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steve ramsey

steve ramsey

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484
Location
Lafayette, IN
Friend of mine in northern Wisconsin gifted this to me. It's +/- 30" diameter and weighs around 700 lb. The tree is either a pin oak or a red oak, I'm leaning toward a red oak. Now that I've got this thing not quite sure what to do with it. Either it stays here in Wisconsin or I cut it up and transport it back to Indiana where I have better facilities to deal with it. Biggest concern is curing. Thoughts/suggestions.1004221059.jpg1004221105.jpg1004221110.jpg1004221436.jpg
 

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WOW Steve, that is a beaut for sure!! Have your friend at least get 2-3 coats of latex paint on the cuts. Add a coat after last coat dries. That will help stop cracking due to drying at the open wound. That will help keep it usable and then decisions can be made with less hurrying.
 
That's a beauty, Steve. What do you want to do with it? Turnings, cookies, lumber? That will decide how you make those major cuts to allow you to transport it back home. It looks nice and burley on the surface, but sometimes oak burl disappoints with less than stellar figure when you get inside. Maybe best to find out before you go to a lot of trouble. Second Jon's sealing recommendation for all fresh cuts.
 
Such a big burl, deserves more than being turned, always depending how it is inside, I can envision a great piece of furniture made out of it.
 
Ted Calver said:
That's a beauty, Steve. What do you want to do with it? Turnings, cookies, lumber? That will decide how you make those major cuts to allow you to transport it back home. It looks nice and burley on the surface, but sometimes oak burl disappoints with less than stellar figure when you get inside. Maybe best to find out before you go to a lot of trouble. Second Jon's sealing recommendation for all fresh cuts.
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My first thoughts are a 3 leg end table and turnings. Right now I don't have a chain saw up here to do anything with. My plan is to bring a chain saw back up in late February and break it down and transport it back to Indiana to store in my heated shop. In the meantime it will sit in the garage in Wisconsin which is not heated. not sure what 20-40 below 0 will do to it.
 
You can turn it green, just have to contend with warpage when you bring it back and do the finish cuts on it. Someone in Wisconsin has to have a chainsaw that will cut that up for you. That can be a diamond in the rough.
 
steve ramsey said:
Not sure how long it will need to sit before it stabilizes. I would imagine it will depend on how it is broken down, probably several years.
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Something that size (even cut up into turning blanks) will take many years to cure. If you can rough out your pieces on the lathe before sealing with something like Anchorseal they will dry much faster. That's how I like to prep my blanks, and it's a pretty reliable way to prevent cracking.
 
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