Burning Pile of Walnut

[John Hart]

Here's how I started my day
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This Burning Pile of Walnut was what I ran into at the sawmill on my woodrun today. The burn pile is actually a gully, so the pile is about 10 feet high. Paul, the owner said that I could go out there and save some of it so I booked on over. Ends up that the pile was filled with Walnut and Cherry 4/4 lumber....along with tons of burls and various cutoffs. The lumber was in there because it wasn't 10 feet long so it was useless to them. Sheesh. I said, "Paul...you're breaking my heart man!" He said, "Let's go out there and see what we can save". So he grabbed a chainsaw and cut through the pile and we got a bunch of gorgeous walnut chunks. Then he started tossing out lumber. Evidently, I will be able to load up on all the flat stuff year round, so I guess the loft above the shop is about to be dedicated to lumber.;)
Here's the lumber. I piled it in the shop like this so the snow could melt and hopefully get it dried out a bit. I'll sticker it tommorrow.
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It's all cherry and walnut. Much of it is nicely figured stuff. Beautiful wood.....for fl..fl...flatwork.:rolleyes:
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Here's a closeup of one of the figured walnut boards
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But....on to the turning wood.
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I just love this stuff. Paul considers it to be trash and just loves the fact that someone will make something out of it. We talked for a good hour today...about turning....but also about sharpening. He taught me how to sharpen my bandsaw blade and I was able to do my 93" blade tonight in 15 minutes. It was great. Oh...also, he gave me the number to a company where he gets his blades. He pays $13 for his 17 foot sawmill blades. :eek: As soon as I contact them, I'll post the details here so we can all benefit from this source.

I took one piece today and made this. Still not done, but Man!!! this stuff is pretty! It's 8" diameter and 3" deep.

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Continued.....

[John Hart]

Here's some shots of some of the pieces
This first piece is the bottom of the tree. I figger it's got some awesome figure inside
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This next one is a spalted walnut slab. The first pic is out of focus but you can see how big it is.
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This is a close up. I don't think I captured the colors. They are great. should make a nice platter.
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Here's another piece with a feather. That inclusion goes about 3" deep.
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Anyways...pretty fun time. I guess they start grading lumber on Monday and they'll be saving all the rejects for me. I'll pick up a couple truckloads on thursday. I love this place!!!!:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Good gravey John. You talk about being in heaven. Congrats on the wood John.

[Ed Scolforo]

John, love these stories! My brother lives in Douglassville, prolly not too far away. BTW, did you say you got snow down there?
Ed

[John Hart]

heh heh....yeah Ed. We got one or two flakes. We have access to one door to the house, and the snowblower has paid for itself. We wanted lots of snow this winter and December was a disappointment. February made up for it.;)

[Chris Barton]

Hey John,

With so much free wood to be had it sounds like a business opportunity there. I have often wondered if a small outfit focused at supplying hardwood to hobbiest but, using essentially free sources like yours, could make a go of it.

[John Hart]

Hey John,

With so much free wood to be had it sounds like a business opportunity there. I have often wondered if a small outfit focused at supplying hardwood to hobbiest but, using essentially free sources like yours, could make a go of it.

Yup....And since the people who were buying our old house skipped out on us, we're stuck paying two mortgages.:eek: So...yes, I'm making a go of it. If you looking in the Manufacturing Forums at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdisplay.php?f=24

I've just gotten started, but hopefully I can do this instead of getting a part-time job. Plus, I get to help the folks out that don't have ready access to decent turning wood.

[Terry Quiram]

John
Looks like you are set for turning wood for a good long time. Congtrats.
Terry

[Jason Anders]

It should be considered a crime to be able to burn such woods. Wow you've landed in woodworkers heaven me thinks. I think I'm moving to Ohio.. hmm maybe I can talk the wife into selling and buying your old place John :D

[Glenn Hodges]

Again, thanks for posting all these pictures. I do enjoy looking at all your wood finds.

