I think I bit off more than I can chew (Desert Ironwood!).

[Fixall]

Ok, I definitely, definitely bit off more than I can chew.

I recently picked up about forty pounds of Desert Ironwood logs. I know. I'm crazy right? But look at that figure! Could you have walked away from that?! And at around $100, I felt the price was right (what do I know though).

Here's the problem... The only experience I have processing wood for knives is cutting blocks into scales, lol. I also don't have the proper tools for this job. Awesome right? At the very least... I'm smart enough to have a respirator with P100 cartridges on hand, lol. I also have a Klein moisture meter on the way.

On hand, I have a Ryoba No 660 210mm double-edged saw and a cheap Skil 3386 9" Band Saw I was given for free. The band saw actually does very well when cutting African Blackwood, Ebony, Desert Ironwood, and even Lignum Vitae into scales (I made a point fence for it). This is a whole different kind of beast though, lol. I have no problem dropping money on new tools, but space is at a premium right now. Am I boned for now? Should I just put them in storage and forget about them for the time being? I have plans to purchase either a Grizzly or Rikon band saw as soon as our house is ready, but with the way things are going, that may not be until late summer or later. For now, there's no room for something like that.

Here's the block I am looking at working with. It is much smaller than the other two and looks like it would be easier to work with. It's also not nearly as pretty so I'm more comfortable using it to learn.

What do you think?

And if I do give it a go... Should I try for blocks like this:

Or maybe like this:

And here's a few shots of the monsters I won't be able to deal with for quite some time.

Thanks for the help and have a wonderful weekend!

 

[Hengelo_77]

Don't rush it, save it for when you have the time/space/machine to do it right.

Cut like this:
(Can't get the pic to work, but the 2nd option marked blue by you)

 

[Fixall]

Don't rush it, save it for when you have the time/space/machine to do it right.

Cut like this:
(Can't get the pic to work, but the 2nd option marked blue by you)

I figured saving it was probably the smart thing to do (and is likely what I'll do). If the wood is still green (moisture meter will be here on Monday), would leaving it whole cause more internal pressure to build up than if it was processed? I know I'll be losing a lot to cracks and I'd love to minimize that.

Excellent, I was hoping that would be the best way to cut it because it allows me to simply cut the block in half, making it easier to work with.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I wouldn't cut that up for at least a year or two. Let it dry slowly on a shelf in the garage. I would contact Ben at Greenberg Woods for some drying advice.

 

[Fixall]

I wouldn't cut that up for at least a year or two. Let it dry slowly on a shelf in the garage. I would contact Ben at Greenberg Woods for some drying advice.

10-4. The task is intimidating, so I was kind of hoping I was getting a bit ahead of myself, lol. I'll shoot Ben a message here soon. Thanks!

 

[FredyCro]

If it's not green or if it is already at a reasonable humidity level I would get it to someone with a large band saw or table saw and split the big log in half and cut up the rest in ca 2 inch wide slices. From there you could cut with your small bandsaw to the necessary width and length.

 

[Ron Raducanu]

That is gorgeous wood!! Wow!!

 

[Fixall]

I'm familiar with the pricing of blocks and scales since I've bought 100+ over the last couple of years, but I have no idea about pricing logs. I imagine a LOT of material is loss to check/splits/shake, particularly with desert ironwood. I also imagine a lot of the cost of blocks and scales come from the difficulty processing the wood (wear and tear on machinery, carbide blade costs, extra time, etc). I feel like I underpaid... But what do you think? Good deal, or did I get fleeced, lol?

If it's not green or if it is already at a reasonable humidity level I would get it to someone with a large band saw or table saw and split the big log in half and cut up the rest in ca 2 inch wide slices. From there you could cut with your small bandsaw to the necessary width and length.

Judging by the color (I'm being really scientific here), I have a feeling that it could use some time drying. The moisture meter will be here tomorrow. I live on the coast in Washington, so I imagine some time to acclimate to the humidity here probably wouldn't be a bad thing either since it's fresh from Arizona.

That is gorgeous wood!! Wow!!

I thought so too! All kinds of birdseye looking figure in there.

If you think that stuff is pretty... Check out this bad boy I snagged with the logs.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

The moisture meter wont do you much good. Even the ultra high end ones are relatively inaccurate at densities over 1.00 g/cm^3.


Id recommend waxing the ends first and as you cut just keep the end grain waxed, its always safer and given the change in location to the PNW humidity changes could result in some stress checking.

For cutting it, your first diagram is a bad idea. You want to always cut it long grain, that is to say you want end grain only on the smallest face of the wood, thus your second photo of you cutting plans shows the correct orientaion. Desert Ironwood is very often full of cracks, checks, splits, ingrown bark and all sorts of other hazards so be flexible and be willing to cut blocks wherever you can, dont aim to get a perfect full slice of useable blocks, it probably wont happen.

As for cutting it, while you can technically cut it with a hand saw, id really strongly advise against it. Find someone with a bandsaw. You can do it on a 14 inch saw with a good blade.

Also dont use a super find toothed blade, i see people make that mistake all the time of trying to use super fine toothed blades to cut hard woods. Woods like DI, rosewood, ebony and other dense woods weep a little oil when heated, and often fine toothed blades end up gumming themselves in, scorching and not doing a good job of cutting. Use a new 3-4 TPI blade and cut slowly but at a stead pace. Don't let the blade sit in the wood while it runs, or again you will scorch it and vastly increase the chances of a heat crack forming inside the log.

 

[Fixall]

The moisture meter wont do you much good. Even the ultra high end ones are relatively inaccurate at densities over 1.00 g/cm^3.

