Now what do I do?

[Dan Forman]

I brought a few boxes of wood scraps to a neighbor who burns wood for heat. After I told him I had gotten a lathe, he offered some fruit wood from some trees they had cut last summer. His brother may have taken the bigger pieces already, but there were a few chunks that looked worthwhile. Here is a pic of a few of them. The question is, where do I go from here? The pieces are fairly small, some would be appropriate for pens or bottle stoppers only. The wood is still quite wet. There might be some interesting grain in the crotchety pieces.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/P1010773.jpg

For reference, the largest log on the left is 16" long, and about 6" wide at the far end. It and the the one on the right are apple, the center one is Italian plum. There is another larger log of the plum thats 24" x 8".

My band saw has a 1"carbide blade in it at the moment, don't know how that would do with green wood. I never did get a chainsaw yet, but I think these would be a bit small for that anyway. There is some checking on the ends, but not as bad as I would have thought. They have been sitting outside in the elements, which around here means plenty of rain and snow, which would account for the relatively good condition.

Here are a few more pics of the center piece, which is a fairly complex shape, and should yield some interesting grain. Id love to do something with the butt section to showcase the "eyes", but with it being way out of round, I don't know what. This end is 9" across at the widest point.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/P1010778.jpg

This is the end of the short leg, another crotch here. This leg is only about 8" long. 6" diameter.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/P1010779.jpg

The other leg is about 11 long, ending in another crotch.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/P1010781.jpg

So, any ideas as to what to do with these will be entertained. The small piece on the right in the first picture I'm pretty sure will go for pens. As for the rest...?

Dan

[Raymond Overman]

The "eyes" piece looks like the perfect candidate for a natural edge bowl. You'll just need to turn thin and watch for cracking around the piths of that crotch. Even still, filling any cracks with turquoise or coffee grounds and epoxy would still look great. Is that piece as long as it is wide?

I would try to round it up a little with a bandsaw or possibly a chainsaw before putting it on the lathe cross grain between centers. A worm-wood screw would be helpful with getting a good hold on it.

[Dan Forman]

Raymond---It's the center piece in the first picture, and there is only about 3" from the "eyes" to the crotch. The eyes are facing the ground in that pic.

Dan