[Christopher Hunter]

Excellent find John,
and if you ever feel like your stack is getting too big send it on over to La Salle, Illinois....
I know a guy who knows a guy who knows me and he says that I can make sawdust out of anything !!!!
--Chris

[mike fuson]

Thats some dandy wood John, At our local mill here they have a pile of nothing but ends. Looks just like fire wood and that is what people get it for, but many of the pieces is a perfect 4'' thick 12''wide 12'' long. Perfect for many bowls. Ready for a face plate and a band saw. You might want to see if the mill has one of these piles if you run out of wood before your an old man. :p By the way that bowl looks like it's going to be a beauty

[mike fuson]

Nice pile of free wood . Lets see the pic of that bowl when you get it done.

[Bill Wyko]

Man thats like finding a 56 corvette for 300 bucks! You've got a gold mine their. Will you ever see your family again or will they just visit you in the shop.:D Congradulations on the awsome score. P.S. Can I buy some from you? I'll pay and cover shipping.:D :D :D

[Keith Burns]

John, I am getting totally tired of this !!!!:eek:

[Paul Geer]

Heh Heh, again, some guys have all the luck :p

[Ron Journeau]

This is getting to be a bit of a regular weekend harvest epic tale...hopefully one with no end in sight and and lots of happy chapters. Happy for you John, and best of luck on your new endeavour. Will be placing and order later in the year.:cool:

[paul wiser]

man could i have a field day with that pile. i guess one mans trash is another mans treasure. have fun:D

[Tom Sontag]

Nice haul. Gotta love recycling.

I cannot really understand why an 8' board would not be marketable for them. It really couldn't throw off production too much to put all the six to nine footers in a pile and sell them to somebody. This kind of production waste is sloppy management to me. Now the burls and crotch pieces I understand; that stuff is worthless!

[John Hart]

John, I am getting totally tired of this !!!!:eek:

Does that mean you want to come up and play?;) :p :D


I cannot really understand why an 8' board would not be marketable for them. It really couldn't throw off production too much to put all the six to nine footers in a pile and sell them to somebody. This kind of production waste is sloppy management to me.

I asked the same question Tom....and here's the problem. First off, this is just a little Amish family sawmill and they saw about 12-14 hours a day...6 days a week....The father and 3 boys doing nothing but loading, sawing, planing, and stickering. The Logs belong to the logging company and the boards go to a buyer that specifies volume and board specifications....and these guys can barely keep up with the volume. They only get $3 per 50 board feet, so to spend 10 minutes to save a $.50 piece of lumber...just isn't logical to them.....Plus, they don't really have rights to sell it. I think that they feel that would be dishonest. Lucky for me! :)

[Tom Sontag]

...They only get $3 per 50 board feet...

Aha! The primary reason stuff gets wasted is because the pricing mechanism is askew. Sawing for 6 cents per bf is the true mistake. I've never heard of anyone working for less than $100/mbf (10 cents per bf). No wonder they cannot keep up with demand.

[Andy London]

First off, congradulations and become really good friends with that mill owner. Where I live all types of maple, birch, ash and elm is very plentiful and there are small to good sized mills it seems everywhere in the country. I just returned from one such mill last weekend and picked up a trailer load of birdseye end cuts, some 2 feet long, 2 to 4" thick....all for a case of beer<G>

I sure would like to find walnut and cherry, they are some of my favorite woods.

[Brett Baldwin]

John, it sounds like you and Andy need to do a little wood swapping so that you can benefit from each of your native species.

[Bill Wyko]

Anyone want to trade some Mesquite for some Maple or walnut?;)

[Dennis Peacock]

Beautiful pile of firewood John. You lucky dawg you. :p :cool: :D

[Corey Hallagan]

I thought this move was all about getting the family out of the city etc. Nahhh.... you just moved for all the free wood you had scoped out in the area..... that and the new shop :) Lucky guy John...lucky guy!!

corey

[Ernie Nyvall]

Yup....And since the people who were buying our old house skipped out on us, we're stuck paying two mortgages.:eek:

Aw man... that's awful John. Hope everything works out with this.

That is some great looking wood and a great job on the bowl. Pretty stuff.

[Corey Hallagan]

John, sorry to hear that about the 2 morgtages. Wishing for the best for you.

corey