What are the most beautiful and unusual logs you have ever cut?

Dodgy Loner · July 10, 2007, 12:04:27 AM

More beautiful boards, SB! That looks like a once-in-a-lifetime find!

Jpad, the key to keeping the bark on it to cut it in the wintertime when the sap is down. I cut this tree in early January, and the bark stuck to it like white on rice. If you cut a tree in the spring or summer, there's nothing you can do to keep the bark from falling off.

Ironwood · July 11, 2007, 08:14:06 PM

NNNNNICE SSTUFF, SB

Reid

Max sawdust · July 12, 2007, 08:01:18 AM

Just found this thread SB ;D
That is one heck of a log

Finding a log with blister figure in the Midwest is unusual isn't it. ???
What clues on the ends or bark/surface did it give you that it had figure in it?
Do you know what species it is?
max

Ironwood · July 12, 2007, 08:47:44 AM

MaxSawdust,

I have found "blister" here as well. Mine did not have the color variation of SB's, and his had the combo of curl, blister, and color. These are usually on BIG OLD trees. If you peel an area of bark you are looking for #1 ridges of curl (most common) and second (more unusual, and evidence of blister) round bubble looking blisters. They almost resemble little water drops as you look from above. This water drop look will be mimicked in the grain. I have usually seen it iin soft maple, but I also have some VERY large hard maple which I have not yet cut that has it as well (I want them to spault). The blister is somewhat different than quilt found in big leaf, it is more what I call "water mark" meaning, when sanded and finished the wood looks as though there are water drops on it, like it rained big fat drops and they are sitting on the surface, they are VERY three dimensional as you move around the piece. I just sold a small (18" diameter) table that had this look on the top. I will try to get some pics.

Another good description is a spring roiling up from the bottom of a shallow little pond. The image I get is the water pushing up slightly at the surface. It looks kind of like that.

Reid

Max sawdust · July 12, 2007, 12:47:14 PM

Thanks for the description Reid. I am familiar with Birdseye and how to spot it under the bark and on the ends of cut logs, and learning to spot curl. But never seen a log or for that matter never physically held a board with blister!
Great descriptions! I will keep an eye on the big old soft maple logs that come my way.

Just sold a 2.5" thick slab of curly Red Oak. Came out of a log with 220+ growth rings.

This puppy was both big and old, just as you describe.

Sure do enjoy "discovering" figure in a log or for that matter seeing other peoples discoveries.
max

Ironwood · July 12, 2007, 11:13:45 PM

Blister pics of eastern soft maple

Tom · July 12, 2007, 11:22:59 PM

Good pictures

Dodgy Loner · July 12, 2007, 11:37:41 PM

There's a dead boxelder in Whitehall Forest (one of UGA's school forests) that looks just like that. Wish I could get my hands on it :-\.

Squirrell_Boy · July 13, 2007, 01:20:27 AM

Reid,

I could not have said it better regarding the possible identification of figure. The log i cut and documented must have been nearly 60 inches in diameter at one time. It was about 53 inches at the widest when i found it and it had already had two sides very roughly ripped down with a chainsaw. I know that had to be some work. I found 2 very old cut nails near the center of this log at the narrow end. I pulled them out of the punky wood by hand. Easiest nails i've ever pulled.

These are fast growing trees, but it must have been quite old. I could not count or do a per inch average of the growth rings on this log due to the condition of the ends.

I am no longer sure that this type of figure is as rare as i thought. I went through some of the local wood lab/dump and found another, lots of blister, intense rippling...unfortunately it was already a plant holder. Then i found a huge Sugar Maple with what appeared to be quite a bit of figure similar to burl and lots of curl...too deteriorated to cut up. I almost cried.

The Landscape or Terrain figure in that slab mesmorized me when i poured water on it. It is an optical illusion. I have never seen so many colors in one log as this one had. I can only speculate that it was a combination of age, mineral stain, and some strange spalting. Much of the sawdust was pinkish and orange.

Squirrell_Boy · July 13, 2007, 01:44:13 AM

BTW Ironwood those are some very nice pictures you posted. They really show that blister type of effect. The grain can run everywhere in this type of figure. You even get end grain on the face of the board.

If anyone is wondering if they see blue (not like blue stain) on that one slab they would be correct. I should have had it professionally photographed.

Squirrell_Boy · July 15, 2007, 01:10:54 AM

What the Hay! I took so many pictures of this it is silly not to post them. These are from the first slab i cut from this unbelievable log. I think it was about 36 inches at the narrow end and around 40 at the wide end of this slab.

There was so much going on in the way of figure and color in this one slab. Let's see... blister, tight curl, multiple color spalting, mineral stain and some landscape / terrain figure. Maybe someone can describe it better to me.