Id recommend waxing the ends first and as you cut just keep the end grain waxed, its always safer and given the change in location to the PNW humidity changes could result in some stress checking.

For cutting it, your first diagram is a bad idea. You want to always cut it long grain, that is to say you want end grain only on the smallest face of the wood, thus your second photo of you cutting plans shows the correct orientaion. Desert Ironwood is very often full of cracks, checks, splits, ingrown bark and all sorts of other hazards so be flexible and be willing to cut blocks wherever you can, dont aim to get a perfect full slice of useable blocks, it probably wont happen.

As for cutting it, while you can technically cut it with a hand saw, id really strongly advise against it. Find someone with a bandsaw. You can do it on a 14 inch saw with a good blade.

Also dont use a super find toothed blade, i see people make that mistake all the time of trying to use super fine toothed blades to cut hard woods. Woods like DI, rosewood, ebony and other dense woods weep a little oil when heated, and often fine toothed blades end up gumming themselves in, scorching and not doing a good job of cutting. Use a new 3-4 TPI blade and cut slowly but at a stead pace. Don't let the blade sit in the wood while it runs, or again you will scorch it and vastly increase the chances of a heat crack forming inside the log.

Thanks for coming to the rescue Ben.

Yea, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I posted that first picture when I was talking about how to cut it. I'm just gonna chalk that off to being excited and posting at midnight, lol. This is what I should have posted when I was asking about the cut orientation, sorry.

Like this?

Or like this?

I have a feeling the cracks are going to decide the orientation of the cuts?

I'll try to set my expectations low when it comes to the amount of usable blocks I get out of the logs. I've seen some posts from other woodworkers where they lost nearly 70% of the wood to checks.

Wax the ends. Got it. I have some Anchorseal on hand. Would wax be better?

We actually have a Makershop here in town. I wonder if that would be up to the task. I'll do some searching and see what else I can find. 3 - 4 TPI. Got it. That's definitely something I noticed when I was cutting African Blackwood on my small band saw. I thought something with a high TPI, close to a metal saw would work best since the wood was so dense, but that didn't work out well. I'm using a 4 TPI right now, but I was actually planning on swapping that out to a 3 TPI when it wears out. Don't overheat the wood. Got it.

Thanks for the heads up on the moisture meter, I had no idea. I think I'll still get some use out of it though. I've got a bunch of other wood on hand and send blocks out to K&G somewhat often.

 

[Fixall]

Edited the post above with the pics I should have posted last night about cut orientation.

 

[Greenberg Woods]

Based on those photos id reccomend cutting on the other side, up and down from where you have drawn the boxes. Those little end marks and checks imply more damage on the inside face of the wood than on the more outside face.

 

[Fixall]

Based on those photos id reccomend cutting on the other side, up and down from where you have drawn the boxes. Those little end marks and checks imply more damage on the inside face of the wood than on the more outside face.

Yea, the side I put the boxes on is pretty cracked. I just put them there since there was a nice straight edge to place them on. The orientation was the main thing. So if I understand you correctly, I should cut with an orientation like in the second picture... But on the left side where there are no cracks and above and below where I have the box of course, so I (hopefully) get two 2" x 1.2" cuts out of it.

(roughly) like this, correct?

 

[FredyCro]

Yea, the side I put the boxes on is pretty cracked. I just put them there since there was a nice straight edge to place them on. The orientation was the main thing. So if I understand you correctly, I should cut with an orientation like in the second picture... But on the left side where there are no cracks and above and below where I have the box of course, so I (hopefully) get two 2" x 1.2" cuts out of it.

(roughly) like this, correct?

You might get two more blocks on that piece if you place those blocks vertically, 1.5 inch width.

 

[Fixall]

You might get two more blocks on that piece if you place those blocks vertically, 1.5 inch width.

I think you're right. I guess my question is if one orientation or the other would likely result in better figure on the cut scales.

 

[FredyCro]

You could look at grow rings and guess, cut once near one of your lines, have a look and then decide, or cut smaller square blocks (1.6-1.7") and then decide which face you want to use. If you also need larger blocks you could cut the bigger stumps to larger blocks. You will have a lot of cut off no matter what, but there is planty of blocks in those stumps imho.

I see a lot of makers on yt using oversized blocks and ending up with a lot of cut off. That's a shame if ask me. Thats why I would cut it to slices and then cut the rest when you know which knife you are making (according to the size, handle construction type and figure).

Anyhow, thats how I do it, but I have not being doing it for a very long time

 

[Hengelo_77]

Also, don't throw away cut offs or under size pieces.
Small knives need handles to and combining several small pieces can make a beautiful handle.

 

[Ron Raducanu]

I thought so too! All kinds of birdseye looking figure in there.

If you think that stuff is pretty... Check out this bad boy I snagged with the logs.

Man, if those pieces were bigger, they would make a spectacular guitar.

 

[Cushing H.]

Also, don't throw away cut offs or under size pieces.
Small knives need handles to and combining several small pieces can make a beautiful handle.

I was going to say this same thing . Don’t restrict yourself to a certain size block. I’m about to put a cocobolo handle onto a couple steak knives for my son ... and a smaller “cutoff” from a previous project turns out to be just perfect to cut out four scales for those knives.

fwiw- if you keep doing something like this, it would likely be well worth it for you to get a medium size bandsaw. When I first set up shop, the two items I searched for and bought (used) were a bandsaw and drill press. That bandsaw is a little rickety, but it gets used all the time, and gets the job done...

 

[JTknives]

I wouldn't cut that up for at least a year or two. Let it dry slowly on a shelf in the garage. I would contact Ben at Greenberg Woods for some drying advice.

You could also see if when the tine comes he would slab it up for you