....and, the beauty that comes from knowing there is a place that I fit in….

....my days are filled with the ever increasing knowledge that this thing I call wood and working, is my place of having found peace within the cosmic center of my universe….

....spalted maple; 38’’ wide x 3-1/2’’ thick and 7’-8’ in length and, this is one that I am working on in the evenings here in my outside 360 degree work-space, while pausing to pass some words with an old friend who is coming to watch….

....watcher’s and keeper’s of the wood abound out here….

....beauty is many feelings to the mind and soul, but out here I am as ‘just is’....

....there is often more wood that surrounds me here, ( what woods do you see….?) then at first meets the eye, so once again I gather from the past and, last years cuttings and start looking at what will be-come of these, for this years wood art….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....’‘

....esoteric,
rar-i-fied forms for wood art,
realms of vision….
—by flp

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
’’….work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood….’‘

....creatures of the wood,
invading darkness nests light,
winged nascent being….
—by flp

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

....pausing to pass some light on this subject, I recently found in wood….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
’’….work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood….’‘

….into the fire of your eye,
ran the character of the wood,
and who was there to welcome my goings,
but the burnished steel of i….

....that was then till in my now of days,
i milled your sapwood looking for slabs,
and in the soul of your heartwood you still held more,
one last piece of steel that shines a taste of beauty….

—by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

....things you might meet when out walking in the soul of wood….

....just playing with imagination here, looking at inspiration and, all-ways feeling free to express my-self….

....one can say this story started here….third slab from the left, but I know the story started before I was ever on the scene….back before beginning….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
’’….work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood….’‘

So shall we begin….as in a continuation of Hobbit stories for those who waunder much of their life in the woods and glens of the Dark Forest…..Mirkwood.

Here is a picture of a froe-saw-sword-hammer that will from hence-forth be known by the name of ’Glamdring’.

Glamdring was a Noldorian sword, that was first used by Turgon; king of Gondolin in the Battle of the Unnumbered Tears, (Nirnaeth Arnoediad)....during the Years of the Sun, in the First Age….haha; and who says Hobbit’s can-not say a mouth-full. I will be writing more on this in the coming days….and then some-time days be-come weeks, so if my story seems to hang….well just remember this one’s writing, is one busy hobbit….

....the chain bar pictured here is 60’’ wide and by the time the powerhead is connected on the one end and the idler arm on the other end….the cutting swath of Glamdring is 48’’. The chain bar is a GB bar of hi-tech titanium alloy steel….not laminated steel and the chainsaw mill is a GB Lumber Mill, while the powerhead is a Husqvarna 395XP rated at 7.2 HP. The main feature which I believe sets the GB Lumber Mill above other chainsaw mills, is the fact that the powerhead connects directly to the mill head itself and not by the chain bar….which means lots less stress and wear and tear….but then more on this latter….

....all loaded up, so lets go and make some saw-chips….

....the saw chain being used here is a ripping chain which I order in rolls of 25’ and 100’....guage is .063 and pitch .404. This log was given to me, while the species is; Sugar Maple....also known by the name of Hard Rock Maple....’Acer saccharum’. The log is between 7’-8’ in length and by middle of the log, will reach to about 38’’-42’’ wide in slab. The slabs you see pictured here are milled at 3-1/4’’ – 3-1/2’’ in thickness….

....truly a table in the wilderness of rustic ‘wood art’....

I am thinking of maybe kiln drying some of these slabs also….and this is only the first log. There awaits an-other one of maple to yet be milled and that one has a width of roughly 36’’-38’’. So yes, I am offering some of what you now see as slabs and will be also possibly doing some in a thickness of around 2’’ in the future for sale….and I can deliver for a charge….and if there are any serious interested parties, you can give me a ‘private email’ at:

rusticwoodman@gmail.com

....more to come….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
“….work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood….’‘

….one wood as i am,
wood house of the mighty ones,
splayed color environs….
–by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

And now some more pictures to explain this poetic wood word story….

….and most finely….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
”….work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood….”

....sugar maple wood,
vase of nosegay by beauty,
backdrop weathered grey….
—by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

....all I ever was given upon coming into this plane of my forest,
was a very good imagination,
the ability to hear the wind rustling the leaves,
a working knowledge of the character of wood,
and the ever present opportunity of inspiration that comes from trees….

—-what more could one ask for, i am blessed….

Thank you.
GOODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

”….work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

....achromatic grey,
stirred by your whisper i squall,
i process too end…..
—by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

I’m not sure what kind of wood I have here, since this one was sent to me by a person out in southern California. While out walking in the desert there….and coming upon a, ‘in the past used campsite’, this was one piece of wood that was left over.

Actually I have 3 of these….and they all bear witness to the tell-tale signs of having burn marks upon them. Left-over campsite wood, weathered grey and yet out the ashes of that campsite comes a piece of beauty.

....search and rescue….salvation….redemption….’wood art’....and so from the ashes, I traded in and took hold of beauty !

I have not yet dreamed of what to do with this piece, (actually 3 pieces) but that will come as I show forth patience and grace of attitude, in the process of beginning to end.

Now after having said all the above….I just have to show forth some more beauty from around here at the house//farm, which leads me out to one of our gardens. After the long winter, it is in these images and photos that I take and save….that again my imagination takes flight. And yes, if one is wondering….the wheel-barrel is filled with one of our most famous products we grow up here….’rock tatoes’.....

