i was on my way home from work and...

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

i saw two tree removal service trucks parked along side the road.

i circled around to ask what was going on.

one of the workers told me that they would be clearing trees for the next several weeks. :eek:

better get the bowl gouges sharpened. :D

from left to right - hard maple(?), catalpa and box elder.

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i also got two hunks of birch, that aren't shown.

probably about 400lbs. total.


has anyone worked with birch or catalpa? any info would be appreciated.

[Paul Engle]

Jeffery, on the wet birch, turn to rough size ( evenly ) and chip and bag it , give it a month or two, outside if you can't keep the heat down. I processed about 500# in Oct, over the winter it is still outside but cracking is lite and shallow , with lite surface checks.I used latex exterior paint on the ends of the log blanks, so far , so good.

[John Timberlake]

I did a vase out of catalpa a couple of years ago. It was totally dry when I turned it. Really nice wood to work with. Easy to turn and finished nicely. Great looking grain too. Picture of this vase at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=27904.

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

Jeffery, on the wet birch, turn to rough size ( evenly ) and chip and bag it , give it a month or two, outside if you can't keep the heat down. I processed about 500# in Oct, over the winter it is still outside but cracking is lite and shallow , with lite surface checks.I used latex exterior paint on the ends of the log blanks, so far , so good.

thanks, paul!

i saw in another post that you are getting some kentucky grown catalpa. please let me know what you think of it, when you start to work it.

p.s. that piece of catalpa (10" diameter) in the truck bed was a cut off from a BRANCH. the trunk of the tree was 36" plus in diameter! the tree cutter estimated that the tree was 80-90 years old.

[Mark Pruitt]

Isn't it funny how woodturning changes ("skews"-LOL) our perspective when it comes to seeing felled trees?:p

Just yesterday, someone in my department, (the same one who endowed me with some spalted maple a couple months ago which I'm barely scratching the surface with turning it) said that she and her husband would be felling a wild cherry tree.:D I immediately volunteered to bring my Stihl and offer assistance!:rolleyes:

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

Isn't it funny how woodturning changes ("skews"-LOL) our perspective when it comes to seeing felled trees?:p

my wife used to just laugh at me when i would stop to rubber-neck a motorcycle that had a 'for sale' sign on it.

i had four at the time, and she would just shake her head and ask me what i was going to do with one more.

my answer was always the same. "ride it!"

now, i'm slowing down everytime i see a log laying along the side of the road.

i think she may be missing the motorcycles, now...

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Way to go Jeffrey! Nice haul you've got there.:) I have turned birch and it was nice, so Git're Done! We want to see some pics!:D

[Steve Kubien]

Nice haul. I've had a similar experience today which saw me bring home 200lbs of maple. Would've been a better haul but I had to pick up the youngest at school. Yup, I'll be going back tomorrow.:D

[Brett Baldwin]

Nice haul Jeffrey. Looks like you'll be stocked up for the foreseeable future. I met a neighbor the other day because a pile of wood has been sitting in his front yard for a week. Turns out a "few pieces of wood" from a friend became a large pile in his yard. I asked if he wanted help getting rid of it and he said help yourself. The three pieces in front are the latest haul with some pine behind it from a previous neighbor's felling.
Anybody recognize the the stuff without paint on it? It seems to be good stuff but I am not used to identifying species while the bark is still on.
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[Mike Vickery]

[quote=Brett Baldwin]
Anybody recognize the the stuff without paint on it? [quote]

Looks like Mesquite to me.

[Jonathon Spafford]

Way to go.... now go make some shavings!!!!!! And of course we want pix of the products!!

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

after i got all the wood moved into my shop, my wife asked me how i was going to cut it all.

(it's funny how you don't think about that while you're loading the bed of your truck).

i told her i was going to use my bow saw and a lot of elbow action.

she said, "why don't you get yourself a bandsaw. you've been talking about it for a while. i think that you should just go and get one."

:eek:

(long pause while gasping for air)

i started searching for my truck keys, when i realized that rockler and woodcraft were already closed for the evening. d-oh!

back to reality.

when i informed swmbo that the band saw i wanted would cost $400+, her only comment was "oh. i didn't know they cost that much."

she said, "what about a chain saw?"

when i informed swmbo that the chain saw i wanted would cost $300+, her only comment was "oh. i didn't know they cost that much."

notice the pattern?

so... i'll be renting a chain saw this weekend. and, stopping by the piles of fallen timber on the way home, again.

hopefully, the tax refund will be enough for the down payment on the new kiddie-carrier and a band and or chain saw.

[Chris Barton]

The truely great thing about turning is that unless you just really want to, you never have to pay for your stock... it grows on trees.

[Rex Guinn]

Jeffery;
I sure would love to come across someting like this, But I usually ride my MC and It's kinda hard to cary that much on the bike - ( I only have one).

[Jim Becker]

"Bowls on the hoof" are always nice to aquire as you drive along...and the price is right. (Be sure to compensate the head-tree-person with something of your art...it encourages repeat performances)

[Dick Durbin]

Hmm, I'm coming to Kentucky next month to fish in a crappie tournament on Taylorsville Lake. I may have to bring my chainsaw along with me.

[Brett Baldwin]

Looks like Mesquite to me.
Thanks Mike.


[Rex Guinn
"Jeffery;
I sure would love to come across someting like this, But I usually ride my MC and It's kinda hard to cary that much on the bike - ( I only have one)."]

Until recently, so did I. All the wood I've gotten has been from my neighbors who I didn't know before this. It must be that turning is a subtle social facilitator as well as an addiction.