woodtickgreg
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A maple, I'd mill it. Hard or soft maple is all good i.m.o.
What free wood did you find today?
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Is Silver Maple considered a Hardwood? We had a Soft Maple (don't know it's real name) in our yard growing up. It had slick bark. Is it the type of Maple used for cutting boards?
Unfortunately, I don't have access to a mill or know anyone who has. Worst yet, I have no way to move or transport a log this size. I was going to cut down into 4' sections and load those with my cheapo HF winch. Then CSM down to manageable size for my 14" bandsaw.
I've lost several nice logs to the burn pile, White Oak, Cherry, Red Elm... that I would have milled if my situation was different.
Rough csm milling isn't as hard as most people think. A mason's line and a chainsaw have produced several 6x8x24 foot beams at my daddy's farm to build a tractor shed. An 18 to 24 inch bar is big enough for anything you can roll over by hand. For that matter, if you can cut it to length, the bar is big enough to mill that log if you are willing to flip it over.
I would definitely snag whatever you can at this point. Many options to make it workable can be figured out later. Chuck
woodtickgreg
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It's considered a soft hardwood. Good for end grain cutting boards or secondary wood in furniture. I've seen some beautiful ambrosia soft maple that I would build furniture or cabinets with. It's great for scroll saw projects too. It's easy to dry and relatively stable when doing so. It machines well, sands easy and takes a finish nicely too. So I'll never pass on soft maple. In fact I happily accept just about any Maple species, it has many colors and varieties.
I want to make simple cutting boards using flat sawn grain, not end grain. So I'm guessing it wouldn't work too well. From what I found doing a little digging, is that I want Sugar Maple. As time permits, I'll still try to butcher off some slabs for other uses.
Thanks everyone.
Cutting boards are meant to get cut. Silver maple is just a slight bit softer than Red maple (soft maple). It is easier on your knives than Sugar maple. It is lighter weight, which has pros and cons. Silver maple is more commonly found naturally growing in wet areas where legal logging is a challenge. Sugar maple is more common on dry grounds with less restriction, so more readily available and thus a market staple. It would work fine, just limit mixing it with other maples of different densities and growth ring sizes.
Koa. I found it and it’s free (if I don’t get caught), but I just can’t figure how to get it into my suitcase.
First off, you need bigger luggage…. Or maybe @Don Ratcliff has a suggestion. Chuck
Carve it up to look like a dog and say it identifies as a service dog!
Found these today. Rainbow Eucalyptus. But again, can’t get it in the suitcase.
Lll Mikey ain't all that smart, but he seriously doubts you are in VA! Have you had a trip down The Yellow Brick Road?
We are on Kauai until tomorrow.
I've seen those before when I lived in Hawaii. Often wondered if the wood is as pretty as the outside of the tree! Chuck
Yeah, me too, but if I was to guess I’d say no.
The wood is often a drab light brown with tight grain showing little to no character. That butt log looks like it would have some blister, so not always a drab wood.
Made the drive to East Texas today. Stopped by to visit an old friend who lives in a fairly remote area after taking care of business. Had a lot of catching up to do.
On the way out stopped by a freshly cut, very large Red Oak treeaying in pieces in the ditch.
Cut it down to size for the lathe, roughed it in, and sealed it with Anchorseal.
On the way out stopped by a freshly cut, very large Red Oak treeaying in pieces in the ditch.
Cut it down to size for the lathe, roughed it in, and sealed it with Anchorseal.
Good snatch! Seems like Oak is an unappreciated wood species for turning, but I've seen some amazing things turned from it. Wonder how much your bowl will move as it dries. Chuck
I've always liked oaks also, have only turned a few pieces. I'm sure that it will move a bit. Left plenty of room for it to do so.
I'm looking forward to seeing it in finished state. If it finishes well there is a large supply on my friends property that he would be happy to have someone remove.