Harvesting wood for handles

Morrow

Morrow

Don't make this weird
Joined
Apr 11, 2007
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A friend of mine just had three large trees cut down on his property. One ash, a cherry and a maple. He is probably going to just burn the wood if he can't sell it. I'm going to go see if there is potential burl to be collected from the maple.
For handle material, is the ash usable....the cherry? Any best practices you experts can pass along so I don't ruin whatever I find?
 
If your going to cure some handle slabs, cut a a lot bigger then you would ever think you could use, it's going to crack, check and split, your just going to cut that off as extra.

Seasoning in a house oven works in a hurry, just more waist

Burl is one grain design, but currels and tiger-striping adds some intrest to the mix. The stump, limb juncture, growth bends are also worth keeping.

I never know whats inside till I cut it. Here is some Scrub Oak on a hunter in progress.
hunterheattreatline25per.jpg
 
I get my best cuts from the Y's and the root bases. If they have large growth areas works also. Split and dry managable pieces that you can later cut slabs out on a band saw. I stack it flat with small peices of scap between each peice and put a 10lb weight on top. This lets it cure/season/dry flat. Hope this helps. Good luck.
 
Burls can be found on any of the trees you mentioned. They look like worts. If these trees are big knarly looking things than there is a good chance of figure in the wood. Cut into any thing that looks odd and see what you got.
Good luck Will Crump
 
thanks for the great info. the trees are currently cut into long sections. I guess I need to go take a look. Just to be clear....I'm not going to be making handles myself. I'll probably just give whatever I get to someone to use. I just didn't want to see usable wood tossed into a fireplace.
 
You can minimize the splitting and cracking during curing by sealing the end grain of the wood. Commercially, the ends were just dipped in wax. It slows the drying time, but you get a lot more out of it.

If you've ever been in a woodworkers lumberyard (like Paxton) they'll have almost everything end grain sealed. That stuff is just too expensive to have much waste.
 
morrowj_98 said:
thanks for the great info. the trees are currently cut into long sections. I guess I need to go take a look. Just to be clear....I'm not going to be making handles myself. I'll probably just give whatever I get to someone to use. I just didn't want to see usable wood tossed into a fireplace.
Click to expand...


The best trees for intresting grain are the trees that are just to gnarrly for lumber. Keeping your eyes open splitting firewood, you would be supprised what you could mill out with just a table saw. (or chainsaw and finnish with a table saw)

Once seasoned, like firewood should be, your there, wood will no longer further check unless it gets a lot of humidity changes.

Just a hunch, but it's my bet that a majority of the most intresting grained wood it burnt for fuel wood?
 
I scavenge the firewood piles of guys at work. Usually when they say that peice just would't split then I know I have some burl in there. Thanks for bringing that up CrowValleyForge.
 
CrowValleyForge said:
The best trees for intresting grain are the trees that are just to gnarrly for lumber. Keeping your eyes open splitting firewood, you would be supprised what you could mill out with just a table saw. (or chainsaw and finnish with a table saw)

Once seasoned, like firewood should be, your there, wood will no longer further check unless it gets a lot of humidity changes.

Just a hunch, but it's my bet that a majority of the most intresting grained wood it burnt for fuel wood?
Click to expand...

You got that right! That is where i get a lot of my handle material nothing goes into the stove without a thorough inspection.

Bob
 
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