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.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

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

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. 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 : )

-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.

What kind of wood is this one?

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

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 !

-- 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