How would you do it ?

Re: How would you do it ?

Jim Crammond in Monroe, Mi

>Bob,

I'd split it in half with a sledge and some wedges then use your froe to split into turning blanks. If you you will only be using the pear for handles, you may want to cut the halves into shorter pieces, they'll split easier. If you score the end grain with your hatchet and a wooden mallet, using the froe seems to go a little easier.

Both Roy Underhill and Drew Langsner go into detail about this process in books they have written. Maybe your library has them.

This way of splitting the wood is a little more wasteful than sawing into blanks but it is much, much quicker and easier. After you have the blanks split, a drawknife can be used to make them somewhat round. This also saves some time and makes the initial rounding on the lathe easier.

Jim

Re: How would you do it ?

Bob Hackett

>Hi Bob,

The first thing I would do is to rip or split it in two thru the pith.If I had access to a neanderbuddy(bandsaw)I would saw out a wide(wide enough for chisel handle blanks) quartersawn board from the center with the heart in it,this is what sawyers up here refer to as a "dog board".I`d then ripsaw the pith from this board and I`d end up with QS chisel handle blanks.

Depending on the figure involved after sawing out the pith I would just saw the rest with an eye for getting the nicest looking boards I could from them.I tend to saw thick and then I can resaw after drying.Be sure to seal the endgrain as soon as you can.I also store small blanks in paper shopping bags to help slow the drying process and reduce checking.Keep it out of the sun,away from heat(hard to do where you live,I know),and away from alot of air movement after the surface moisture evaporates.

With a small stack like you`ll end up with I either weight it heavily or run long stickers(make sure they`re dry) and clamp the stickers together to restrain the stack.I use 2X pieces on top of the stickers to restrain the stack lengthwise.

All this is what I do to salvage exceptional wood like figured apple,plum,lilac,etc. up here on the Maine coast.It`s alot of work but I get to work with wood that keeps people guessing and would otherwise just end up in the chipper.Hey,you gotta find something to keep you going thru the winter up here.

Let me know if I can be of further help.The turners are also an excellent source of info on wood conversion(where do you think I learned it?)

Mainely,Bob