Is this of interest? Free wood

[Roger Los]

This weekend, a chunk of an ~50 year old maple blew over and blocked our drive. A friend and I cut it into movable chunks to clear a path, but the rest is just sitting there.

I believe this is vine maple, so I don't know if it has any value to anyone at all. The big twisty section is perhaps 2 - 2.5 feet in diameter and the stems across the drive were 1 - 1.5 feet across. I counted 45 growth rings in a 1' section.

The chunks are now anywhere from 2' to 4' in length, and the main piece is still in a 15' segment.

Pretty amazing, there were perhaps six wood fibers holding up however many thousand pounds of tree this was. As is usual with these maples, this one had rotted out where the stems branched from each other.

It's here for the taking (if it's of any use), I can't deliver, unfortunately. I'll add some photos of the cut sections, though I think this is pretty "plain" wood.

[Pat Salter]

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, if only I wasn't close to two thousand miles away.....
Contact any local woodturning or woodworking clubs in your area, maybe check with any wood store, they would probably be happy to help you.
and in my opinion, which nobody listens too , is that there is no such thing as "plain" wood. wish I could help you out.

[John Hart]

Nice offer Roger. I'm too far away too. Perhaps you should get a lathe?

[Jim Becker]

A woodturner with a lathe can and will turn "anything"...

[Dave Smith]

If I were closer I would relieve you of some of you burden. You might want to email Bart Leach who lives on Whidbey Island. Bart is a regular on SMC.

Here are a couple of pictures of a vine maple closed form. The pictures were taken outside and has reflections of my house in the high gloss lacquer finish. I hollowed the the whole log through a rotted limb.
vm1.JPGvm2.JPGvm3.JPG
The DNA drying process works well for whole log pieces. Note the pith of the log just below the center of the sides. There were a few small cracks around the rotted area in picture one. The piece is about 6" round and 3/8" thick. I don't have time to look up the exact dimensions.

Vine maple has very fine grain and is not often found larger than 3" in diameter.

Dave Smith

Enjoying rare sunshine this morning in Longview, WA.

[Charles Harper]

That's not a vine maple, just a smallish western maple. Vine maple is more of a bushy form. There are many trees down after this weekend's windstorm. There is actually a spalted bigleaf maple down right beside I-5 near exit 116 northbound. Every day as i pass it I am tempted to stop and pick thru it, but having no chainsaw or lathe...although I have been thinking about doing one of those Drew Langsner-style green wood bowls.

Hmmm, just may have to stop.

Also, if anyone is interested, I know of several places with downed maples that are easily accessed from the street around Olympia,WA. I am always keeping an eye out for maples and madrones.

[John Hart]

Charles...Charles..Charles....No Chainsaw AND no lathe? How do you get through your day? Just the feeling of a newly sanded piece of maple spinning through your fingers at 1100 RPM is enough to wash away two weeks of stress.

[Charles Harper]

Actually, I have been thinking about getting a small lathe, maybe the Rikon at Woodcraft, or the PSI turncrafter. I would like a big one, but have yet to put in the 220 and get my other big equipment (jointer, bs, etc)

[John Hart]

Cool!!!!!

[Andy Hoyt]

John - Let me know if I should dispatch our Rapid Response Vehicle to the Olympia area.

Abysserator.jpg

[Roger Los]

Sorry about the species confusion. I basically can distinguish between coniferous and deciduous...on a good day.

Here's some more photos, like Charles mentioned there are way too many trees down up here to generate much excitement. Firewood, I think, is this one's destiny.

[John Hart]

Nice Roger! So that's what heaven looks like. I've been wonderin' about that!

[Roger Los]

One of the neighbors is out there right now, cutting it into firewood. It's OK, as Charles mentioned, there is plenty of wind-blown wood for the asking up here at the moment.

Whidbey is gorgeous, as is most of this area. However, don't tell anyone. And it's definitely not the place for someone with Seasonal Affective Disorder.

[Chris Barton]

Hmm, I see some color and figure in the pith in the right side of the forked branch. Hold on to that, I'll be right up...

[Charles Harper]

The one in the picture on the right is a bigleaf maple. You often find nice curl in these, the butt of that split should be full of spalt. I know of a place not a mile from my house where there are at least a dozen bigleaf maples of 2+ foot diameter, 12+ ft long that have been stacked up and left to rot.

The other day I passed a house maybe three miles away that had had a bigleaf maple of about 4 ft diameter taken out, dozens of large split chunks laying in the front yard. The yard maples around here nearly always have a lot of burl, as well as plenty of curl.

I have a slab in my garage I cut from a yard stump about ten years ago that is spalted, quilted and curly. I have been hanging on to it for "someday." I had to pass up the 3' x 3' burl as I was cuting my slab with a pruning saw. Again, no chainsaw...

Finally the other day passed a city crew cutting up a 16" Norway maple and putting it straight into the chipper.