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Sawing salvaged sailboat keel in Southern California

Started by blakeinla, October 10, 2022, 09:14:45 PM

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blakeinla

Hello,

I'm a hoppyist woodworker and have been offered a few very large sections of a wooden sailboat's keel that was salvaged after being sunk.  The owners think it might be purpleheart and I planed down a piece and found that it is very beautiful hardwood but not sure what type.

My question is how would I be able to find someone to help me retrieve this wood and saw it into lumber?  It doesn't seem like there are that many local sawmills (portable or otherwise) that could tackle this.

Also, since I don't know much about this, is it harder to saw old wood (it's very dry and very hard) than freshly-felled wood?

I hate to see it go to the landfill, which is what will happen if I don't rescue it.  I'm not sure how much this would yield, but certainly enough to make 5 or 6 very large dining room tables.

I'm in Los Angeles if anyone has anybody to recommend.   My name is Blake, and you can call me at 323-791-8971. This is a photo of one of the pieces:


 

Old Greenhorn

It's hard to help you out without specifics. What are the dimensions of these keel sections? WxHxL would be helpful. Except for length, I can't tell from your photo that anything would be tough to fit on most mills. But, if there is metal in there, pins, nails, bolts. well that could be a big show stopper. I am on the right coast, so no help in any event, but anybody that might be able to help you out there would need details. How have you tried to find a mill?
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

btulloh

That's pretty interesting especially if it's purple heart. Can you get some more pictures?  Maybe put a known object wirh it for scale?  Some exposed fresh wood?  Can you transport it?

Member @Tule Peak Timber is southeast of LA and would probably be interested. (If he hasn't already headed up to his place on Kodiak Island lol).

Very cool piece!

Edit: @tule peak timber , aka WOC 
HM126

Ron Scott

White Oak keel? Do you have any age or history of the sailboat?
~Ron

tule peak timber

I reached out, so we shall see. ;D In the past I've done some DF parts for boats, but a lot depends on where the boat was built.
persistence personified - never let up , never let down

thecfarm

It would be an interesting piece to know what boat it came too.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

blakeinla

Thanks for the advice everyone.  Tule Peak did indeed reach out and asked all the right questions.  I'm now trying to figure out how to get it transported to his location (there is a gantry available to help load).  I didn't take any measurements but the largest piece was 20-25 feet long I'm guessing.

As for metal - there is definitely metal involved.  On both large pieces, there are pieces of planking attached with screws, so that is a factor, but I'm thinking even if it takes a bit of work to detach some attached pieces and planking it's still worth it.  

Still don't know what kind of wood it is, but Tule Peak informed me that it would be unlikely to be purpleheart, but still would be very interesting wood.  From the piece I planed down, it's beautifully dense and striped.

I'll send more photos with an update when I can.

Don P

Quote from: blakeinla on October 11, 2022, 10:20:37 PMAs for metal - there is definitely metal involved.  On both large pieces, there are pieces of planking attached with screws, so that is a factor, but I'm thinking even if it takes a bit of work to detach some attached pieces and planking it's still worth it.  


Remember that

Old Greenhorn

Well you are not going to find a better guy to work with than Rob, he knows his stuff and produces gallery quality work. He is also extremely busy.
 You could reduce his burden by getting all that stuff off the keel before you load it up. Probably a consideration to add a carbide blade into the cost of milling that thing up. Even if you don't hit any metal, it will give nice flat wood.
 Good luck, we wanna see pictures. ;D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

tule peak timber

persistence personified - never let up , never let down

metalspinner

I've been watching a sailboat rebuild/restoration channel on YouTube. 
They used purple heart for the keel. 
Even after all the years on that keel, I'll bet the first cut with any saw will tell you if it's purple heart!
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

blakeinla

I planed down a small piece that I took home to examine and this is what it looks like inside.  Brown streaks.  Beautiful but I have no idea what kind of wood.    The boat it came from was called the Highland Light and has an interesting history:
http://blog.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk/highland-light-a-lost-heritage/
Working on transportation now.  This is exciting! 

 

Don P

That looks like one of the mahoganies?
My best metal detector is a new saw blade, seems to work every time  :).

Old Greenhorn

Interesting history, I read the linked article. But that info ends short of the vessel's demise. It was an east coast coast and south Atlantic boat it's whole life and was not seaworthy when last heard from. I wonder how it would up on the other coast and apparently sunk?
 Seems like you have a rainbow keel? In that photo, which side was the water side and which side was inboard? All boats swell and take up, I wonder how this one laid.
 What are you going to make from it. Hard to tell the size from the photos, maybe I should read back. ;D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

btulloh

I'm with Don P about some type of mahogany. 

Interesting history. 
HM126

Hilltop366

Quote from: metalspinner on October 12, 2022, 01:38:17 PM
I've been watching a sailboat rebuild/restoration channel on YouTube.
They used purple heart for the keel.
Even after all the years on that keel, I'll bet the first cut with any saw will tell you if it's purple heart!
Perhaps I'm watching the same one. Tally ho?

metalspinner

Yes. That's the one. He should have just started from scratch. 😂😂😂
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

blakeinla

Not sure how the boat ended up on West Coast - I'm going to try to get more history once I solve the transportation issue.

Also, the in last photo I posted I don't know what part of it was touching water or if any of it was touching water.  Hard to tell because the piece I brought home is so broken up.


Southside

You have a piece of history there.  WOW.  Personally, I would find a way to get something from that keel to the Naval Academy, possibly even the Smithsonian, given the boats history. I would think it would be prominently displayed.  
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JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

muggs

I think there is a guy in Thousand Oaks with a mill. He advertises in the Ventura County Craiglist for slabs and such.

blakeinla

Update:  Thanks for all the help everyone!  With the help of a gantry at the marina, I was able to load the sailboat wood onto a vehicle trailer and get it down to Rob at Tule Peak Timber.  Rob was great, and says the wood is Mahogany.  He cut and sanded a piece and it's just beautiful.  Lots of copper and brass nails and bolts, which will take a day to get out.   Can't wait to see what we'll get from this piece of history! 

  

Walnut Beast


tule peak timber

So we started diving for embedded foreign material (efm) in a small 4 foot section today and came up with 5 pounds of copper and bronze, wads of flax/cotton caulk and various broken off pieces of the hull. Cleaned up the symmetry of the keel lets for the ribs and planking shows that whoever crafted this piece knew what he was doing. I'm touching the work of a 3D craftsman from 100 plus years ago, absolutely awesome! 8) 8)  

 
persistence personified - never let up , never let down

Crusarius

I definitely want to see a finished product. this is gonna be amazing.

tule peak timber

A great deal of time metal diving for bronze screws, lags and big pins. The metal ranges from lead sheet to copper brads to 1/2, 3/4 and 1" bronze pins. Tremendous amount of imbedded material, so much so that after a couple of weeks of digging and pulling we finally just to send the keel parts through the woodmizer and found out that the standard 7 degree blade cuts right through everything. Pleasantly surprised! We are on the last big piece; have veneered out the smaller pieces inside to find white oak, mahogany and some kind of engineered timber. Obviously, a repair job from decades ago. This saw job is more a labour of love and certainly not one of production.

 

 

 

 

 
persistence personified - never let up , never let down

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