munksapprentice

My table finally put together with its legs on. I think for this year I am going to leave it as it is and enjoy it for 1 summer as a garden table. Then possibly next winter I will make a proper job of it and fill all the gaps in then it can possibly go live in some large country kitchen. I do have a question though if anyone would be willing to give me any advice. What would a good varnish be to make it look stunning but protect it from the elements for a year. I have used danish oils, yacht varnish and clear sealers. I was just wondering if anyone knew of anything else I could use to really bring out the grain in the wood, make it look really smart.

I doubt you would find a 192. But if you did grab it as they are like hens teeth and supposedly very good for carving. I have a 200 for carving with a 12, 10, 8" bars to fit. My most favorite saw. I once traded my rear handle 200 for the newer version 201. I ended up selling the 201 on ebay and bought my 200 back from the dealer. The 201 was crap in comparison

I really dont think the rings will crack anymore. I cut these rings about 3 years ago and just had them sat on a pallet with stickers between them air drying. I always knew what I wanted to do with them but just never had the time. If it wasnt so time consuming to do, id love to fill every single crack with slivers of oak. I think it would look spectacular, I love how it looks when I repair a split carving. But the time it takes to repair properly you could nearly carve another full carving. I had a little spare time today so I milled some 4"x4" oak legs. Hopefully it will all be joined together soon then I can decide how far im going to go with it. Or maybe just leave it as it is and have it as my own amazing garden table

Thanks for all the help guys. I think im going to reduce the canopy and remove the dead limb as the owner has requested. I cant advise him that the tree needs to be totally removed as im just not sure myself. Its a really nice example. The next door neighbour has put a garage up next to the tree so I will advise about what was said about the root system. Thank you

Cheers for the kind complements guys. I Joined it together by a steel plate frame underneath. Ill post a picture. That held all the pieces together, then milled some 3" x 3" oak to form a base to hold it rigid. Ill be honest, I dont really know how far im going to go with this table. I set out with the intention of just making myself a really nice garden table. If I carry on with this plan I dont really need to do too much more to the top. But then I though that I should really try and make a stunning job of it and fill all the cracks with slivers of oak, then sand down. Apart from where the 2 cracks meet, and in there i was going to mill some quince and place that in as I thought the red wood would make a feature. I love the epoxy resin idea, I will certainly try that out in the future but not sure if i'll do it on this table. Im between a rock and a hard place. If I make the table 100% and fill all the cracks, I have a lot more labour in it but get to see an amazing table and get the satisfaction that I have made it. But i'd have to sell it as I have nowhere big enough for it in my house. If I have it as my own garden table, Ill get to enjoy it for years to come but Ill maybe always wish I had finished it off to its true potential lol. Who knows, either ither or, at this point I still have a table top with a lot of potential )

The start of a table I am making. Not a carving as such, but everything you see has been done with a chainsaw. Hopefully when finished it will be stunning

Apologies for the lateness of my reply, I only happened to pass by the job again yesterday. I saw nothing untowards growing around the base of the trunk. There has been no recent landscaping around the tree either. The bark around the base seems to be lifting slightly though and sounds hollow when you tap it, however the wood underneath still seems very solid. Apart from the one main limb that has died off the rest of the canopy seems very heathy. The customer told me that the limb died off very quickly last summer. He also told me that he had been speaking to friends in Oz and they had told him that the Euc tree's can sacrifice a limb at times of distress. This I know nothing about personally. Oh and the fungus is mainly growing on the south side of the trunk but it spirals around as it goes up the tree. Again, any help is very much appreciated guys. Thank you

Thank you for your help guys. On initial inspection I did not really notice anything untoward's around the trunk other than some bark lifting. The rest of the tree seems very healthy. The customer wants the tree reducing due to a problematic neighbor complaining but he also showed concern that if I thought whatever had killed off the limb would spread to the others, he would rather remove the full tree and plant a replacement elsewhere in his garden. I could not give him an honest answer as I did not know it. Tomorrow I will call in again and have a closer inspection and take some more photos and post them as any help you can offer really is very much appreciated.

This is a stunning tree and from about 6ft the tree splits off into 5 main limbs. This fungus is climbing up 1 limb and has killed it off. The others seem healthy at the moment. Will it possibly spread?? Is there anything I can do to stop it?? Any help would be very much appreciated as i am a little lost with this one. Thank you

Beautiful

Ive carved with it in the past. Its easy to carve, doesnt really suffer much with splitting and can have some really nice colours running through the wood. hope this helps, certainly worth a go )

Thank you very much for the kind complements. Im looking forward to getting it back out in the garden when spring arrives. Haha you cant beat taking a rest in an upturned wheelbarrow )

I couldnt honestly give you a time. I just did bits when i had the time. It takes it out of you using a 441 with a 25" blade for carving. I could only do a couple of hours at a time before my arms were dead. There a bit vicious when your not using them correctly lol

Couple more pics. I resanded it and give it a coat of yaught varnish.

Amazing

Really nice mate

Quality

Very nice effort

Stunning

You cant knock that for a first attempt

Look out for a second hand rear handle Stihl MS200 on ebay. You'll get one for about £200-250, Way better than the 201, I have both. I even went and bought the 200 i traded in back. Then fit it out with a carving bar of your choice. I use Stihls own 12" carving bar, great bar. Then look on ebay and buy cheap chains. I can buy genuine stihl chains off ebay that are cheaper than my local stihl dealer can buy them for. Great saw, will run all day either flat out or just tinkering at low throttle doing intricate bits. Cracking piece of kit.

Its how most of us started off. Very nice effort, practice makes perfect.

Hi guys. Im hoping I can pick someones brains. I have just made a chip box to go on my navara kingcab. At the back I have made a hinged top flap which lifts up with tarporlin at the sides when up to stop chip flying out. I am trying to find a company that supplies sprung loaded roller netted sheets to cover the back of the truck. So that at no matter what height the top flap is at when full (and in closed position) I can pull the sheet down and it stops material coming out and also holds the roof down. I would ideally like it to be net so that 1 I can see through it when empty (as ive put a little perspex in the front to see through) and 2 I can get my logo sprayed onto it. I know its a long shot guys but any help would be very much appreciated Thank you James

Really nice

Im pleased I could be of some help. Your next gadget wants to be a 125mm random orbital sander. Also cheap and worth their weight in gold. The powerfile can leave little lines, you then go over with the orbital sander to round everything off. You'd never look back. All you need for both sanders is some 80 grit for bulk work then some 120 grit to finnish off. My final tip for you which will save you time and serious money is use someone on ebay called "johnt1102" on ebay for your sanding disks and pads. He provides absolute quality gear and cheap as chips prices. Press buy it now and there always knocking on your door either the next day or day after. Using genuine costs a fortune, buying cheap costs you time with poor quality sanding and snapping belts. This guy saves me time and money through with his service. Hope this helps.