Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: Any interest in hickory turning blanks?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25

    Any interest in hickory turning blanks?

    Just to be clear, I do not have blanks ready to go and this is not an offer. If and when I have something to sell, I will take pictures of exactly what I have and make a post or posts in the proper forum. Right now I just want to know if it's worth my time to cut smaller blocks to ship or just stack the logs by the road for firewood hounds to grab. I just want to know if there is any interest in even making the effort.

    What exactly am I talking about? I have a hickory tree down on my lot that I would like to clear out. The question is (after I have stashed all I can for my own turning) whether there is any interest in me cutting blocks to ship out for turning. The tree as it lays has been cleared of branches and what I'm left with is about 40 or 50 feet of trunk that is up to about (wild guess) 24 to 30 inches at the base.

    FYI: Hickory is one of the harder american hardwoods. Where oak and maple are somewhere around 1200 or 1300 on the janka scale, hickory is around 1800 or 1900. This tree is a mockernut hickory. The attached picture is a bowl I turned wet that has just been wiped with sanding sealer. This is from a crotch in the smaller part of the tree so you can see heart and sap wood colors.

    If there is interest, I think it should be reasonably easy to cut chunks to fit in flat rate USPS boxes. I would probably try to get as big as I can to make the chunks most useful and I think I can get a lot of 12x12x6 pieces, which is the largest USPS flat rate box. Of course there could be plenty of smaller pieces as well.

    So, any interest? Should I take the time to cut some blanks and post some ads in the for sale forum?
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    If it were mine, particularly since I make furniture, I would look into getting it slabbed up. Only practical way to ship turning blanks is in flat rate boxes, and when you add your time in getting blanks to fit into the boxes, any chance of making money is slim. If I lived close by, I would come on over and take some of it off of your hands...

    robo hippy

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Fairbanks AK
    Posts
    1,566
    What is your origination zip code?
    Do you have the means to cut say a 40 inch chunk of clear log and then split it into future axe handles?

    A pie shaped piece of split/riven hickory 40 inches long with an axe or sledge handle in it might be useful to some; and could likely be shipped just by writing the destination directly on the piece with a sharpie or just wrapped in brown paper. I know I can't afford it because Canada won't let green wood through to Alaska as ground freight - if I was going to buy one I would have to pay air freight and I don't want one that badly.

    Gorgeous bowl. Thanks for posting.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    You would be most welcome to come get as much as you want. Probably not worth the 2,500 mile drive for you, eh?

    I've thought about slabbing it. There are several folks around here with portable mills. Unfortunately, I don't really want to pay to process it at this time and I don't have a good place to stack slabs. I can see the time and cost of supplies (blades, oil, gas, sealer or wrap...) adding up to just do blanks. I'm thinking $20 + shipping is probably close to covering expenses and a fraction of my time. Looking at the crazy prices the wood stores want for turning blanks though...

    Mainly I hate to let this go to waste. Before I started turning, I had some really nice oak logs from a fallen tree hauled away by a tree company, most likely for them to sell as firewood. I'd like to try and share some of this with crafty folks, if possible and practical.

    Quote Originally Posted by Reed Gray View Post
    If it were mine, particularly since I make furniture, I would look into getting it slabbed up. Only practical way to ship turning blanks is in flat rate boxes, and when you add your time in getting blanks to fit into the boxes, any chance of making money is slim. If I lived close by, I would come on over and take some of it off of your hands...

    robo hippy

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    I'm in Virginia zip 24112.

    My means to process without hiring someone is an 18" chainsaw and a bandsaw with 6" resaw to trim stuff up. Not gonna knock this out in a day and blanks will be relatively rough cut. It adds a bit more work to quoting and figuring prices but at this point, it's all speculation and discussion so not ruling out.

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Winners View Post
    What is your origination zip code?
    Do you have the means to cut say a 40 inch chunk of clear log and then split it into future axe handles?

    A pie shaped piece of split/riven hickory 40 inches long with an axe or sledge handle in it might be useful to some; and could likely be shipped just by writing the destination directly on the piece with a sharpie or just wrapped in brown paper. I know I can't afford it because Canada won't let green wood through to Alaska as ground freight - if I was going to buy one I would have to pay air freight and I don't want one that badly.

