I talked to a neighbor I met in the neighborhood workshop, he told me he had around 2000 mm x 150 mm, each dried logs of cherry and juniper. The juniper I figure I can carve into kitchen utensils, and the cherry can be used for tool handles.
The problem is I’m a complete beginner to woodworking. I have no clue how I should go about preparing the stock for this. I have a set of chisels, a Stanley No.5, Stanley No.4½, all of which I have the ability to sharpen. I have no hatchets, froes, or logging chisels.
He said he was gonna throw this out soon, and hardwood is hard to come by where I live.
Tools are just tools. The “right” ones will make your work quick, but you can always make the “wrong” ones work if you’re patient and clever.
Start by getting it home and acclimating.
Let it sit in the environment you plan on working it for a minimum of 2 weeks (I’d suggest 6+ if you can swing it.)
Remove the bark first, if you plan on storing it inside. If not, debark it after your acclimation period.
Run it through a bandsaw to sort of square an edge, but beware that a round log will spin if you’re not careful. A simple clamping sled can offer a bit of peace of mind. Trim off your exposed end grain to help prevent splitting.
This is where you’d bake it, if you have access to a kiln.
Keep in mind that as you cut/cook your workpieces you’ll release some internal stress grown into the tree. Oversize your cuts and be prepared for your boards to cup/curl.
Sneak up on your final dimensions and don’t be afraid to let things sit if it still seems too wet.
And most importantly, share your progress with the community so we can enjoy the adventure too 😉
First of all, get your hands on it and get it home. You’ll have time to figure out the rest once you do that.
Get it home, test the moisture as soon as you get it there. Continue to test it every day until it’s about the same 3-5 days in a row.
It might be dried, but it still needs to acclimate to where you’ll be working with it.
If it’s timber, you’ll need to shave the bark off it, at a minimum. This is best done with a hatchet, but anything you can use to get it off without damaging too much of the wood underneath is fine.
If you want tool handles, go ahead and chuck it on the lathe and go to town. If you don’t have a lathe, it’s going to be very difficult, but not impossible, to get it round.
If you want S4S (squared on all four sides) boards, you’ll need a table saw (or maybe a band saw would do), planer, and jointer to get them within 1/16" of your final desired dimensions, then sneak up on final measurements with your planers.
If you want S4S (squared on all four sides) boards, you’ll need a table saw (or maybe a band saw would do)
Bandsaw would be the normal choice, if I’m not mistaken (obviously it has to have enough resaw depth). 150mm is roughly 6", which I think would just barely fit through a 14" Delta or one of its many Asian-made clones. (I’ve been shopping for a bandsaw lately . . .)
Most table saws would need a pass on each side and possibly some handsaw work to split the remaining middle bit afterwards. Doing the entire operation with a handsaw and/or hatchet is possible but requires more skill and patience than I would have.
If you don’t have a lathe, it’s going to be very difficult, but not impossible, to get it round.
Tool handles don’t have to be perfectly round, though. You can just carve the corners off a block until you get something kind of octagonal. I have a couple I made that are rounded rectangles—not perfectly symmetrical, maybe, but comfortable enough to hold.
MMmmm… I would buy a planer and jointer and maybe a feed through sander off marketplace or facebook, and take the time to make planks. Then once I’m done I’d list it for sale and sell it back. This is a score of amazing wood. I’d try to make something real nice from it, but it need prepossessing. And its worth that time
Get it home, then figure out what to do with. You’ll probably need to acquire some new tools to turn it into something useful, a hatchet it a minimum. There’s plenty of youtube videos on how to do it with minimum tools, rex kruger has a bunch.
If you have the option to store the wood in a proper location go for it. As you wrote yourself hardwood is not easy to come by and propererly processed even more so. Worst case is you sell it on and depending on the quality you make a good chunk of cash.
The problem is I’m a complete beginner
Ummm… I’m a complete beginner. I don’t know half þe tools you mentioned, and I don’t have þe oþer half.
You’re someþing above “complete beginner.” Maybe not much, but someþing.