I don't mean to get carried away, but this was too wild and hard to believe.

It was overcast and getting into the evening when i took these pictures. The sun would poke through for a moment and change the whole effect. It was a surreal experience. My brother thought i was crazy and had been out in the weather too long when i told him.

Squirrell_Boy · July 15, 2007, 01:47:54 AM

Two more pictures for now. Maybe someone can explain better what is going on with all of this and can explain the variety of things that happened with this log.

I still haven't verified the species with anyone that is credentialed in that area. I'd like to get a macroscopic or microspopic analysis done.

Could any of the Foresters on the Forum do that?

Riles · July 15, 2007, 06:49:58 AM

The Forest Service will identify your samples for free, but they warn they usually can't get it down to exact species. Details for shipping your sample:

http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/WoodID/idfact.html

junkyard · July 15, 2007, 12:47:38 PM

Those are some beautiful woods . Now the famous words" when I was young. I sawed some Lilac and Sumac on the table saw. to small for any thing but sure were pretty.
Junkyard"

Dodgy Loner · July 15, 2007, 09:35:34 PM

SB, I work in the wood quality lab at UGA. You can send us a small sample and we can identify it for you. It's not possible to ID maples down to an exact species, but I can definitely tell you whether it's hard maple or soft maple (or if it's something else altogether). I'll send you a PM with my work address.

Squirrell_Boy · July 16, 2007, 01:52:04 AM

Thank you all very much,

I am almost certain i know what Maple type it is, but i don't want to be presumptuous. The bark and texture of the wood are very familiar to me.
I believe i have cut the same type before with nice curl figure in it.

Junkyard, I have seen pens turned from Lilac and one of the Sumacs. You are right they are beautiful. Lilac smells wonderful when it is dried out and burned on a fire. If i see someone cutting some down i always ask for some.

Junkyard, i think most of us are naturally curious about different woods and figures in wood. Although sometimes curiosity gets the best of me. Don't ask me how i know...OK, i must confess. Several days ago i wasted a whole bunch of time and energy cutting up a huge Maple crotch hoping for some spalting, nice figure, etc. What i got was mostly a bunch of punky stuff with a couple of huge holes in it.

Ironwood · July 24, 2007, 11:05:08 PM

This is the best "water mark" blistered soft /hard maple I have seen around these parts. This one is soft.

Reid

Daren · July 25, 2007, 01:13:07 PM

Here is an unusual one. I brought it up in the urban forestry section cause it was a yard tree. Red bud burl log (more burl than log :D)

I sliced some 20-30 pound burls off of it, here are some of them. I should not have cropped the 5 gallon bucket out of the picture, it gave some scale. They are nice sized.

And some baby ones too.

I got three 5 gallon buckets of babies (size of a Big Mac- to the size of an apple pie) I cut one of the babies into pen blanks.

I turned a little scrap, there is alot of eyes/figure even in that tiny piece.

I sawed a few live edge slabs, they are small, but cool. I think a small table or something from them would be sweet.

I cut a few funky bookmatches too.

After all the pretty stuff was off I still has a 12" square cant...but the center was rotted out on one end and the thing is short. I pulled a couple boards and left it, I may saw on it some more. If I was needing 3-4 foot boards.

Kelvin · July 25, 2007, 06:36:27 PM

Real nice Daren. That is cool. i"ve never seen a red bud like that!
Thanks everyone for posting pics. Its great to see. My stuff is all pretty plain, i gotta get some of that exotic looking stuff.
KP

metalspinner · July 25, 2007, 06:42:24 PM

Daren,
That turned piece looks like Thuya burl. It sure is pretty.

Ironwood · July 25, 2007, 07:20:03 PM

NNNNNNNNNice Daren. Reid

Squirrell_Boy · July 26, 2007, 02:46:14 PM

Now that is what i'm talking about! Nice posts. There is some crazy figure out there. You guys rock! Reid that lower picture borders on what i'd call quilted figure.

fencerowphil (Phil L.) · August 03, 2007, 11:23:32 PM

This may not be the all time fav,...

but its DanG close:

You would know that the customer is wanting plain vanilla Sweetgum for horse stall wood and my
logs come up with this yucky stuff.

(Yuk, yuk, yuk) ;D

Phil L.

Squirrell_Boy · August 05, 2007, 11:16:07 PM

That is some beautiful sweetgum. I have only cut one sweetgum before that was about 20 inches in diameter and 10 feet long. It was nice, but nothing like that. I'm not surprised it's going in a horse barn. I have seen a few barns that are nicer than peoples houses. I hope the horses appreciate it.