....and then this one comes from behind the house in a granite crevice….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

....so i stepped outside to the wonders of an outdoor workshop,
where some trees where culling my name,
having not much time to pass with endless chatter,
i reached down and turned my cell-phone off….

—-silence…..

....and so i went up last week and payed my respects to an old friend,
one much wiser then me in all the ways of wood,
who welcomed me back since our meeting of last fall,
while even now this one is busy in the giving of thanks….
—by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Getting to be the time of year here when after putting those machines of winter to sleep….I start or have all-ready started the wake up of the machines for summer. Now having said all that, let me jump on ahead here to some trees, (3) that have come my way. I am in the midst of preparing to chainsaw mill these 3 trees into some slabs and maybe also some dimensional lumber. I will be writing and posting some stories and images of the process, once the work gets more under way….that is just as soon as I can get through some serious kayak days around here. I will start out here with a little background information and prep work on these trees and then also proceed too, in future blog stories, to give some information on the chainsaws I am using plus information on the chainsaw mill I will also be slabbing these with….

....this pine had reached the time when the the owner needed the tree to come down, so here’s one I’m looking forward to slabbing up….

....nice base trunk here….and 36’’-38’’ from side to side….

....i am looking to get about 8’-9’ feet of length here of pine slabs….

....I will also be looking at chainsawing some dimensional lumber out of the end here….

....now here is a good part of a branch that tapered off and out….

....and of which I am also looking at for sculpture and lumber….

....next I will also be chainsaw milling this maple out for some slabs….and if I remember right the length is around 6’ here….

....and 34’’-36’’ from side to side at the base…..

....also I’m including some more photos of this sugar maple, which I have already started some work on, in order to prepare the trunk for milling of slabs. This maple should yield some great slabs in the length of 7’ at 38’’-40’’ wide….

....I am also thinking about and how to cut this section here, so as to get some wood with nice form and character….

....well that wraps it up here for today. However I will leave you with one photo of some ‘freehand’ chainsaw slabbing that I have already started on with these smaller pieces….and yes, more to come….

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt”:http://frank.wordpress.com/

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”

....as wood is rived,
so a tree shows forth one’s inner strength,
by his//her own choosing is man cleaved,
by the criticism he//she creates….

—-show me a tree that hides from on-coming winds,
and i will show you a man already wrapped in cerecloth,
while i marvel at the hands of the mighty oak held high,
i but stand in awe of that one who’s genetic dna creates within a critique of scars….

—-the trees i have known are gentle giants of their own forest,
be-coming that way over the span of many seasons,
so also can the man of shorter seasons hope to gather,
his//her own gentleness of soul by patience under cleaving….

....my days are shortened by every new morning i awake,
and where i to dream a thousand more years,
what would that compare to the wood i have rived,
where in the parted asunder there is much to see for beauty as strength…..
—by flp

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Rived....to part by cleaving.

White Oak....

Genus: Quercus

Species: alba

And so, continuing on this journey of riving wood, I spent some time the other week….working on this piece for some bench//stool of sorts. I have already posted some earlier blog stories on ‘riving wood’ and most of that is done with green wood. However there is also a place for riving wood that has been sitting a few seasons and is starting to cure and gather character.

I cut this piece of white oak down last spring, (2007) so as to clear some land for a leech field I was putting in for an ongoing cabin renovation. Having some time last week and needing to spend some energy at the end of the day for a moments relaxation….I decided to start work on this piece of wood. One can work hard all day long, (and so can I) till in the aftermath of all that work, I still need to slow my body down by creating some more work to do….hmmm. The tools I am using here are very basic and simple, one froe and one mallet….oh yes, my hands, my arms, my eyes and my mind, plus all that wealth of information I have gained from working the wood. I often tell folks and remind folks….if you want to learn about wood, put your books down and get outside to where the trees are….and start learning.

As I was saying, I came, I saw and now I rive…..

....so how does one go about riving a piece of wood that is wider then the riving knife or if one understands riving, one will know that you must be able to get to both sides of the froe with the mallet….no-problem. Actually there never is a real problem with any working of the wood, the problem lies within your//my own head, in that I ‘think’ there is a problem….again close the book, and go work the wood.

I started riving this piece by working the wood on the right side and about the first 1/3 of the width….

....next I proceeded the the left side and the remaining 2/3’s of the wood. These piece of white oak has already seasoned some and yes, one will have to work the wood some here….I mean thats why they call it the ‘mighty oak’.....

....so here we have the wood all rived clean and, yes I will do some clean up on this piece with a timber framing slick, ( that however will be an-other blog story)....

....no-thing more beauti-full then a piece of white oak that is weathering and developing it’s own character….

....until one tries riving wood, one will never understand the clean lines that can be gotten from understanding the wood and where to place that riving froe. Actually nothing matches the satisfaction I get, from working with wood….as to cutting, (chainsawing) the tree down, riving the wood by hand, cleaning the wood by hand, drying and curing my own wood and then working those wood joints by hand….to the actual finishing of the wood in a completed form of furniture that I present as ‘wood art’. Log to furniture and all the in-be-tween by hand….

....white oak again for the legs. I cut these also last spring and then rived them while the wood was green or else I would have probably never gotten this one to part so clean….

....well after all that, it is time to give a test fit….

....now it’s time to take a time of moment’s sitting and reflect back upon my day….in this my outside workshop, as I pause to give thanks for all that ‘just is’....

Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt

rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/

—
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”