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Post by Rob on Jul 9, 2014 19:42:48 GMT
Sorry about this but I feel a few gratuitous pictures of the most stunning grained ancient yew I've ever seen were necessary. In particular since it took me about 9 hours of considerable sweating with chainsaw, barrow and multiple trips in my estate car to ferry these home.
Bottom line, Yew tree split in two after high winds. I spotted it Sunday evening after attending a concert my wife sang in. Mailed the vicar Monday and...BOOM...there is a God.
Enjoy :-)
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Post by Rob on Jul 9, 2014 19:46:17 GMT
And again (3 pic limit Jeff....is this extendable?)
This was the crotch of the branch that ripped off. In many ways its like a rootball. I've sliced it longitudinally with the chainsaw and this is the grain I found. It's absolutely stunning so I'm going to make a natural edge table from it. I strongly recommend you mouse click on the 2nd pic to see the rippled grain close up. It's just fabulous.
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Post by phoneman on Jul 10, 2014 0:04:35 GMT
Rob, what beautiful wood. If you are looking for ideas, I would suggest taking a thin cross piece and displaying it in a way that you could run strings or something similar to individual growth rings and making labels. You could highlight British history. It would be a beautiful and educational exhibit. A keepsake for your sons; a very thoughtful gift for their teachers. (You might need to make several.)
Let us know and post your full ration of photos.
Ken
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Post by Pete on Jul 11, 2014 11:14:37 GMT
As Monty Python said... you lucky lucky b******  Nice reward for being in the right place at the right time, are you going to hold it or work it green? |
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Post by Rob on Jul 11, 2014 12:02:44 GMT
For now I've soaked it in a 50:50 pva water solution while I decide what to do. I was going to use it all for turning but this is so gorgeous and easily big enough for a natural edge table top so that's the current plan. There is another piece of the elbow which I can probably get another slice from and bookmatch them with care. So that's the plan at the moment. I harvested so much wood from the tree that I've probably got enough Yew to last the rest of my life to be honest. (For turning that is). So it would be a waste to turn this bigger piece. A glass display would be an alternative approach but I like the idea of seeing it close up in use on a daily basis.
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Post by Rob on Jul 11, 2014 12:06:19 GMT
another friend has suggested getting the local forge to make me some bespoke black japanned wrought iron legs because they will fade into the background, making the top stand out and do all the talking. I quite like that idea.
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Post by Pete on Jul 11, 2014 14:04:00 GMT
Here is one I planked earlier... This was the sapwood of the edge trimming with just the bark stripped, and a face turned into it for the clock complete with chainsaw scars, very simple but it is one of the few clocks I have liked enough to keep and put on the wall. Yew is lovely wood to make items from, turned or built.  As for iron legs for the table YES I approve, keep them inboard with a foot to stabilise and achieve maximum focus on the pattern in the top |
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Post by Rob on Jul 11, 2014 14:31:03 GMT
That's also a nice idea for using up a nice looking offcut. I'll examine my pile and see if I have something suitable for a couple of clocks. So you just face turned that out of balance did you? Slow speed, sharp tool. Presumably a small face plate? Did you not worry about recessing the back for the mechanism?
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Post by Pete on Jul 11, 2014 14:47:04 GMT
That's also a nice idea for using up a nice looking offcut. I'll examine my pile and see if I have something suitable for a couple of clocks. So you just face turned that out of balance did you? Slow speed, sharp tool. Presumably a small face plate? Did you not worry about recessing the back for the mechanism? Actually I used a 76mm forstner bit to drill a mounting recess in the back centre, then used that on the chuck and turned out of balance slow and careful, with freshly sharpened bowl gouge. This piece was the original slice to give me a flat to work with on the bandsaw, but then took precedence over the rest of the project as I spotted the potential on it's way to the firewood pile. Obviously being sapwood there was no red colour, but I so loved the colour and texture when I pulled the bark off that I had to use it for something. and it had to be minimalist, I wanted to keep the organic look. in my view the "polished" cut area emphasises the organic rather than detracts from it.and I was lucky in getting a flat the hands could work in without having to cut a complete circle. Incidental the remainder of that piece became a simple hinge lidded box with the emphasis on the grain and colour of the heartwood with just enough sapwood to make it interesting, |
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Post by Rob on Jul 11, 2014 14:56:19 GMT
Nice Pete. That's a pretty hefty forstner :-). So was the recess you drilled for the chuck where you installed the mechanism then? Also whats the swing of your lathe?
