Ashamed to say that I just did the exact same thing to a friends maple tree. It had been cut down a couple years ago, she asked if I wanted it for firewood. While unloading it in my backyard a big chunk of the bark fell off, and I could see ripples on the outside of the tree. Thinking that that might indicate some curly figure I cut off a small plank with my chainsaw and ran it through the planer. It was gorgeous, so I spent the next two days and two chainsaw blades cutting it into planks. It’s stickered and drying in the shed, still trying to come up with what to make out of it.
-- Lucas, "Someday woodworks will be my real job, until then, there's this http://www.melbrownfarmsupply.com"
