Kraftinwood

Hi Yeti, to answer your question and after reading the above you will already know that end grain boards are preferable for chopping boards. If you are a woodworker then I need not bore you with the bit about using dry timber, but must emphasize that if its green its no good. I bandsaw my wood and then fix it to a face plate, alternatively you could glue on a tenon and then put it into the chuck, or put it between centres and turn your own tenon. Once turned you can sand with abrasives starting at say 180 grit to say 400grit which is enough for a choppingboard, if its Beech or sycamore there's no real need to apply a finish just leave it. If you do apply finish then remember it must be food safe, * CARE * no walnut oil or the like as you may end up killing someone or making them very ill if they have a nut allergy Danish oil after it has dried ( max normally 24 hours) is food safe albeit I still wouldn't apply a finish. You mention Oak that's fine but I wouldnt use it, my advice is to stick with Beech, Sycamore or Maple they are a lot more hygienic and will stand up to washing and not crack up like Oak may. Now if you havent got a lathe thats a problem but you could cut the discs (end grain) with a bandsaw and sand with a machine, the result will not be as good as making on a lathe but give it a try. Hope that helps Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi Logarithm Sorry to say but Yew or otherwise its not worth very much at all to a wood turner unless they have a big fire place. To be of any use for turning it needs to be cut where possible in larger lengths. if left in the round it then needs end sealing, storing properly preferably out of the rain and direct sun (which will do even more damage than the rain) alternatively you can plank it and properly store as above it with sticks between to let the air through it etc etc. Cut in short pieces as it is now by the time its dried it will no doubt split right through as the pith dries at a different rate than the rest of the wood. If it was in longer lengths then you may get away with just end checks which you can cut off before selling. Large diameter wood will never dry out completely if left in the round and even after 2-3 years stored on end will still soak you when you start to turn them. !!! The answer is to turn it green and control the drying if not it ends up firewood anyway. You could as suggested above by someone put it on e-bay and sell it to some budding unsuspecting wood turner who doesn't know better but my advice is sell it for burning and not for turning. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi tc As much as I said quarter sawn boards show the grain better, all good chopping boards used by top chefs and a lot of home chefs are cut from end grain. To answer your question the top and bottom of a plank or block of wood is the end grain, the reason end grain is better is that it doesn't blunt your a good cutting knifes so quickly as cutting across the grain (its easier to split a log than cut across it). Chopping boards you find made up of small squares are ok but also still blunt knifes quicker because of the glue holding them together. Besides recucing knife wear, cutting into end grain doesnt mark the board so much and if you have an expensive teak board or the like it will last much longer. Anyway why worry too much about what a Star rated Michelin chef does, a lot of people would go ahead and cut their board and when it wears out go cut another one. Anyway I am biased the round ones are best, ha ha. kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi the other replies seem to cover yopur question however what nobody has mentioned is that Burr wood is not really practical for Bread boards or chopping boards. Whilst it would look very attractive all sorts of nasty things can hide and breed in the 'burry bits' so I should stick with a nice piece of plain beech which can be easily scrubbed. Sycamore or Maple would be my other choices but whichever if its quarter sawn it will look its best. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi, I believe Pete Townsend once said I only accessed the web site as part of my research !! ha ha. Guilty actually I was probably looking for some nice Burr Elm but nothing listed, someone must still have some. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Rob thanks but that is exactly my point people do not relaize just what is going on. I do mean devastation, if you next pass by park up in the car park where the cafe is and walk towards the far side M25 you will be amazed it's 75% cleared. I am not talking brush but many Scots pines, plus Ash and a few Oak etc all gone you wil be amazed. We have been going there for the last 15 years and my wife longer than that and bits not a pretty site now, certainly no longer a forest!!. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi I found these pictures from last October's holiday in Barbados and thought you may like to see them. They were taken with my wifes small camera so unfortunately the quality isnt good but what a lovely tree ~ 25metre girth !!!. The last picture is obviously not a Boabab but nonetheless still an attractive looking tree. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi, as with most things there are always opposing thoughts on various subjects. I thought I would post the help they are going to cut our forest down e-mail and my reply, needless to say I didnt get areply but hopefully point made. Subject: Re: Our National Forests are in serious trouble - please support the protest Sorry to send this , but i felt outraged ! please sign the petition and send on if you feel the same. thanks Andy Webb Subject: Our National Forests are in serious trouble - please support the protest Dear All, I don't normally send these sorts of emails, but I am absolutely sickened by the coalition government plans to sell off up to 50% of our national forests and I am inviting everyone with a concern for our natural environment to sign the 'Hands Off Our Forest' (HOOF) petition (link below). 38 Degrees | Save Our Forests According to the Forestry Commission website (Forestry Commission - The Forestry Commission Estate in England), just 9% of England is covered by forest as compared to 38% (national average) in Europe. Not only are forests the lungs of our planet, the forests of England are a treasured part of the national heritage. Once sold off, and possibly cut down and developed, they're gone forever. As many of you know, my partner and I live in the Forest of Dean. This is one of the oldest, most beautiful and most unique forest habitats in the UK. Government sell-off plans will hit the Forest of Dean hard, and we know from a friend who works for the Forestry Commission that at least 25% of the land has already been earmarked for sale. At the very best, the government hopes to make a pittance of £6 million from the total sale of forests nationwide over a ten year period. The economic rationale is deeply flawed, like so many of the reckless plans being put into effect by this government, and there is no accounting for the biodiversity that the forests support, and the spiritual pleasure and recreational enjoyment that they offer to visitors. On Monday we joined the protests at Speech House in the Forest of Dean. Forest of Dean protesters fight big woodland selloff | Environment | The Guardian March for our forests | Laura Barton | Comment is free | The Guardian People are angry, but their protests continue to fall on deaf ears. Please sign the petition - it takes just a few moments. We collectively need to make our voices heard and remind our government officials that they were elected by us to represent the interests of the people, not those of the banks and big business. Finally, please circulate the Link as widely as you can. Numbers count! Thanks, Trevor H.J. Marchand Professor of Social Anthropology Research Tutor DoS MA Anthropological Research Methods School of Oriental & African Studies Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square London, WC1H 0XG, England ************************************************* Hi I received your protest letter about the forests, whilst I share your concerns I understood from the News that public access will still be available if the forests are go into private ownership. Notwithstanding this I have a question if I may ............................... Where has all the protests been for the last 5 years, maybe more, whilst the forest at Guildford has been gradually dismantled each winter. Do you know that if you walk to the far side of the once forest at the M25 fence it has been totally cleared and you can see the car park on the far side adjacent to the A3!!!. It is criminal and the only people profiting from it is no doubt the peoples pocketing their Christmas bonus from the sale of the wood each year!!. Please just look at some aerial photos from say 7 years ago and ones from today there are hundreds and I mean hundreds of trees cut down and why?. It all started with some signs on a small heather area saying do not walk on the Heathers, next came a sign saying the non native trees were being cleared to make way for the heathers and butterflies, would you believe. That in moderation was fine but just look what has happened now. So back to my question the sudden uproar about selling woodland with no doubt covenants which is the way Woodland Trust have sold land for years must be much better than the devastation reeked on Guildford Forest and that isn’t private land, if this is the result of Labour Government then I guess the current Coalition government may have got it right and its intentions are just being miss interpreted. Please look for yourself and tell me how this has been allowed to happen, I hear all the time about sustainable forests, this is not its just rape and pillage, vandalism with no replanting, we should though have plenty of butterflies, Ha. Regards Robert

