Ring shake question?

Re: Ring shake question?

John K Jordan

>>>Does anybody know what really causes ring shake?

I have some walnut that is ruined by it. I have heard the wind shakes the tree. I have heard that it's caused by a virus and I have heard that the virus invades the crack after something else causes them.

I've read a great deal about ring shake. Some people say with authority the cause is X. Others say with equal authority the cause is Y. Some experts say the definitive cause has not yet been identified - perhaps there are several independent causes. Until I read the definitive peer-reviewed paper I take all claims with a grain of salt.

I have seen severe ring shake in walnut, chinese chestnut, mesquite, and another species but I can't remember at the moment. I've had log sections fall apart when cutting. Makes good firewood.

JKJ

Pretty much what I thought....

Barry Irby

No real consensus.

I watched a guy on YouTube saw a English Walnut log that basically fell apart. I was thinking the two center slabs would have made a fabulous table top if you could put the shakes back together with about a 1/4" space and some epoxy. If the lines would have stayed parallel.

I have some walnut I bought when I was kid that has ring shake. I have picked through it and used some of it. Can't bring myself to throw it away, I have a whole $35 invested in it. $35 in 1963 when you are 14 years old is a LOT of money. I need the space in the shed, I kind of wish somebody would steal the rest of it so I could be rid of it and complain about how I was robbed.

Re: Pretty much what I thought....

Don Stephan

Give the wood to local woodworking club that makes toys for kids; to a Waldorf school for their woodworking program; to a school that uses woodworking to teach life skills; to a woodturning group that makes pens to give away; . . . You will have to do some asking to find what possible recipients are in your area.

Re: Pretty much what I thought....

John K Jordan

>>> to a woodturning group that makes pens to give away;

That's what I do with ring shake wood - I can usually find enough solid wood to cut some small blanks for tops, finials, or pens. Sometimes the separation is confined to just one or a few rings.

Just be aware and very careful when preparing them on the bandsaw - if the wood separates when bandsawing you can suddenly be cutting unsupported with disasterous results.

Also, when I make blanks from what SEEMS like good sections in ring shook wood (ha!) I always take a thin slice off each end and bend them to be sure the separation does not extend invisibly into the blank.

JKJ