After a a year and a half of building my new shop, I'm finally getting to put it to use.
Few months ago a lot was cleared near me and I grabbed as much maple as I could. Since these were large trees, the guys cut the trunk into what they called "cookies".
Fortunately, they offered as much as they could stack in my trailer.
Last weekend I had a chance to spin up the first cookie.
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It was about 200 lbs. I have an overhead trolly and hoist which really helps
A big face plate and lots of screws keep things in place.
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Half way there
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with a bit of a mess to deal with. I usually clean with a snow shovel.
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Its end grain piece so carving out the inside was a challenge. My hook tool wasn't up for it and broke within 5 min.
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At this point it was down to about 20 - 30 lbs and easier to spin at higher speeds. One big catch caused a bit of grief that was hard to work out.
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At this point I was 4" off the tool rest so switched to a scraper.
Now I just need to wait a few months for it to dry out and hope it doesn't crack.
Its covered in sealing wax and stored in a very cold spot. The last one worked...so fingers crossed.
Olaf