Bowls From an One Hundred Year Ash Tree

Five bowls turned from part of a salvaged Ash tree from Peabody, Kansas. The tree was well over one hundred years old and was nearly five feet in diameter. Most of it we milled into lumber but some was set aside for making wooden bowls. It is a humbling and awe-filled experience getting to work with material from such a being as was this tree.

Walnut Timber Mantelpiece

The six and a half inch thick, 13 foot long walnut slab filled the shop as it came from the chainsaw mill.

Beam cutter on the old worm-drive

“rough-sawn” to the max

Using the “beam-cutter” to rip the slab into a six inch square timber

Pulling the saw at the end of the cut to save the last bit of slab for the corbels

Aluminum C-channel as a guide

start of the smoothing

a jack plane with a radius set to take heavy shavings

Now the joiner

pretty obvious

chopping out for a patch over a rotten knot

the same, fitted

filing the edges of a little copper butterfly template

bench-top with tools for making butterfly templates

variety of butterfly templates

Scribing the timber for butterflies to bind the main check

Routing out the waste

chopping the rest

right up to the knife line

ready for the joining

carving the corbels (my documentation fell off for most of this process)

mating the various natural edges of the corbels to the mantel

a little further back

fitting the opposite corbel

rough-cut cove on the left corbel

both corbels with coves-cut and awaiting final shaping

apply the final touches on the ends of the timber

“C” for the covenant

installed over the fire box, and the home-owner’s sandstone work.

I look forward to seeing it with the stone work done

Husbandry in Harvest

Sally In The Garden, traditional fiddle tune performed on banjo and fiddle
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Brought Low

Working for and in collaboration with my friend, Cody, we have been preparing waney-edged planks and slabs of eastern red cedar and black walnut for loft and stair railings and countertops, while making much fodder for the compost pile.

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Wood: New Pages

persimmon vessel

persimmon vessel

Wood, since boyhood, has been a passion.  One also shared by my father and grandfather so I had worthy teachers and opportunity.  There will ultimately be three pages featuring some examples in each category:  Furniture, vessels, bowls and spoons, and structure and milling (yet to come).

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woodrick

Walnut Banjo

Walnut Banjo

The Ascent of Maclura pomifera

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Spiral stair in Hedge (Maclura pomifera, bodark, bois d’ark, osage orange).  Designed by my friend Cody to join a 100 year old barn basement to the floor above.  The barn, just outside of Fall River, got hit by a twister about 4-5 years ago and is now being rebuilt as a workshop and living quarters.  The stair isn’t officially finished, we already have a list of things we want to change, but this is it in it’s first state.