se7enthdevil

if i had that bit of walnut or any species that looked as good as that and it was too cupped or wonky to get a flat board from then i would simply sand as is and present it as a beautiful rustic coffee table, if needs be try and sand any really sharp bits rounder or at least round enough so you cant get a splinter give it a coat of oil and wax and "eh viola, cest magnifique". i try and use good looking wood and keep it just that. such a good looking bit of walnut should have the same treatment. just my opinion, keep us updated as to what you decide to do. by the way where in bucks are you? .

seeing as yor in oxford why dont you try deep in wood. they have a huge sawmill there... check it out.. .

how about some 4 1/2" and 5" to go with my 6".... by the way you will need to mill them 1/4" bigger as the finnished sizes for my skittles is 4 1/2", 5" and 6" so need the extra to account for shrinkage... if the 6" could come from near the edge of the tree that would be great as it is much more stable and genraly splits less. .

im looking for beech beams to make my skittles from. do you think you will get any 6x6" sections from it. .

if i start doing garden furniture i think i'll buy some of these myself... wonder how much they cost? .

dont think there is a need to bury, they just leave them in contact with the ground to get the spalting going. about 3 years would do it i think.

hi all, need some advice in knowing whether or not we need our chimney swept. it was put in a couple of years ago including a lining and is only a small closed logburner with about 1ft3 of space inside. its had two winters use and i would like to know if it needs to be done yearly, never or whenever really... any help very much appreciated... thanks Steve

dont slice it up for fire wood... i need beech for my skittles and if you can get it cut in to 5" and 6" squares (plus a quater " to allow for shrinkage) then i might be interested in buying.

whats hapening to the wood???? i need beech for my skittle turning buisness in large squares 5-6" by whatever length they are felled in. assuming the tree is not completely roten or spalted then i may be interested. i dont mind colour variation but cant have any spalting at all as any form of rot is too weak for my purposes. i would also like to know what killed it and if it can be kept in decent sized chunks would like someone to cut it in to squares for me. could i have a pic of the tree? .

hi dan, i have a question for you, what happens to most of the trees that are felled on the estate? i know quite a few go for firewood as the estate uses it and sells it also but i would like to know if any get used for lumber to sell? .

hi drew87, thanks for your comments and in answer to your question i do what ever the customer asks, providing i can get hold of the wood. i've not done a totem pole yet but that could be interesting. of course it would only be turned and not as traditionaly carved as i'm no carver. the biggest i've done were the two porch post that you see in my avatar picture at 9" square and 48" long. items varey in their time to create but they only took about 3 hours for the larger items. this is stretched over a couple of days to give the wood time to move if thats what its going to do. .

almost certain that its olive but if i could have a pic of the basket and not the fruit then i could give a more positive ID... .

im not sure that there are going to be many eyes in that burr as i dont think its your classic burr but looks more like a "lump" for want of a better word. should still have some beautiful swirl in the grain though. my lathe can handle it but i dont have any dosh so unless your giving it away i'll have to pass. .

here are some of the oak platters and bowls that i made recently. the two big ones are 17" and 19" and the vase is laurel.

on a slightly different subject i was asked last year to turn some of the wood that came from windsor and the surrounding crown estate and ended up having an exhibition in the savill gardens shop in may 2012. this not only sold lots of bowls but seemes to have got me in the door as they want me to do more. i had a wonderfull tour of the whole estate with a gentleman called jim taylor who is one of the more senior forestors and showed me some magnificent examples of ancient trees including the two oldest oaks pictured and as soon as i saw them i was in awe of their majesty... there were a couple of other specimins that were off the beaten track that i glimpsed as we were driving around one being a huge beech that was about 4-5' across and almost perfectly cylidrical for 30' if memory serves, i'd never seen such a large beech that had no sigh of age to it per say and still loked quite youthfull in its appearence appart from its huge size. one of the things that i'm turning at present is lots of brown oak and i wondered if it would be possible to find out if this tree has any pictures standing. it's been in the swinly forrest yard for 15 years so i've been told and just counting the rings in one 18" bowl i got up to 350 and that was not the center of the tree. i estimate that the tree could have been 4-5 hundred years of age but i could be out a fair bit on that. sadly i dont have a plank that went from the pith to the bark. do you think there is a possibility of tracing this tree??? .

personaly i have a profesional bosch jigsaw and aside from my 4" makita belt sander i have a makita palm sander and i think if you owned these as part of your arsenal then you should be able to tackle pretty much any job required. dont buy cheap stuff because if you do it will clap out within a year and then you will end up buying the expensive stuff that will last your lifetime anyway...

as a woodturner most of mine is shavings anyway but there is also some sawdust from the extractor mixed in and from sanding too but i've had no complaints as yet. .

i got in contact with a local guy who has chickens for meat and whenever i get too much from my woodturning i give him a call and he takes it away. this way i get a clean shop and he gets free bedding. .

john, i gave up with hotmail in the end. hopefully you can see the jist of what i willl be making for you all with mortise and tennon joints so that its really strong +glued and pegged. if it does need struts then i'll do something very similar to the table pictured but not quite as rustic or bold.

if it wouldnt chip and you still have some decent lumps i might be interested in it for woodturning send a pm if you still have some. Steve .

defo on the foxglove.

i'm looking at that pear too but didnt realise it had woodworm in the end till i read your post think i might pass on it now. even if its got worm in it i still think that there could be some nice planks cut from it and they could be treated and used for coffee table slabs. i was going to go up to £30 myself and if it stays cheap then why not take a punt. im not the bidder by the way..... .

is that not cherry laurel... Prunus laurocerasus? .

might be interested. always fancied fasioning handles for tools. my shovel will be done soon. stick a picture up so i can see what your after.... .

sound good. give me a call if there is something siutable. 01628666191 tonight im out between 6pm and 8.30pm.