sure you enjoy it! I can't wait to see it. Make sure you take a "before" pic right after you take it off the lathe, in 5 mins it will already be visibly warped :D

[Reed Gray]

My favorite wood. Unfortunately for Madrone, most of it goes to fire wood. It is so crack prone, and warp prone that the big logging companies won't touch it, and since it competes with the 'cash' trees, it goes into the slash/chip/fire wood pile. A few brave souls will make lumber out of it.

For turning, turn thick and then boil it, or turn to about 1/4 inch, make sure to round over the rims, wrap the rim with some stretch plastic film (5 inch roll, about 1 inch on the inside, and the rest on the outside), make several wraps, and make sure to stretch it out. I start them on the floor, for a few days, then up on a wire rack. Done in about 10 days. I prefer to let them dry and then sand, but you could wet sand and then finish. If there is any figure in it, it will warp all wrinkled. It also warps nicely around branches.

robo hippy

[Ralph Lindberg]

Robo's got the process... I turn thick and boil. BTW, I'm trying something new. Last load of Madrone burl I boiled the resulting water (about 50 gallons) down to less then one gallon. Now that I am finish turning some of the pieces I am playing with staining that wood with the results of the boil down. So far the grain is not raising much, but I have to fight with some blotchy I got from my home-made water "stain"

BTW, I was talking with Dale Larson yesterday and he is currently processing down 2800 lbs of Madrone!

[Ralph Lindberg]

3rd method... As I was staining the Madrone, I recalled the other method (among others Dale Larson uses this one). It's mostly just dunking the blanks in water, well, and leaving them there. You do need to keep them covered (probably weighted). Dale uses stock tanks for this.

[Jeff Nicol]

Mike, Thanks a ton, I am spoiled with all the wood that I have access to, but there are hundreds if not thousands that are here in the good old USA that I have never turned, or have only bought pen blanks etc. I used to live in Grants Pass when I was a boy and if I knew then what I know now.......well I would have gotten my Dad to get as much as he could and sent it home to my Grandpa! But when you are 6 years old I was more interested in skate boards and goofing off!

Reed, I know you have it in your back yard and envy the very nice woods from the west that you and Mike and others have access to. I just got a half a pickup load of nice White Birch that was blown down in a storm on Saturday. We have the Menards big box stores here and they have a surplus store about 2 miles from my house and I stopped in today to look at any new items and the guy was dumping a bucket load in a big steel shipping container where they put all kinds of things free for the taking, I took it!

I will core the Madrone and see what I get and decide how to proceed when I get it on the lathe. I use the plastic wrap method on other projects too so I have a few rolls of it handy already.

Thanks all for you comments and tips,

Jeff

[Reed Gray]

Soaking it in water for a long time is another old process. The old timers used it. I think it does the same thing as the boiling, but it takes a lot longer. Also, the color will darken a lot. Madrone has a much higher water content than other woods, and usually sinks all by itself when green. Boiling is just too much work for me. I have another friend who steams it. Not sure of the process, but he turns very large hollow forms. It does give the pieces a very nice color.

robo hippy