Hi, its not as bad as you believe,it is a test which you can elect to have at one of many test centres. There are different grade cards, I have a black one which is a contracts manager but all you need generally for a building site is the basic card. Look up Construction skills certification scheme on the internet, book it and they send you a date and importantly a book which you use to learn the actual test questions. Most of it is common sense and all about Accident prevention, Health & Welfare, Personal protective clothing (PPE) signage and noise and vibration etc etc Be careful as some questions are a bit tricky as there are maybe two or three answers and you generally have to choose one. In summary no problem go for it nothging at all to worry about, you have lote of time and you sit at a PC and point and click at your selected answers. Trust that helps, any questions come back and I'll answer. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi I read with interest the threads re Monkey Puzzle trees, you may have seen my first thread posted Monday this week. I am a woodturner and am especially interested in Monkey Puzzle trees and happy to pay a fair price and collect within a hundred miles. I am picking one up from Essex on Friday unfortunately its only smallish but the larger the tree the better. I was quite amazed when I saw one planked, not sure why anyone would do that as when end turned the whorls really look best and always create a lot of interest. Most of the bowls and hollow forms in the picture attached are Monkey puzzle and are not finished yet. I have a photographer taking some individual finished pieces in the next week or so for my new website so I will upload a few. I agree they are not easy to cut down but I have never had a real problem with my chainsaws clogging up albeit I leave the hard bit for you guys I just wander along afterwards and section it up. Yes the sticky sap you mention is a problem but to get the black staining they have to be left on end for 18 months to 2 years so tend to dry out a lot before I turn them so I guess you guys get the worst of it. For anyone that may not know it is best cut midway between whorls as that gives the best choice of what to turn from each piece. I actually turn a lot with two sets of whorls so anything 14" or under can be cut midway between every other set of whorls. Anyway please do not skip it as suggested just call me and I’ll be there. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

