monkey puzzle puzzle

[devon TWiG]

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What sort of uses will people want monkey for? wondering what thicknesses to mill it into? any suggestions?

 

I have been involved with woodcrafts of many sorts for some time and have never seen MP used in any furniture etc to great effect , demand for it would be pretty low I think , and really do not think it is worth milling much if any . I have turned bowls and hollow vessels from it to good effect but these are done using rings of wood with a whorl of knots in them . MP is not very durable or hard , it spalts fairly quickly but not to particularly pleasant effect ( unlike Beech ) see pic as an example of MP turned .... Terry ..

[farmerjohn]

Hi All,

as requested here is a few photos of the monkey puzzle.

I will try and get some more photos.

the major problem we had was maneuvering the log when on the mill. There has been a lot of talk about hydraulic on a mill. I am a big believer after wrestling with it for 3 hours that the single most important hydraulic item on a mill is the log roller. so any ideas how something can be retro fitted?

the mill is in a not very sturdy pole shed with tin roof with not a lot of head room!!!

[muttley9050]

Looks nice John, hope they stay flat for you.

[farmerjohn]

milled at 3 - 5 inch so should not move that much at that thickness, total ball ache with the size, there in a open barn drying, out of the sun so cant do any more that that!!!!

[kentjames]

Looks lovely timber John

[spiral]

Many years ago I cut up many strange timbers, some up to 7000 years old, others just old timbers from dock cellars or river bottoms.

 

If looking at what you've got & I wanted usable timber out of it, id cut it into 1 1/4 inch thick planks then cross cut out all the disturbed grain & knots, id guess you'll end up with loads of 18 inch long pieces that will dry fairly well & be usable in cabinetmaking as panels or even coffee tables in width. {Look at 80 Scandinavian/German designs for using short lengths on larger projects.}

 

Sadly otherwise the warp twist & splitting will only leave it as use for decorative fire surrounds & pretend lintels... if your lucky. if not just firewood...

 

Whenever I have a pile of crap I just cut the best from it... otherwise it just gets worse as it drys..