I met a gentleman last week and we got to talking about wood. Turns out he used to work the wood and “still had some walnut” he says. “If you want it, you can have it” Well, my week went by and today my wife and I had to go down to San Diego, so I decided to give Butch a call. “OKay” he says, “I’ll dig it out from the corner of the garage, oh, and bring a truck, because this won’t all fit into a car trunk, that is if you want it all.”
At first I was thinking that this guy had a little bit of walnut, now, I’m thinking wow, this may be worth my while. As we pull up to his house, I see a blue tarp covering a pile. Still not sure what to expect, and definitely not going to get my hopes up before hand. Butch comes out and says, “well, here you go, I hope you can find some use for it. Been sitting in my garage for 30 years”
The story I got from him is that while working for caltrans, some 30 years ago, he salvaged some parts from a walnut tree and a eucalyptus log that was cut down to make way for a new highway somewhere.
When he pulled the tarp back, I almost fell down. I was completely speechless at seeing what I was seeing. He had put a slab of myrtle on top that was 3” thick 22” wide and 36” long. Underneath all of that was the walnut he was talking about. after going through and organizing everything, he had 3 flitches from the same tree and various other pieces. A book matched pair of eucalyptus logs that will work great for some “bench legs” and 3 small burls.
I guess pictures will say a thousand words, so, here ya go…
-- Childress Woodworks
11 comments so far
a1Jim
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16695 posts in 470 days
posted 44 days ago
Great friend fantastic wood
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
scrappy
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1593 posts in 324 days
posted 44 days ago
Fantastic score! Sometimes all it takes is to strike up a conversation and look where it lead.
Great wood at a great price. He sure was generouse with this fantastic gift to you.
I am sure you will put it to good use. Congrats.
Scrappy
-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!
socalwood
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968 posts in 497 days
posted 44 days ago
Good score ! Looks like some nice stuff -
Scott Bryan
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20603 posts in 715 days
posted 44 days ago
That is a wonderful gift!! Butch is truly a generous person. I can see a lot of potential in that stash of wood.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
jockmike2
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7299 posts in 1140 days
posted 44 days ago
You aught to buy that old guy and brand new cane or something. Give him a hug or something. Man, what a find. You are one lucky dude. Congratulations.
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
StevenAntonucci
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179 posts in 832 days
posted 44 days ago
I think you are overlooking the obvious defects in that wood. It cannot be used for anything other than shop heat. If you send it to me, I’ll make sure it’s disposed of properly within EPA guidelines :-)
great score!
P.S. the burls look like manzanita root. If you are a turner, these are gold! If you don’t turn, you should start!
-- Steven
Dusty56
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3458 posts in 581 days
posted 44 days ago
Excellent score ! Congratulations : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
interpim
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446 posts in 352 days
posted 44 days ago
wow… excellent score Eric. How come I can never find those hookups LOL.
-- San Diego, CA US Navy
Kindlingmaker
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1470 posts in 420 days
posted 44 days ago
WOW…......Drool….....WOW!
-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings
Lisa Chan
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68 posts in 43 days
posted 43 days ago
That’s an amazing find. Lucky lookey you!
-- Lisa Chan, custom cafts and yarn accessories, http://www.grippingyarn.com
Bothus
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225 posts in 70 days
posted 32 days ago
Incredible. You are my new best friend.
No seriously, I just added you.
I can’t wait to see what those grains inspire you to create.
Great find.
Bothus
-- Professional kitchen designer, amature woodworker.