How would you cut it?

[Peter Blair]

HI all.

Yesterday I acquired a terrific load of Maple.
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One beautiful piece in particular is fantastic and I am really nervous about what to do with it.

It is 8 1/2" thick and about 24 x 24 weighs about 170 lb.
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I have a Oneway 1640 lathe and only turn inboard. I am afraid to cut it without some serious help!

How would you cut it. Right now it is unmanageable by myself so I need to cut it and get to roughing before it starts to crack.

Thanks in advance.

[Mike Cruz]

There is a VERY simple solution to this dilemma. You're going to kick yourself after I tell you what it is. You'll think, "DUH! Why didn't I think of that!!!!"

Get a PM4224b. What better excuse do you need? Kinda like when the wife says, "Get the shoes, the dress will come."

Not that that wasn't the BEST solution, on to your question... I'd mark it out with circles so that you get one big one at 16". Then keep making circles using up all the wood to get as many blanks as possible. I'm assuming you turn bowls... If you turn HFs, too, then all those little circles could be HFs or bowls.

Get some help from a neighbor/friend/turner, and have them help you cut it out on the band saw.

That's the best I can come up with. Oh, unless you want to get a matching set of bowls, then you could do 4 bowls at about 12" each...

[Thom Sturgill]

If you have a corer then keep that in mind. 8+" thick would definitely allow for coring sets. Other than that +1 on what Mike said.

[Richard Coers]

Pete, what do you want to make? That's how you should cut it. Talk to us about bowls, hollow forms, platters.......Then you can get some advice on cutting.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I agree with Richard... really depends on what it is that you want to turn. Congrats on the wood!!

[Mike Cruz]

Yes, Steve and Richard, my response assumed (and I really shouldn't do that) that he turns bowls... Though I did say that it might be different if he mainly turns HFs.

Bottom line, is he asked how "you" would cut it, and that is how I answered. But if he wants to advice on the best way for it to be cut for him (which is really what he was asking), he needs to provide more info on his turning...like what has he been turning, what does he like to turn, and what would he like to turn in the future.

And I meant to say it in my reply, Thom, but you hit on what I was thinking...at 8" deep, if you really want to get the most of this wood, and you are planning on doing bowls, if you don't already have a coring system, you may want to look into one. You can double or triple your yield!

Also, good point, Richard. That 16" blank that I was talking about could then be cut in half to make two platter/shallow bowls, or even at 6" and 2" for a bowl and a platter.

Peter, we need more info from you, dude!

[Peter Blair]

Thanks guys! Sorry, I really should have given you more information.

As far as what I like to turn, I JUST LOVE TO TURN!!!!!

I turn bowl, hollow forms, goblets, vases bottle stoppers and the occasional pen!

I think I have a lot of ideas now so tomorrow I'll get out the lumber crayon and my chain saw and start cutting.

[Fred Belknap]

Pete I have been at a loss as how to cut something and think and stew about it. In the end I just do the best I can, it's just wood and grows on trees.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with Richard. It depends on what you want to turn.

[Peter Blair]

Fred, I really really like the way you think!

[Thomas Canfield]

How will you cut the piece? If using a chain saw, then you can get one section 8x8x24, one 16x16 x8, and two 8x8x8 or close to that. It might be better to center the 16x16 section to get better grain pattern and that would change the 8x8x24 to something else that might end up as4x4x24 or so spindle (small boxes??) or hollow forms. If you do not have a bandsaw to cut the 16x16 to a circular blank, then I would tend to cut it a little under allowing for straight cut trimming with chain saw for clearance on lathe.

If you have a bandsaw with clearance and help to handle the wood, then circular blanks are also an option. I like to use cardboard circular templates to see how they will fit on large sections. It is nice to have your problem.

[Mike Cruz]

What has this forum come to? No one jumped on the "Buy a PM4224B" bandwagon with me! I'm ashamed of you all...

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I'm with Fred on this one. I've danced around pieces for days trying to figure the best angle on what I thought was the best of the bunch only to find something inside that couldn't be accounted for from the outside. Often its the mousey little piece that I discounted earlier that turns out to be the most spectacular. My philosophy is to cut away, get what you can out of it, and, for better or worse, learn something in the process.

[Peter Blair]

Greetings again everyone and once again thanks for all the great suggestions. By the way Mike, my better half veto'd the PM4224B idea!!

Something about 'big isn't always better' but thanks for the idea.

Here's a shot of what I got, I did try to take all your suggestions into account.
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Opps, looking at the picture now I see I didn't include one 8" x 8" x 8".

As you can see, I have only cut into blocks but hope to get to the bandsaw and start roughing out next week as soon as I finish my Christmas jobs, like getting the lights up and finishing a couple of gifts.

Oh, here's a shot of what I had left . . . minus the chain saw shavings of course.
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[Mike Cruz]

Looks like you did a great job utilizing what you had with little waste! And heck, you could still get bottle stoppers and pen blanks out of your "scrap" pile. Cut 3/4 x 3/4 x 6" (roughly) blanks for pens in the future. And 2" x 2" x 3" (roughly) blanks for bottle stoppers. Just be sure to let them dry for at least a year or so!