How many Cherry bowls can you use?

[Bill Stock]

No offence to the Cherry bowl people.

But I recently cut down a couple of Cherry trees for a neighbour and acquired all the pieces for firewood. I had considered getting them milled, but the useable pieces were just over 4' and not overly straight. I suppose I could have gotten some 8" boards out of the larger tree (Doh), but I really had no way to lift it or transport it to the mill. Two guys still can't lift the stump that's left from the larger tree.

Anyway I noticed that the logs from the larger tree have a nice pattern, so I'm wondering what else I could do with some of the logs other than make a shitload of bowls. I don't own a lathe and don't really see myself owning one for a while. Any ideas?

[J T]

Wed, May 30, 2007, 9:33pm [e-mail] (Bill=A0Stock) doth post thusly: No offence to the Cherry bowl people. But I recently cut down a couple of Cherry trees for a neighbour and acquired all the pieces for firewood. I don't own a lathe and don't really see myself owning one for a while. Any ideas?

This is a trick question, right? You save it. Until you do get a lathe. Or make some jewelry boxes, or kids toys, orr "something". Or, even better, you send it along to me as a sacrifice for the Woodworking Gods. It's wood, it's free, you just keep it until you think of something you want to use it for. Sheesh.

I've still got some dogwood, hickory, holly, oak, and poplar, that were destroyed in a hurricane years back. I want to make something meaningful out of it, but still haven't made the final decision on what that will be. But part of it will probably go toward a chess set and board. I turned some nice,very handy, wood carving mallets out of part of it. You "really need to get a lathe. Mine would probably be considered prettty low class by most people, got it years ago from Harbor Freight, but it runs true, works great. I believe it cost in the $120.

JOAT What is life without challenge and a constant stream of new humiliations?

- Peter Egan

[Toller]

Maybe I don't understand the question... A friend had a walnut tree cut down. The tree man set aside a 4' long by 4' diameter piece of the trunk for me. I used splitting wedges to reduce it to managable sizes, and cut it up into boards on my bandsaw. I have a huge pile of 4' walnut boards. It is mostly QS, an artifact from splitting it into wedges. (trying to split it with the grain is futile) Why couldn't you do that? It is all good exercise.

[Andy Dingley]

You wax it first, _then_ you save it.

[Ralph E Lindberg]

Actually you cut the center out (ie pith) then wax and save it. Find friends with lathes and work out a deal (where do you live?)