# Fired up the sawmill today. Rarest of the rare American trees.



## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

I am going to be getting a new sawmill soon but had a couple logs I wanted to mill before i start to clean up my sawmill and sell it.

I got a pretty large root-ball and stump of a Desert Ironwood. If any of you are not familiar with this wood, it is extremely hard and it took me 5 hours with the chainsaw to just to get some of the roots off and some rips. That is because it dulled my chains multiple times and we had to stop to resharpen constantly. I guess it's time for some carbide chains soon.

Well, there was one branch that was large, for this kind of tree. I was able to get this piece which is maybe 18 inches by 3 feet long. I am in the process of cutting it into slabs right now. I am including a photo of the first slab.

I am amazed by the beauty of this wood.


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## Holbs (Nov 4, 2012)

For a second, I thought it was bigfoot laying on that table.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> For a second, I thought it was bigfoot laying on that table.
> 
> - Holbs


Lol, you're right. It really does, haha.

That really would be a rare thing to mill, haha.


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## Holbs (Nov 4, 2012)

what do you think of this DIY lumber mill? I might give it a shot one day (when I get land). This guy graciously filmed and explained everything from day 1 til the end. Gives me inspiration.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> what do you think of this DIY lumber mill? I might give it a shot one day (when I get land)
> 
> - Holbs


I've seen that one when doing research for my new sawmill. There are some cottonwood trees around me that would require a mill like that. If they ever come down, I really might have to make something like that.
That thing is a beast. I would probably try to integrate some kind of hydraulics into it. If you're working on the logs that utilize it's capacity, human power to clamp, stabilize and feed I don't feel will be enough.


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## Holbs (Nov 4, 2012)

btw, you are right. That is some wonderful exotic wood. Would look great in my house!


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## dseidl (Sep 9, 2016)

I ran into a local woodworker recently who had made a pen out of desert ironwood - it was one of the prettiest pens I've ever seen. I hate to think how many times he had to sharpen his tools, but it still made me want to try it myself! That should result in some gorgeous projects for you!


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> I ran into a local woodworker recently who had made a pen out of desert ironwood - it was one of the prettiest pens I ve ever seen. I hate to think how many times he had to sharpen his tools, but it still made me want to try it myself! That should result in some gorgeous projects for you!
> 
> - dseidl


The rarity of this is the slabs. It's nearly impossible to find pieces in the size to make slabs. The branches are usually very narrow and rarely straight.
The blanks are also very beautiful. I'm hoping to get plenty of blank material from the main trunk as well. This should be fun.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

That is some truly awesome wood.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Ooh. I imagine a saw handle out of that.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> Ooh. I imagine a saw handle out of that.
> 
> - TheFridge


I will have off cuts and other pieces that will work great for that and will be offered up to the lumberjocks community first. Even some of these slabs if anyone is interested. The hardest part for the slabs is the pricing. 
These are something rarely soon so how do you even price something like this?


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## Rayne (Mar 9, 2014)

> Ooh. I imagine a saw handle out of that.
> 
> - TheFridge
> 
> ...


Following just for the opportunity.  Would be cool to make something small with this.


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

Small items and turning isn't all that bad on the tools. You definitely won't have to sharpen doing a pen or even a mallet handle. For the off cuts AZWoddy is selling you can do a lot with this stuf. Here's a mallet I made but I've used ironwood a lot. Smells like cat piss when it's worked, use a respirator because it's full of silica. Honestly probably my favorite wood out there.


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

Never seen a desert ironwood slab before. If you break some of it into knife scale sizes you could make a killing, but it would be a shame.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

They used to use it as a bearing around the propeller shaft that exited submarines in WWII. It was durable as a bearing and swelled to limit water seepage. I had a section of one from the Portsmouth (Maine) Naval Shipyard given to me on an open house at the base when I was a kid.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> Never seen a desert ironwood slab before. If you break some of it into knife scale sizes you could make a killing, but it would be a shame.
> 
> - bobasaurus


I'll get a photo up soon of what I have left. From that, it will mostly be turning blanks for the most popular sizes mostly. This stump was one of the reasons I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the 36" bandsaw. I will need all the horsepower and width of blade possible to break down this kind of wood.

When I'm ready to start breaking it down, I'll post a thread here for people to make some requests if they're interested.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

> Small items and turning isn t all that bad on the tools. You definitely won t have to sharpen doing a pen or even a mallet handle. For the off cuts AZWoddy is selling you can do a lot with this stuf. Here s a mallet I made but I ve used ironwood a lot. Smells like cat piss when it s worked, use a respirator because it s full of silica. Honestly probably my favorite wood out there.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That really looks great. Is that from some of the pieces you got from the stump?


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

No, that was a long time ago. I haven't milled down the stump pieces yet. Going to build a log sled and extensions on the 17" before I do that. I did work on the 17" today a little. It's going to be a great machine for me I think.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

It would be great for small oval inlays.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

Here is some more of the slabs. I still have 2-3 more when it's done. It's taken 3 blades so far to get these slabs. Eucalyptus or mesquite would have used up 1 blade, in comparison.


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

Lookin good buddy.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

I see some gorgeous tables. Also, envision a helluva lot of work to bring them to smooth. 
I've watched the Mexican Indians work ironwood. Even with power tools available they still do all the smoothing with glass scrapers. They say it's the quickest way to do the job.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

> Ooh. I imagine a saw handle out of that.
> 
> - TheFridge
> 
> ...


Sweet


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

They don't seem so rare. I see five in one picture!


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