# One (Wo)man Sawmill and the Prettiest Spalted Pecan Blanks Yet!!!



## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

Since I've gone back to turning pens we've been semi busy filling orders. I like that. Except when I run out of blanks and I've done that once when I needed two pen and pencils sets of antler and purple heart and ran out after destroying the last two blanks I had. A quik trip into Woodcraft in Austin solved that problem almost as quick as the mail man did when he delivered the pH blanks I had ordered two days before online. To top it off, I lost an entire chunk of spalted pecan somewhere along the way of the last two moves. 
So it was that I had the wood to turn a set of mesquite and one of Bois D' arc but the set of pecan was put on hold until... this morning.
I loaded the wife and the one man saw mill into her VW rabbit and we headed to the river. After driving around for about 20 minutes I found the piece I wanted after picking up a couple of smaller pieces and rejecting a dozen others. And we came back to the house where I started cutting it down to size. That was a minor chore unto itself as nothing I have is capable of cutting / ripping more than 6 inches deep so I had to make multiple passes to square a cant small enough to rip blanks slabs and finally several blanks off the first chunk of this wood. 
I will say, of all the wood in my shop, and I ain't got much, this is the most highly.... what is the word I am looking for? Hmmm. I'll remember after I post this. Maybe I'll edit it and tell you what the word is that I am trying to remember. Until then, enjoy with me the spalted pecan and the one (Wo)man saw mill (That's why I brought her along; she's the best at this kind of stuff and the main reason I married her). 
IN other news, I am saving money now to replace the sawmill with a much larger contraption. I'll keep the power head of this one though because she does a fair amount of work in the welding shop too and can cook pretty good too.

Reactions: Like 5 | EyeCandy! 2


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## duncsuss (Jan 2, 2017)

spalted?


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## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

duncsuss said:


> spalted?


I dunno? Is that the word? I was thinking of something more eloquent. Figured maybe? LOL.


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## duncsuss (Jan 2, 2017)

The black lines that make it look like a stained-glass window are spalting, other patterns (grain, curliness, or suchlike) come under the general heading of "figured" (I think)

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

duncsuss said:


> The black lines that make it look like a stained-glass window are spalting, other patterns (grain, curliness, or suchlike) come under the general heading of "figured" (I think)


Yes. But spalted sounds so.... Plain. I'm looking eloquence here. Something beyond... say what the Islander would come up with.


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## duncsuss (Jan 2, 2017)

Clay3063 said:


> Yes. But spalted sounds so.... Plain. I'm looking eloquence here. Something beyond... say what the Islander would come up with.



From Wikipedia ... "The lines are often clumps of hard, dark mycelium, referred to as pseudosclerotial plate formation."

Sounds better than "fungal rot"

Reactions: Funny 4


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## Tony (Jan 2, 2017)

Gorgeous wood! Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Wildthings (Jan 2, 2017)

Great looking blanks ... wish you would use the full size images instead of the thumbnails

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Jim Beam (Jan 2, 2017)

duncsuss said:


> "The lines are often clumps of hard, dark mycelium, referred to as pseudosclerotial plate formation."
> "



Check out the big brain on Duncan!

Reactions: Funny 3


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## duncsuss (Jan 2, 2017)

Jim Beam said:


> Check out the big brain on Duncan!



Not sure when copy & paste from Wikipedia turned into something clever, but I'll take the compliment


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## Spinartist (Jan 2, 2017)

Beautiful spalted Pecan!!!
Sooo, let me get this straight...  You use a sawmill to make pen blanks??

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Lou Currier (Jan 2, 2017)

@Clay3063 how did you insert the pictures where you can scroll through them?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

Lou Currier said:


> @Clay3063 how did you insert the pictures where you can scroll through them?


Seriously. I dunno. I did it the same way I always do and it just came out that way. Not sure what the deal is. I started a new thread. Inserted text in the text box and hit the "Upload A File" button at the bottom and then hit the "Create Thread" button. That's what I did. That's all I did. I didn't do nuthin else. I swear. If it's broke... my wife did it.

Reactions: Like 1 | Great Post 1 | Funny 2


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## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

Clay3063 said:


> Seriously. I dunno. I did it the same way I always do and it just came out that way. Not sure what the deal is. I started a new thread. Inserted text in the text box and hit the "Upload A File" button at the bottom and then hit the "Create Thread" button. That's what I did. That's all I did. I didn't do nuthin else. I swear. If it's broke... my wife did it.


Oh and I almost forgot. When I hit the "Upload File button" that's when I added the pics. I just kept hitting that button and adding pics until I had enough and then hit the "Create Thread" button.


