Free wood can sure cost a lot!

Kerry Burton

Member
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1,163
Location
Orem, Utah
I mentioned in my first post (on another thread) that I recently came into a bit of free sycamore wood. Our local club president showed up at last Tuesday's meeting with a pickup bed FULL of sycamore wood from a tree that had been taken down a couple blocks from his house. "I don't want to take any of it back home with me!" he said, so I did my duty :rolleyes: and gave 7 chunks of wood a NEW home.

I was able to directly "process" the 2 smallest chunks on my 11" Shopsmith bandsaw, but the other chunks had to be divided up some other way before I could fully process 'em. Luckily, I had purchased my first chainsaw (electric) just weeks before, so this gave me an excuse to learn how to use it.

A540_0076_FirstChainsawJob.jpg


Lesson One: Rest the wood to be cut on a FLAT base. I first used the pieces in the background as a base, and the chunk I was cutting rocked too much for my liking, especially since it was my first, "white-knuckle" cut!

Lesson Two: If you have to use a chainsaw on your deck, put down some plastic! It was drizzling when I got going with the chainsaw, so I didn't want to be out in the rain with an extension cord. I didn't realize how much oil these machines can spit out!

Anyway, I finished the rough cutting on Friday ...

A540_0086_TheRestOfTheSycamore.jpg



... and then did the rest of the "processing" in my basement shop:

A540_0088_SycamoreProcessingInTheShop.jpg


Yes, I know -- it's way too crowded and messy down there. I hope to remedy that one of these days....

The "shards" all over the floor are from the sycamore, which had already been drying for a week when I got it. Some of the processed pieces are in the left foreground corner. And yes - the sawdust pile under the bandsaw is all from the sycamore, too!

I was surprised at how many hours it took to chainsaw, bandsaw, and wax 7 chunks of wood. It took me an hour or two each night from Tuesday thru Friday, and then from about 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday!


Meanwhile, I'm not sure where I'm going to store the sycamore while it dries. The other half of my basement is already overcrowded, too. :huh:

A540_0091_BasementWoodStorage.jpg
 
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It's all those computers blocking your storage opportunties!!! I see at least 5, maybe 6 spots for wood :D

(I shouldn't talk, i have 12 in my house right now ... 6 of them are in use)
 
Hey Kerry, welcome to the family!:wave:

I know what you mean about mess and time..........

north_view_blanks.jpg


stack_of_round_stuff1.jpg


Done that a few time :rolleyes: :D

Looks good, make sure you get that stuff all sealed up!

Cheers!
 
Anyway, I finished the rough cutting on Friday ...

A540_0086_TheRestOfTheSycamore.jpg




A540_0088_SycamoreProcessingInTheShop.jpg


Meanwhile, I'm not sure where I'm going to store the sycamore while it dries. The other half of my basement is already overcrowded, too. :huh:

Kerry, I have a place where you can "store" some of that sycamore while it dries. Just ship it to me--I'll "store" it for you.:D

NICE HAUL!!! Some of those pieces are just gorgeous!!

Nancy
 
All the sycamore is sealed, using the Artisan wax emulsion from Craft Supplies, USA (10 miles from my place!). You can see the 1-quart bottle at the far end of the Shopsmith, with the green label.

Unfortunately, when I collected most of the other wood in my basement, I didn't know anything about end grain sealers. The good news is that I've had it all so long that it's all dry. The bad news is that it's all cracked to some degree or other ... EXCEPT for a piece of "Chinese elm" that I used recently to make a replacement tamper for a coworker's food processor. (Someone accidentally pushed the hollow plastic tamper into the processor blades, and he didn't want to use it anymore with a slit in the bottom.) For what is considered a "garbage tree" around here, I sure wish I had some more of it....

BEFORE:
A520_1054_Tamper_Before.jpg


AFTER:
A520_1060_Tamper_After.jpg


I couldn't bring myself to turn such a short "handle" for the tamper, so I added what I hope is a more user-friendly version. The "divot" in the middle of the business end is just that - a catch that I cleaned up as best I could. :doh:
 
Kerry, you are to be congratulated for the wood haul, and the chainsaw lesson. But, most of all, I like your shop. It looks loved and well used, not a showpiece. I'm suspicious of these guys with showroom clean shops. ;)
 
Yeah, I kinda like my little shop, too. If only it weren't so ... little. I don't know if anyone noticed, but the box in the near left corner contains a brand-new Jet air cleaner that I need to hang. Putting that to use would actually increase my floor space, but it might also increase the # of bumps on my head. :huh: You can also see part of another white box, just this side of the bandsaw. That contains a Sears 6" benchtop jointer that I don't have room for (yet).

Time to take a lesson from Stu and build me some custom stands or something. Gotta "get 'er done!" :thumb:
 
...Craft Supplies, USA (10 miles from my place!)...
So...do you just have your paycheck direct-deposited in their account? :D Being that close would make it hard to stay away from the place.

Nice-looking tamper, too. ;) The curve in the handle is very nice, and the bigger handle makes sense.
 
So...do you just have your paycheck direct-deposited in their account? :D Being that close would make it hard to stay away from the place.
I'd like to get down there more, but since most of their business is catalog sales, they're closed on Saturdays. :( At least, they were the last time I checked.


Nice-looking tamper, too. ;) The curve in the handle is very nice, and the bigger handle makes sense.
Thanks! The way I figured it, the person using the tamper has to pull it up as well as push it down, and the short handle along with the "negative angle" on it seemed like an exercise in frustration.

Gee, did I really get away with not showing a "bonker" in my first thread? Naw ... that's a bonker if I ever saw one. :)
 
I was gonna comment on the bonker-ness of your tamper, but I wasn't sure how new you were to turning. For a lot of us, the bonker is the first piece off the lathe. First piece or not, your tamper is a fine bonker indeed. You pass. :rofl:
 
Hmmm ... "sycamore" ... "sycamore" ... I thought that sounded familiar!

It turns out that I have turned a couple pieces out of sycamore before ... in a Rex Burningham class at Craft Supplies USA back in '03. The only piece I still have is an "oops"! that I brought home in defeat. (Photo later -- maybe. :doh: )

The other piece was the first box I ever turned. I gave it to a niece later that summer, so it wasn't until I happened across the pictures tonight that I remembered it was made out of sycamore as well. (I wonder if the pink color in the wood I recently cut up will eventually go dark like this?)

DX4330_0347_DarkSide.jpg
DX4330_0348_UprightWithLeaningLid.jpg
DX4330_0349_BottomOutWithLidOnEdge.jpg
DX4330_0350_Insides.jpg
DX4330_0352_LightSide.jpg


Actual size: About 4" tall
Design: Just "happened" at the lathe...
Photo info: Taken with a handheld 3MP camera using one of my wife's skirts draped over a bench on our covered deck
 
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Wow - your "free" wood looks to be much less "free" than mine was. All _I_ risked was an errant chainsaw cut, or a mashed foot if I dropped a chunk of wood. You could get killed harvesting yours....:eek:

Be careful! (And keep those outhouses comin'. :thumb: )
 
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