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Post by Pete on Jul 11, 2014 15:54:02 GMT
I can't remember how I worked out the depth of the recess, I suspect it was whatever the mechanism plus adjuster was + 3mm which is my usual, This one has a completely flat back, but if I was cutting it on the bandsaw deliberately to make a wall clock I tend to go for a slight concave so only the edges make contact with the wall (allows for crooked walls!)
With the head rotated at 90 degrees the swing is pretty large, lathe height to floor minus weight and motor power (1hp 3phase) ... I have finished a 36" diameter semi bowl / platter on it once, using a floor standing toolrest, though that was balanced on a heavy union graduate lathe first. Comfortably on the Patriot chuck with 75mm - 100mm jaws fitted, using the built in toolrest it is a 10" throw so by the time I am in round an 18" - 19" bowl say 4" - 5" deep is easy, but obviously slow going on the initial cuts, thankfully short of hotel lobby's few have room for such a large bowl, so it's rarely a need.
I will often use the 76mm forstner on the round side of a half log and turn the outside of the bowl towards the centre of the tree as this retains more heartwood than working the other way, it also pleases me if at least one side of the bowl has bark and an uncut edge on it, I do like the tree to survive my meddling
Obviously this does not give a 100% safe and positive chuck mount as it's a curved surface and a parallel recess, so slow and steady until the outside is shaped and you have a proper dovetailed chuck mount with a proper square shoulder, if you are working in something like Yew then you get your sapwood colour on the top edge of the bowl and heartwood filling the centre and most of the visible external part, so worth the risk as long as you understand it is a risk.
I am reluctant to post this in the chucks and stebs section, as it is not textbook safe! but the Patriot has not let me down and as long as you are aware of the actual centrifugal energy of a 10" + diameter piece of wood even at 150 - 250rpm double and triple check everything before powering on then you will get the job done, it gets safer with every cut.
I use the large jaws for anything over 8" but even when using the 50mm jaws the large forstner is worth it's price (£34 on amazon) as I can cut through the bark to the timber and give myself a square edge then use a 50mm forstner to make the chuck mount.
Obviously you should bandsaw it again and get a good flat to put a safe faceplate on the timber... but trees are not always so obliging as to give you enough space to do this...
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Post by Rob on Jul 11, 2014 16:18:36 GMT
You're a step ahead of me with natural edge bowls. I've been (a combination of) hand chiselling and hogging off using a small forstner a flat on the bark side to accommodate a modest sized face plate. Turning the outside and then reverse chucking with normal holding methods leaving the natural edge. I've seen other turners bore a wide enough hole to chuck from the beginning and I think it cuts a lot of time out of natural edge work. I guess it is a little less safe but I have to say I've been very impressed with pretty much all chuck holding capabilities. The widest jaws I own are 2" and I think I do have a 50mm bit (and down) so I should give that a try.
One chap I know recommends the long jaws with stepped outside "teeth". He bores a relatively small diameter hole but quite deep, wacks in those jaws which are bigger than PIN but cant remember the name of them off the top of my head. The long reach compensates for the safety risk denied by the lack of a dovetail.
So right now my natural edge bowls take a fair bit of time because the initial chucking is time consuming.
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Post by Pete on Jul 14, 2014 16:08:02 GMT
One chap I know recommends the long jaws with stepped outside "teeth". He bores a relatively small diameter hole but quite deep, wacks in those jaws which are bigger than PIN but cant remember the name of them off the top of my head. The long reach compensates for the safety risk denied by the lack of a dovetail.
So me personally not a fan, may have a set IF I had a chuck set up with them permanently so I could just switch chucks between the mount point I am going to remove anyway and the one I will probably be leaving on the work as only other woodturners notice them! |
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