Walnut Root Ball

I recently saw a root ball that was beautifully done. They stripped the bark, and left the twisties...

Then they put a flat bottom on the ball using a chain saw or 2 man saw. They varnished it ... absolutely beautiful. . Might have been on a Discover channel, TimberKings Pioneer log homes... My wife has been watching it...

Looks like you've got some hard work done. Should make some really nice pieces. In January I got some walnut that had been cut for firewood in early December. Thought I could cut back the ends and make some bowls. They looked good when I roughed them out but nearly every one split. Some just delaminated. I should have known better but had to try. The guy who cut the tree down did not know what it was.

Those are going to make drop dead gorgeous legs!!

It was a lot of work, even with help from my nephew. It'll take me a week to recover.

When we collected the growing tree (mostly firewood) and the other already downed log, I asked a turner-friend if he wanted some of the wood. He came out and collected half a truck load. These rootballs have a good bit of knarled pieces, that I've cut off. I saved one, but there are others that look promising, to me, but I'm not a dedicated turner to recognized what i s the best selections. We tossed all of the cutoffs in a pile for "atmosp here" burning at the camp. Even with our warm weather, having a campfire is nice to sit around, at night.

I can take pics of some of these pieces, if you'd like, for possibly sendin g to you, postage only, as they are pretty heavy. Don't know what you migh t pay for blanks, for a comparison of shipping fees. The cut surfaces see m to reveal nice knarling & figured wood, in many of the pieces, but they w ould need to be cleaned, a little, to see other areas, better. There must be 5 or 6 pieces that a turner might be interested in.... roughly 5" to 12 " diameter pieces, a foot long (before trimming/cleaning, a bit). Otherwi se, we'll likely burn these. There's the option of storing them, for now, also, and you can decide, later, if you'd want them. If I recall, there a re some that may have defects that may split or come apart, when turning. They need further inspecting, for turning options.

The tree, we dozed down, still has some of its trunk remaining. We didn't have this milled, because we thought there may be metal in this lower secti on of the trunk. This tree, being near the old house we tore down, was mo re likely to have metal in its trunk. There is one portion of log, about 4 ' long and 15" diameter, with a large konk/outgrowth on it (20" diameter? & 6" thick, but the burl may extend deeper into the trunk, to 10" thick?), w hich may be most desirable for a turner. I like the konk, but I'd give it to someone who can do a good job of it. I have enough work with all the wood I already have. I dislike burning anything that might be promising to someone else. This piece may be too big for shipping, though. And there are other pieces of this trunk that I'm still not ready to burn, yet, also.

The rootball #1, which had the split/defected slabs, some of those could po ssibly be cut smaller, for turning. Most of that stuff is about 5" thick. Free blanks, just pay the shipping, if you think you might want to take a chance on some.

Sonny

please add me to the list of turners interested in that walnut. Where are you located?

Larry

Lafayette, Louisiana

Sonny email: cedarsonny at aye oh el dot com

Thanks for the offer. A few years ago I would have driven over to look at it, but I am slowing down and can't imagine finishing all the wood I already have. That don't mean I never get the old gleam in my eye. BTW I live in South Georgia.