I cannt help with the logs but as Delabodge has said they will not be easy to move, I wonder if your client relizes the weight of these. Re the bark, dependant upon what wood it is and the temperature etc etc bark falling off shouldnt really be a problem. We woodturners often leave a natural edge on bowls etc and especially on small items you can loose it in places but thin cyanoacrylate (superglue) soon sticks it back. As the logs are being left long abd in the round you will be surprised how long undisturbed bark will stay there. Maybe more of a concern is whether the logs are going to be laid down or stood on end, perhaps its not a good idea to stand them unsupported in a reception area, Health & Safety and all that. Never mind it will give someone a bit of work but a few words of warning will not go astray as they might not have thought the idea through properly. Kraftinwood Woodturning Large Bowls and Hollow Forms, Australian and Native Burrs.

Hi Rob sorry, youprobablyheard me laughing when I read back auric anus. Sorry I never spell it right so typed it and meant to look it up, go back and change it, ooops I forgot sorry. Re the picture unfortunately its worse now theres more, that was October time and I need to finish off some pieces instead of starting more or I will not get in the door soon. Thanks again for your correction Rob I'm still smiling.

Hi I am a new member so here’s a few words about me, I am not a professional like you guys but have always used chainsaws and keep two one electric for small wood around the workshop and a petrol saw for cutting up bigger trees. The name Kraftinwood gives it away, I’m a woodturner from High Wycombe in Bucks and a member of Middlesex Woodturning Association and the Asssociation of Woodturners of Great Britain. I have a VB 36 lathe that’s big and it will turn anything that can be mechanically hoisted on to it with a lifting crane. I turn a lot of Monkey Puzzle wood (Auriana Auricanus) and spend ages drivingall over buying and collecting trees. I also use Native and Australian Burrs and Redwood and Maple burr, or burl as they call it from the USA. Unfortunately I have exhausted all supply of Elm Burr around here which is a great shame as I would be quite happy turning that, I hear there is still some in Scotland still........... I was told that the beetle flew in to the South and munched their way up to Edinburgh decided it was too cold so turned around and looked for more Elm they had missed before’ Ha ha. Anyway there may be some left but I haven’t seen a full Elm burr for years just stuff with a pippy bit here and there. The problem with cutting big hollow forms is you need big cutting tools the one in the picture is 2 metres long (sorry about mobile phone quality picture).If you are interested in what I turn I have a website you can look at it, its old now and will shortly be replaced, I hope just google Robert Bishop woodturner and you will see wood –kraft site. I am always interested besides Monkey Puzzle wood in large Yew, Laburnum, large fruit wood, Walnut maybe (if it’s not overpriced) and like to keep some Ash etc all in the round. In fact anything with some nice figuring is interesting dependent upon my storage which is my biggest problem.