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## Jim Beam (Jan 2, 2017)

Clay3063 said:


> After driving around for about 20 minutes I found the piece I wanted after picking up a couple of smaller pieces and rejecting a dozen others. And we came back to the house where I started cutting it down to size.



So let me get this straight: You can just go for a drive and pick up spalted pecan OFF THE GROUND!? Maybe Texas ain't so bad after all.


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## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

Jim Beam said:


> So let me get this straight: You can just go for a drive and pick up spalted pecan OFF THE GROUND!? Maybe Texas ain't so bad after all.


Yes sir. LOL. Tomorrow I am going to take the big dually dodge ram with the custom built A frame and the trailer and chain saw and pick up a huge pecan log or two or three (actually the whole tree) that recently fell or was blown down in a little old lady's front pasture. But back to the original question. Yes. We went down to the river in town and drove around until I saw the one I wanted. And we picked it up and brought it back to the casa / shop.


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## DKMD (Jan 2, 2017)

Clay3063 said:


> Seriously. I dunno. I did it the same way I always do and it just came out that way. Not sure what the deal is. I started a new thread. Inserted text in the text box and hit the "Upload A File" button at the bottom and then hit the "Create Thread" button. That's what I did. That's all I did. I didn't do nuthin else. I swear. If it's broke... my wife did it.



Clay, you should be able to click the 'full image' button next to each photo to make them full sized pictures in the post.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Lou Currier (Jan 2, 2017)

Clay3063 said:


> Yes sir. LOL. Tomorrow I am going to take the big dually dodge ram with the custom built A frame and the trailer and chain saw and pick up a huge pecan log or two or three (actually the whole tree) that recently fell or was blown down in a little old lady's front pasture. But back to the original question. Yes. We went down to the river in town and drove around until I saw the one I wanted. And we picked it up and brought it back to the casa / shop.



Now that you told us your secret you have to share...it's in the rules


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## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

Lou Currier said:


> Now that you told us your secret you have to share...it's in the rules


Give me your address and send me 6.80 to cover the flat rate little box and I'll share a couple or ten of these blanks with you. Just because. How about that?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Lou Currier (Jan 2, 2017)

Clay, that is awesome.... Just don't tell the Hawaiian


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## Clay3063 (Jan 2, 2017)

Lou Currier said:


> Clay, that is awesome.... Just don't tell the Hawaiian


Thanks. Normally I'm a rule breaker. But... I'm feeling nostalgic or something this evening.


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## rdabpenman (Jan 3, 2017)

Great looking timber.

Les

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Clay3063 (Jan 3, 2017)

Wildthings said:


> Great looking blanks ... wish you would use the full size images instead of the thumbnails





Spinartist said:


> Beautiful spalted Pecan!!!
> 
> As per your request. Just for you. Full size photos. Wait till you see what I have today.
> 
> ...



Doesn't everyone?


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## Clay3063 (Jan 3, 2017)

Spinartist said:


> Beautiful spalted Pecan!!!
> Sooo, let me get this straight...  You use a sawmill to make pen blanks??



Doesn't everyone? Mind you now, I said it is a "One (wo)man sawmill" and then posted a picture. In case you missed it, Here is the mill without the power unit (the wife).

Reactions: Funny 3


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## rocky1 (Jan 3, 2017)

DKMD said:


> Clay, you should be able to click the 'full image' button next to each photo to make them full sized pictures in the post.




Ahhhhhh... That explains it sorta.

I've been wondering about the slideshow deal on posts as well, as I never see an option for that with my pictures.

HOWEVER... And, it may be the same thing Lou and others who are questioning it are running into, that may be because of the size of the images he's loading.

I typically resize and optimize my pictures for web before loading them. And, post them at 800 x 600 resolution with file size reduced about 90%. Rather than trying to upload a 1.2 - 1.5 mb picture, and letting my browser or the website resize it. I resize and reduce resolution in Photoshop and load a picture that runs 75 - 150 kb a 90 - 95% reduction in file size.

Make sense now!

Thanks for that bit of wisdom Doc!


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## Clay3063 (Jan 3, 2017)

Lou Currier said:


> Now that you told us your secret you have to share...it's in the rules


Small flat rate box full of spalted pecan blanks is in the mail. Expect delivery maybe by the end of the week.


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## Lou Currier (Jan 3, 2017)

Clay3063 said:


> Small flat rate box full of spalted pecan blanks is in the mail. Expect delivery maybe by the end of the week.


 


Just remember...don't tell the hawaian!


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## Clay3063 (Jan 3, 2017)

Lou Currier said:


> Just remember...don't tell the hawaian!


 

Lips are sealed.


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