[OP]
Member
I was given this tree that I had cut into slabs . I was told it was cypress but as it turned out it is yew . I had just used up my last bit of yew I had been saving and was actually looking for a source for more. What luck! I estimate this tree at around a thousand years old .kind of a shame .
I think I got saw dust in my drowers again......
Contributor
Congrats Robert! What little yew I've turned was beautiful and turned easily!
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
Moderator
Looks like some awesome wood there bud. Can't wait to see what comes out of that Yew wood.
Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
Dennis -
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....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.
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Robert
I saw some just last night at the Olympic turners meeting, got sold in the monthly auction for not that much...
Making sawdust mostly, sometimes I get something else, but that is more by accident then design.
Moderator
Wow...kewel stuff. And it's nice that you'll at least make up for the old tree's demise by making sure it lives on in other forms.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
[OP]
Member
Well Ralph beauty is in the eye of the beholder , and the last time I priced Yew the good stuff was going for 35.00 bf . Yew is harder then maple and bends great, it polishes like glass with no finish. I llllloooove it !
The person got a good deal it sounds like.
Originally Posted by Ralph Lindberg
Last edited by Jim Becker; 03-29-2007 at 10:12 PM. Reason: Fixed quote tagging
I think I got saw dust in my drowers again......
Contributor
Yew is among my favorite turning woods, too. It really does cut like butter and takes a superb polish...not unlike some exotics. Makes for some very nice tool handles and shake-froe mallets and anything else practical. A tree of the apparent size of yours is difficult to come by, at least around here. I have packed many a yew bolt out of the woods over the past couple years since becoming a turner. A downed one that is a reasonable distance from a road is a fortunate find for me.
About 15 years ago, we had a huge focused harvest of yew bark (killing the trees) thruout the PNW as the bark contained taxol.....a remedy for cancer....it wasnt long afterward that taxol was synthesized. A shame that couldnt have happened a couple of years earlier. Thousands of cut trees were either left in the woods or hauled out and sold for firewood. Burns great.
Member
Beautiful log... I love the grain! The english variety has a great history in ancient battles... so I have always liked the wood.
Isaiah 55:6-7
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