Anyone turn charred wood?

[Doug Herzberg]

Just returned from mandatory evacuation because of the Black Forest fire. All is well here, other than food spoiled by power loss, but the fire came within a block of our home on three sides. One of the families in our 35 lot development lost their home, but the rest of us fared very well compared to the 509 (to date) families whose homes are gone. We are truly blessed and grateful to all the first responders, who came from as far as New Mexico, Wyoming and Kansas and all those who will come after with aid for those who need it, and of course to the Lord for his grace in sparing us, our animals and our property.

Anyway, there is a lot of dead timber standing here. The trunks are charred, ranging from a little soot all the way to deep layers of charcoal. I am wondering if it can be put to use. I'm thinking of natural edged bowls or something like that. Perhaps some kind of memento if it isn't too painful or tacky. How can one stabilize charcoal, if it is possible? Dust issues different than with just wood? Since it's basically green pine on the inside, heat dried in the middle layer and burned to a crisp on the outside, I would expect it to move differently from inside to out.

Does anyone have experience with this? IS it tacky? Resins? CA?

[Jim Burr]

Life is to short to turn ***** wood!! I had some with char on about 2" of the outside...real powdery and fragile!! The transition from char to wood was hard as a rock.

[Dale Gillaspy]

If you are turning it just to turn all the char away, I would pass. However, leaving some of the char could yield some stunning results.

[Eric Gourieux]

If you remember my address, send me a blank or 2, and I'll give it a whirl along with you.

[Dan Hintz]

If you do decide to turn some, I'd stabilize it first... If you don't have a vacuum/pressure setup already, there are plenty of people who offer the service. Tell them you'd like to keep as much of the char on as possible and you should get back a log chunk that is properly stabilized for turning.

[Dan Forman]

Don't know about the wood, but glad your house came through unscathed!

Dan

[David C. Roseman]

Just returned from mandatory evacuation because of the Black Forest fire. All is well here, other than food spoiled by power loss, but the fire came within a block of our home on three sides. [snip]

Doug, wow! Close call. So glad you and your family are o.k.

I think mementos from salvaged burn are a great idea, and not at all tacky. They would make especially meaningful gifts for your neighbors who went through the ordeal with you. Phoenix rising from the ashes.

I don't think I'd fool with anything that is seriously charred, nor should it really be necessary to achieve the purpose, IMO.

David

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Glad to hear you got through alright.
I have seen bowls that were burned AFTER turning, and it was quite different and beautiful. Turning charred wood may be equally as beautiful. I also don't think it would be tacky. But that is my opinion.

[Steve Mawson]

Last year there was a fire in western Nebraska. My neighbor brought some cedar back. I was surprised at how dry the wood was. I turned some smaller pieces that did not crack and I assume they are still stable. You might be surprised at how dry the wood is. May not be the same with pine, don't know. Hope you can get back to normal.

[Doug Herzberg]

Thanks for the advice and expressions of concern. We're getting back to normal. I went out looking for wood and found some already cut to just about the right size, but with all the emergency vehicles and returning traffic, it didn't seem safe to stop and gather it. The worst hit areas are still closed to all but residents.

I'll keep an eye out and try to get some when things settle down a bit.