This is where it all starts, for the turnings anyway. This is hard (sugar) maple, and lots of it! The guy said they had 2,000,000 bdft. of logs here, and somewhat less birch. I always buy hard maple, it's perfect for turning, and with a selection like this why not. What I look for is 20-24 inches on the butt, clear, straight with a small heart. I went to another yard today and found a hard maple that was 16' long, 26" on the butt, and the heart was about 2", wow. And a good price to boot. I hear that some chair makers in other parts have a hard time finding hard maple, but way up here in Northern Maine, it's not a problem. Lately I've been buying my maple from a firewood supplier, he's right in town and he has more than enough hard maple.
For the steam bent parts and spindles, I use mostly white ash, although red oak will also work. It works reasonably well with hand tools, and it bends like a dream. I'm gonna see just how far I can go with bending someday, should be a fun post. The ash logs are fewer and farther in between, but they can be found. I always look for veneer quality logs--straight, centered pith, no bumps or visible defects. One defect can be twist. I'll get a log and it will look great, and when I split it one half will be say 9 and 3 (imagine a clock face) and by the time it gets to the other end, the half is at 11 and 5, no kidding. I used to try to use it, but these days it's firewood. I go thru a lot more logs this way, but I only want to work with quality wood; you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear.
No comments:
Post a Comment