Wood Gloat!

Jeff Bower

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5,762
Location
DSM, IA
I haven't turned anything in quite awhile, but I have plenty of fresh wood now! :D

Last month my dad and I scored a BIG load of walnut (pic 1) and last night I picked up about 7 pieces of elm (pic 2)...The elm was dripping wet when I unloaded it...hope to turn some of it tonight!
 

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Good haul Jeff. I guess this is stuff I need to learn. How to pick out the good stuff and not toss it in the wood stove.

Steve, you know enough about wood to figure it out. If not, just throw some on the lathe and give it a whirl...it's free afterall.

If it is dripping wet, better get your rain suit on tonight!!:rofl:
Good haul. :thumb:

My dad turned some of the walnut and said he should have had a rainsuit on...cut like butter. :thumb: Hoping the elm is the same.
 
Nice haul.
That crotechty piece in pic #1 could turn into something interesting.

Frank, I forgot that hunk was on top...I'm not sure what type of wood that is...Larry though maybe oak when he was here, but the bark is different than most oaks I've seen. It does have some bends and twist to it. :D
 
Congrats, Jeff. The elm I've turned looked great, although i was some tool-dulling stuff when dry.

Good haul Jeff. I guess this is stuff I need to learn. How to pick out the good stuff and not toss it in the wood stove.

Steve, here's a quick checklist I go by to see if a piece of wood is worth taking home.

1. Is it wood?

If no, keep driving. If yes continue the checklist.

2. Is it free?

If no, keep driving. If yes continue the checklist.

3. Will it fit in my vehicle?

If no, keep driving. If yes continue the checklist.

4. Is it cracked?

If yes, keep driving. If no, load it on up.

:D
 
Congrats, Jeff. The elm I've turned looked great, although i was some tool-dulling stuff when dry.



Steve, here's a quick checklist I go by to see if a piece of wood is worth taking home.

1. Is it wood?

If no, keep driving. If yes continue the checklist.

2. Is it free?

If no, keep driving. If yes continue the checklist.

3. Will it fit in my vehicle?.

If no, keep driving. If yes continue the checklist.

4. Is it cracked?

If yes, keep driving. If no, load it on up.

:D

Vaughn, this is why you should never go anywhere without your chainsaw, also why you should get a larger vehicle.
 
I tried out some of the elm...WOW is it wet! There is a nice line of elm juice on the wall now, not to mention the lathe ways and my shirt. I turned this end grain vase in about an hour...green wood turns fast! :thumb: I turned it to final shap and sanded it a bit, but it was still pretty wet so that didn't work to well. Will finish sanding and get some oil on it once it drys. It's about 9" tall and 4.5" in diameter at the top.

BTW, I used a broken drill bit ground to a hook like profile to do the end grain turning...works wonderful. Got the idea from Jeff Nicol
 

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The elm looks like it's gonna be sweet with a finish on it. :thumb:

Vaughn, this is why you should never go anywhere without your chainsaw, also why you should get a larger vehicle.

Excellent points, Harvey. :thumb: :p I usually don't have the chainsaw in the truck, and it's just a Ranger, so it's not as big as it should be. But it does have a 1000 pound lift gate on the back of it. If I can roll it to the tailgate, I can usually get it home. :D
 
That's some nice wood there Jeff... I had a whole tree of elm to work with... it was taken down about 3 years ago because it was standing dead and dropping limbs on my brand new shop roof.... first limb was about 6-8" at the base and about 15' long... it hit the roof just on a roof joist and drove the joist down about 6 inches.... the second limb penetrated the metal roof, so the tree had to come down... it was about 30 inches at the base and nearly 50' tall.... lots and lots of wood.... I couldn't process it all at the time so a lot of it was stacked behind the shop in about 3-4' lengths... but last time I check it, it's mostly mush.... I got some nice pepper mills and bowls out of what I did get turned... wish I could have gotten more of it done.
Hated losing all that wood.
 
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