    Gorgeous bowl. Thanks for posting.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Peoria, IL
    Posts
    4,444
    I can't remember if it was hickory or pecan (I think they are in the same family) and it was the worst wood I ever turned. It was incredibly abrasive and had to sharpen more than anything else I've ever done. I turned one natural edge bowl and gave it to the guy who gave me the wood. The rest went to firewood. Several months latter I saw him at a craft sale, and he had that gifted bowl on his wood crafted items table, for sale. Horrible experience all around!
    Last edited by Richard Coers; 05-06-2020 at 5:45 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    sykesville, maryland
    Posts
    861
    I recommend reaching out to the closest turning clubs in the area. They would be probably be your best customer market. I guessing you are in SW VA from the zip. So not much around, I'd guess. Maybe Roanoke, or sometimes mills will buy whole logs.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Coers View Post
    I can't remember if it was hickory or pecan (I think they are in the same family) and it was the worst wood I ever turned. It was incredibly abrasive and had to sharpen more than anything else I've ever done. I turned one natural edge bowl and gave it to the guy who gave me the wood. The rest went to firewood. Several months latter I saw him at a craft sale, and he had that gifted bowl on his wood crafted items table, for sale. Horrible experience all around!
    Hickory and pecan are different species in the same genus so closely related. I've turned a few things with this and yes, it is hard. It is harder than the oak and maple I have been turning a bunch of lately and it dulls tools faster than some other woods I've turned but I didn't think it was the worst thing. It hasn't discouraged me yet!
    It dulls the tools from my cheap starter tool set annoyingly fast but it's not horrible with my Sorby tools. It turns fairly well wet. The pieces I've finished were finished wet. I haven't finish turned any of the pieces I've rough turned yet so I can't speak to how it turns dry. The bark is very thick and comes off too easily to leave on a bowl edge. Makes it easy to take off the bark before running it through the bandsaw so that helps preserve that blade a bit.

    The heartwood has some nice purple color in it and I'm looking forward to seeing how wood further down the trunk with bigger heartwood looks.

    I plan to turn yarn bowls, which work better with a more dense, heavy wood for stability. Also I plan to see how it works for mortar and pestle sets.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    Quote Originally Posted by tom lucas View Post
    I recommend reaching out to the closest turning clubs in the area. They would be probably be your best customer market. I guessing you are in SW VA from the zip. So not much around, I'd guess. Maybe Roanoke, or sometimes mills will buy whole logs.
    I'm in Martinsville. There is a turning club here and I've emailed the contact I could find but no response yet.

  10. #10
    Hickory has become a very popular furniture wood in these parts. My Mrs. just had a custom hickory cabinet made at a local Amish run furniture place. The day we picked it up it looked like hickory was the only wood they were using for their cabinets, tables etc. That was quite a place. They had a pole barn about 50 x 200 with at least a dozen employees. Stacks of component parts, cabinet doors, table legs, etc were piled up to the rafters. I was surprised at the amount of electric machinery too. The owner said they are permitted to have electric, provided it doesn't come from the grid. There was a giant diesel powder generator just outside the back door.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Phoenix AZ, (west side)
    Posts
    74
    To directly answer your question, i'd pay the $20+ flat rate for 1 or 2 if they were 12x12x6.

  12. #12
    The large size flat rate shipping boxes are 12 X 12 X 5 1/2 inches. Cost is about $20. which is the best way to ship it. You can use plastic stretch film around the blank as a quick seal and you don't have to wait for it to dry before putting it in the box.

    robo hippy

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    Quote Originally Posted by Chance Raser View Post
    To directly answer your question, i'd pay the $20+ flat rate for 1 or 2 if they were 12x12x6.
    It will likely be a few days but I'll cut a few pieces and post them in the for sale section. Let's see what emerges when I make some cuts.

    Quote Originally Posted by Reed Gray View Post
    The large size flat rate shipping boxes are 12 X 12 X 5 1/2 inches. Cost is about $20. which is the best way to ship it. You can use plastic stretch film around the blank as a quick seal and you don't have to wait for it to dry before putting it in the box.

    robo hippy
    Thanks for the confirmation Reed. I was thinking just that and wondering how a few wraps of plastic would work vs. the anchorseal route.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Kapolei Hawaii
    Posts
    3,236
    Quote Originally Posted by Chance Raser View Post
    To directly answer your question, i'd pay the $20+ flat rate for 1 or 2 if they were 12x12x6.
    Add me to the list! Never turned hickory. Well, I've turned a pick handle which was hickory I would think.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    Well, I'm taking this off the table for now.
    I've spent too much time and tool steel messing this wood and it's turning into a big pain so, while I will set aside some blanks for later I won't be shipping any.

    Between powderpost beetles, a propensity to mold and extreme cracking, I will not take money for any of this wood only to have you receive a moldy, cracked blank with beetles in it.

    I've turned a few savable pieces out of it and cooked and sealed a few chunks to play with later but it's time to work with less finicky wood for a while.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •