First en boule - Bradford Pear

[charlie b]

An arborist, sawyer/woodworker friend lost his lease and had a wood sale this morning. In addition to getting some 4/4 and 5/4 figured maple, . 8/4 square ash for legs and some camphor, I bought my first log en boule - Bradford pear - cut, stickered and steel banded January

10th of this year (2006). Will be a couple of years before it's ready to use - with the widest center cut being 24+ inches and 12/4 thick by maybe 6 1/2+' long. NOW I'm committed to The Wood - no going back.

Also had the opportunity to meet a 17 year old who knows where he's going and what he wants to do with his life - furniture making - almost exclusively with handtools. He even sharpens his saws - a rarety amongst woodworkers these days, and is a Scary Sharp user. His father says he got into wood 5 years ago in a wood shop class in junior high and stuck with it, despite the fact that his high school doesn't have a wood shop.

Turns out he only has a few Stanley planes. A bell went off in my head, went home and brought him back my Steve Knight 2000 high angle smoother - with the lignum vitae (sp?) sole/soul. Now it's his and I'm sure he will use it more often than I did, leaving me with a low angle and standard smoother still in my tool cabinet.

Also met a guitar making getting a bunch of rosewood for guitar backs. Turned him onto a board of the Bear Claw spruce I have. He should get two bookmatched pairs for guitar tops out of it. NIce to know that board will get "stretched" to four times its original width.

The sun was shining, after nearly a week of on and off rain, the air was warm after a week of

40s and 50s and I got a bunch of nice wood - and my first en boule log. It's been a very good day.

(drive by gloat mode off)

charlie b

[Gerald Ross]

snip

Bradford Pear is prone to split while drying, but it makes a beautiful bowl.

[Josh]

It's also prone to split while growing! My neighborhood streets are lined with them, but they're probably all going to have to come down in the next year or two, as several have already starting to split down the middle and fall onto peoples' driveways, fences, etc. They definitely don't like the ice storms we get here in NC.

Charlie, I've never seen a bradford pear make it past 20 years old. I can't believe you found one 24" in diameter.

I assume your friend painted or waxed or otherwise sealed the ends of the boards? Otherwise they'll REALLY split badly.

Josh

Gerald Ross wrote:

[charlie b]

These are Silly Cone Valley orchard trees. Believe it or not but the valley floor was once covered in orchards, pear, apricot, peach, cherry and walnut. Orchard trees get pruned back every year and the chamber of commerce doesn't permit ice storms or other forms of unpleasant weather. They've made an exception for small amounts of rain, but only late at night and early in the morning - golf courses benefit from regular light to medium watering and replenishes evaporation loss in swimming pools.

Will post pics when I figure out how the hell I'm going to get it in, and out of, a buddies pickup. Figure a pair of furniture dollies to get it to its new home until used - a couple of years from now. The slabs are well stickered, each layer carefully aligned with the one below - and the whole stickered log is steel banded at four places. Yes, the ends are sealed.

The slabs are well stickered, each layer carefully aligned with the one below - and the whole stickered log is steel banded at four places. Yes, the ends are sealed.

Chair makers really made out well - slabs of black walnut 8/4 and 12/4, four to five feet tall and 30-40" wide, some half crotch figure for $50 max, some for only $20. I may go back and get one that has three nails in it - all in a line well below the crotch grain section so there won't be much waste. For forty bucks its just too good to pass up. Have no idea what I'll do with it or where Id put it, but it's just to pretty to pass up.

charlie b

[Josh]

Sounds like a great deal. Too bad I live all the way on the other side of the country.

I work with a guy who just moved here from socal. It's been about a year now, and I can't think of a day when I haven't heard him lamenting the weather. He said it was beautiful almost every day; the only downside was that he was constantly surrounded by Californians. ;-)

Josh

[Richard Clements]

you sucketh, the great SUCK, may all your tools rust, your hair fall out and you get a boil on your butt!

nice find!

[charlie b]

NORTHERN California and southern california are in separate universes.

Their "local characters" stand on street corners yelling about aliens and the CIA. OUR "local characters" sit leaning against a wall slowly and quietly mumbling about merlot, quiche, the ozone layer etc.

Their politicians are corrupt. OUR politicians are corru[t. OK so there are some similarities.

They had/have movie stars - Clark Gable, Maralyn Monroe, Steve Martin, The Fresh Prince WE had/have Andy Grove, Hewlett & Packard, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs

They were a desert WE were orchards.

They have forest fires AND floods WE just have floods

They have miles of beaches and warmer water (above 55 degrees) We have Tahoe and agrueablythe most beautiful coastline in thw world.

They live for their cars. WE spend a lot of time in our cars, but it's because we get stuck in traffic congestion twice a day.

WE have The Wine Country They have Tijuana

They have year round blue skies weather WE occassionaly have clouds

They drink Blue Mountain decaf latte mocha - with a twist. WE drink herb tea - light.

They have a symphony orchestra AND ballet company. WE share a ballet company - with Cleveland

The differences are enormous. And someday we'll be two different States - and WE have almost all the water!

Oh, and I can work in my shop year round WITHOUT Air Confitioning AND we have more wood!

charlle b

[Upscale]

Ok, I'm interested. Two more concerns. How flat is the land in your area and how earthquake prone is your area?

[Mark & Juanita]

.. snip

... and now *you* are. ;-) That's the bad thing about ex-Californians, they are forever saying how bad things had gotten back in California, then start lobbying for the same kinds of policies at the places to which they have relocated.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[charlie b]

Well Silly Cone Valley is pretty flat - I'm about 14 miles from the south end of SF Bay at 230' elevation. To the west is the Santa Cruz "mountain" range - max elev approx 2100 feet. To the east is the Diablo Range, max elev maybe 1500 ft. To San Francisco in 45-55 minutes, Santa Cruz beach in 30, Moneterey in an hour, and Lake Tahoe in maybe 3 1/2" hours if no snow, 10 hours if there is and an idiot tries driving 65 mph in a semi-white out - with chains, if he has them on, installed on the rear wheels - of his front wheel drive vechicle. And our international airport is 15 minutes away

As for earthquakes, the last "BIG ONE" - the Loma Prieta quake had its epicenter maybe 10 miles from my house. I lost a bud vase - that was the extent of the damage. The one before that was in '71 or maybe '72. Set off car alarms but no damage sustained at all. By the time your brain registers "earthquake", whatever was going to happen pretty much has - no anticipation, no days of "It's coming this way!" No major rivers or dikes to worry about, no big dams, no large tanks of oil and gas, no nuclear reactor to worry about.

BUT - you can pay a half million or more for a small "fixer upper" on a 5000 to 6000 sf lot in an area where the cops won't get out of there car until back up arrives. To give some perspective on costs, Roto Rooter charges $85 to come out. It goes up if they actually have to do any work and the cheapest "studio apartment" is around $700/month.

charlie b

[Enoch Root]

You don't suck!

er