spalted is it woth having stabalized??

crank78 said:
ok since I probably have at least 2tons of this stuff. I am going to cut some into 1.5x1.5x18 in sections and take them to the sawmill and stick them in there kiln. will also cut several more and stack them up in my shop to let dry properly. may even see if the saw mill will cut it out for me. that's a lot to cut.

I have pleanty of wax to put on them.

if this works out ill have spalted handles on everything I own lol. may even try to make a spalted pool cue. even though I have never seen one and im sure there is a reason for that.
Click to expand...

Dont cut them into sections that small. They will warp and split... Leave as whole as possible for the first year or so of drying. A kiln will warp and split them. Please reread my above post.... There are plenty of searchable threads about drying wood on here. Follow those posts...

And yes, the burl above looks like a keeper. Cut above the burl at the base of what was the tree and seal it there. Roots and such can be removed right up to an inch from the burl, just cover the exposed stumps of those roots. Should be a nice burl when finished.

Cheers!
-Eric
 
LucyCustomKnives said:
Dont cut them into sections that small. They will warp and split... Leave as whole as possible for the first year or so of drying. A kiln will warp and split them. Please reread my above post.... There are plenty of searchable threads about drying wood on here. Follow those posts...

And yes, the burl above looks like a keeper. Cut above the burl at the base of what was the tree and seal it there. Roots and such can be removed right up to an inch from the burl, just cover the exposed stumps of those roots. Should be a nice burl when finished.

Cheers!
-Eric
Click to expand...

ok ty. searching more threads now.
 
crank78 said:
ok ty. searching more threads now.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I just reread your... If you have that much of it, and you aren't concerned about loss, try some in the kiln and some the proper way... If you are going to kiln dry, dont cut so close to finished size. You will have quite a bit of warping and splitting so will plane away a bit of material. Might as well try it if you have so much on hand.

Usually I am concerned with trying to save something a bit more rare and want as much recovery as possible. Something like a recovered American chestnut crotch cut or burl...

Is there any spongy material between the bark and heartwood, or is it a thin line? Looks like hackberry to a degree but KY yellowwood is similar on the lower. I'm ok at wood ID, but usually use leaves to do so. Have any leaves?
 
no all leaves are gone. I looked up hack berry and ky yellow wood. the leaves look similar. the yellow wood pics I seen. some had white flowers on them. I owned this race track 9 years ago. I don't remember ever seeing any white flowers on them. that was 9 years ago and my memory is not that good. I will get some better pics tomorrow and hopefully be able to tell for sure.

I may just take a 10ft log to the mill and see if they will stick the whole thing in there kiln for me. if half of it came out ok I would be happy.
 
If it is spalted KY yellowood that would be awesome. Don't know that I've ever seen that on a knife. I'd definitely be jealous and may pay you a visit with some brew and some cash... lol.

If it's hackberry, that is some just flat out beautiful stuff. And still might pay you that visit. Spalting to that degree in standing trees is rare. Its a sign of a fungus or bacterial infection in the tree and should give you a ton of material.

I just cut down a gnarled Locust tree on my farm this weekend. It had been standing deadwood for about 20 years. Spalting to a minor degree on the lower, a big stump for my anvil stand needs, and some really curled up grain in the crotches. The best part though is dropping that tree. Then the fun kinda fades...


-Eric
 
lol if it turns out good ill pif and give you some for all the help you have been to me and every new guy on this forum.
 
crank78 said:
lol if it turns out good ill pif and give you some for all the help you have been to me and every new guy on this forum.
Click to expand...

That is certainly not necessary, but the offer is appreciated. I would gladly sling you some dough or the adult beverage of your choice in return.

Hopefully that doesn't, but Mods, if this little exchange violates the rules, my apologies and blame it all on me. :)
 
I havnt had a drink since I found out I was diabetic. that's been over a year lol. I am due a drink or two.

here is the problem I have. I have about 10 blocks about 23-26in across and about 20 inches long. I cant pack them and want to put them in my building.
how should I cut them to a size that I can pack. i want to cut them so i get the best pattern out of them if possible. i just don't know where to start at.
 
h is a few more pics and a better pic of the bark.
0205141204b.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
0205141205.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
0205141205b.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
0205141204a.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
 
I would have the lumber yard cut it into 2-3" thick flitches about 7 feet long. Take it home, store a foot or more above the floor, sticker it, paint the ends, and dry for a couple years. If the guys at the mill think that kiln drying the flitches would be OK, it will speed things up by a couple years.

Once dry to 10% or less, cut the best parts out into 2-3" thick blocks that are about 5-6" wide and 12-18" long.and have them stabilized. The unfigured parts can be burned for heat, and the excess good stuff beyond what you want for yourself will be very salable. You can sell the blocks unstabalized or get them stabilized and cut into handle blocks. That log has over a thousand really nice handles in it.

We can't really talk about selling much more here, because you aren't a knifemaker/service provider membership level, but feel free to email me if you want more info. Also, contacting Mark at Burl Source would be a good idea. He handles logs like that all the time.
 
Based on what I can see there, and the fact you say you didn't remember there being flowers, I'm going with hackberry.

Hackberry and yellowwood have similar leaves in overall shape, but hackberry are larger leaves that grow in clusters and have smooth to frayed edges. Yellowwood has leaves that are saw edged and grow down a limb opposite ecah other like a fern. Both have noduled bark, which is why ID is hard from that alone... Yellowwood has a long train of white flowers that will hang from its branches. Hackberry has just little buds with small red fruit. Hackberry is more gnarled up in its bark near the base of the tree and yellowwood is more smooth with the nodules running linearly.

Cut it into as big a section you can for storage. Cover the endgrain and leave it a little room to breathe and it will be fine. It should be some beautiful wood.
When its cut across the grain it will show the most action in the spalt lines. With the grain the spalt lines will be more linear. On a bias, it is a bit between.

Cheers! It's gonna make some very nice finished wood...
Eric
 
Last edited:
Ty everyone. In dropping some off at the mill Friday. Guess I need to build me a stand in my Shop now. They only charge 20 cent a bf foot to cut it.
 
Lol I know it's a cell phone I don't even own a camera . Actually it would probably be decent if the operator knew how to use it as its 8 mp.
 
I would just about guarantee the mill can ID your wood. Sorry, I'm usually pretty savvy, but, as Strig pointed out, the pics are a little hard to see. I wasnt gonna mention the pic quality. Some people don't have 6, 7, 10 etc MP cameras and I don't want to sound exclusionist.

Good luck with it. I hope it turns out to be some awesome stuff. If you have a ton of it you can probably turn it into a few $$...

-Eric
 
yea I hope they can for sure. its defiantly in the elm family. I also found a couple blocks of spalted beech in my wood pile that I packed to the shop. lol after I get done going through my wood pile I wont have anything left to burn.
 
0207141637c.jpg
[/url][/IMG]heres a piece I dried and stabilized using a turning method that's not good for knife making. so I wont mention the process. I just wanted to see what it would look like. this is a not so highly figured piece. there are some that should be absolutely beautiful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top