Well I cut some ash from the neighbors house. The power company took out a few and I got some of the wood. After unloading I noticed this on some of the pieces. My questions are, what is the best way to use this? It's on multiple peices. What size chunks or block size should I shoot for if I resize them? Can I assume the figure is in the whole block or???? I'm new to all this. Only 3rd yr burning for heat. My dad is a general contractor and he likes to do finish work so I have access to some tools. Maybe it's not worth the effort and I should just burn it?? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.
It depends on how long you think you're sticking them away for. The longer you can wait, the thicker I'd make the chunks. Later on if you decided to use them as veneers or something, thicker pieces will yield more book matched slices. Also the chainsaw takes a large kerf so its turning more of it into sawdust. Saw them in slices parallel to the grain; I'd go about 4" each. Won't know how much is in there till you open it up. I'd like to find some like that - was it near the roots of a large tree? That's often where you'll see figure like that.
It was in a very large tree. 5-6ft. It's might have been from the first branch. Maybe second. It wasn't from the trunk though. The tree company didn't even cut up the trunk. They craned it out on a truck probably bound for the dump..
Well I don't like that! It would be a shame to waste something like that. Although the big ash log that I milled was from about 20' up the tree; because the base had been almost completely hollowed out by ants. That's a nice find; I know what I'd do. You can always burn it later if you decide you'll never use it and its in the way. Noodling is fun, see my avatar pic.
Well that's why you make less cuts now, unless you've got something specific in mind. But don't leave it in the round if you think you might use it someday. Slicing it up can release some of the radial tension that leads to checking and splitting. I like to saw through the heart of the log - if you leave the pith in any of the slices they will split.
Yeah it's a real shame. This one was solid all the way down. I'm nowhere near equipped to handle something like that. It sure would have been pretty inside.
I had a large ash tree taken down on my property a while back. Just got into the splits and noticed some of it was curly so I've been setting aside usable pieces. First thing I made was a chisel "hammer".
Go to 10 minutes 30 sec into this vid. Pretty much hammering tools you do not want metal to metal contact with.
The Wood Wolverine it was your tool handle thread that got me looking for this. Do you think this would turn out similar to yours?
Can't see why not. You have to do a little research on how to accentuate figure. I use analine dye, "sanding" lightly with fine steel wool between coats (usually 3), then the mallet got a boiled linseed oil for a finish. I have a few recipes I could share if interested. The best one is attached. It's a bit long, but if you're building fine furniture, It'd be worth it. The main issue with making your own boards is preventing splits/checks/cracks and getting them to dry straight and flat.
Curly ash typically doesn't get as figured as maple, still beautiful non the less! This thread has me hoping more of my tree is curly! I milled the entire base, but didn't notice any. Google pics:
The Wood Wolverine this is the kind of information I'm looking for. Never would have thought to use dye. Looks like you have quite the pile there yourself. I wish mine were longer. I didn't notice till it was too late. This is where the pieces were when i noticed them.
Fanatical1 that's what I wanted to hear!!! I'll be going back to see what's left and I'll be paying attention as I split through the pile.
This one looks really marbled. allot of this wood looks pretty sweet!!! I'm gonna have a hard time turning it into firewood.
