The story of an ugly log that turns into something beautiful

Thats some pretty wood there , you should seal the ends to keep it from checking . You don’t wanna waste any of that wood to big ole checks .

I wax the ends of every slab the day I cut them. The tree had been dead for years before it was cut and the log was on the log yard for several more years. I was amazed the wood was still in solid condition. If you take a good look at the closeup photo you can see how the grain is dense and interlocked. It’s tough as an old dead elm! I cut the first two quarters last spring and they’ve been stored in the atic of my old 2 story farmhouse drying. The attic works very much like a solar kiln. In the summer it’s HOT up there in the daytime and cools off at night. The heat pump also removes a lot of water. I checked the sample pieces I cut off last spring against the samples I dried bone dry in the oven and the slabs are between 6 and 12%.

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

i look for the ugly wood,its the best kind.
nice piece.

-- craig kuhn

Hey Hal
That’s a great find.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Yes ugly logs open up like a beautiful lady. You just want to sit and stare at them.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I have a monster Walnut stump in my yard that my wife can’t wait to get rid of. She hates waiting too. I am putting her off until I can figure out how to deal with the stump. I have a gunstock in mind for that wood. thanks for showing us what you have uncovered.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."

Beautiful find …thanks for sharing : )

-- 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 .

What kind of wood is this one?

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Beauty is more that just skin(bark) deep!

Wonderfull grain. Can’t wait for the projects to come out of this.

Nice find.

Scrappy

-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!

Great find!
That surely is some great looking wood.

-- ''Carry on my wayward son''

I’m sorry I didn’t put the wood type in the note… It’s elm. Just sand smooth and rub in a little tung oil and it looks a lot like walnut.

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

Now there is something you don’t see every day, that is neat pippy elm. You are showing some nice finds Hal, keep it up !

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

That is one of the prettiest pieces of wood I’ve ever seen. It makes me salivate.

I have had very good results, sealing the ends with waterproof carpenters glue.

I brush on a couple of coats, until you get a glossy look, & you don’t have to mess around melting wax.

You should try this sometime.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

That is beautiful! I would be stuck trying to figure out what to make out of it so all can see that grain. Awesome find!

-- jato, Houston Texas

These are some great posts. I like the wood, but please post this in the blog section. These are not projects…....

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

Great close up of that “Grain”. I could frame that picture.

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

I don’t know why you’d say they aren’t projects… Woodworking projects use wood and woodworking tools to produce something. Well, I have a sawmill and I produce beautiful lumber for woodworkers to use to make their own projects. (I also use my projects to make other projects)

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com