My new shirt

tule peak timber · April 15, 2021, 07:07:44 PM

In the first pic Tony and his son are feeding the Whisker machine with White Oak blanks. This is the first job on this machine and you might notice the cardboard dust collecting cover; we still have a little ways to go but the texture on the output is really nice and it doesn't look like a machine did it! This first job is going to Seattle Center after finishing next week with my famous brown on brown.
In the second pic I am laying out burl sections for a circular table. I refer to this as mining for nuggets to get the best figure out of each piece of wood that I will then stitch back together and form up the table. Burl is funny; it's not evenly distributed throughout any given burl section and since I don't work with veneers, I just hack out the better pieces and put the tree back together the way I want it to look. It is going to take maybe 20 of these burl cookies to get enough quality for the table I am trying to execute.
Just finished the mantel mid day and on to the next project.

tule peak timber · April 20, 2021, 03:19:17 PM

After you spend all the time to take the tree apart, then you put it back together. Or,,,,, how to make burl do what you want it to do.

thecfarm · April 21, 2021, 05:39:58 AM

And that will be........
You could make a pile of manure look good. ;D Well maybe not, it's not wood. :D

WDH · April 21, 2021, 07:24:45 AM

Inspirational.

tule peak timber · April 21, 2021, 04:48:39 PM

This going to be a 54" diameter breakfast nook table. It will be mounted on a hollowed out walnut stump and sell for a pretty penny. As far as inspiring people, I certainly hope I do. I truly work with crap and turn it into green manure of sorts, which I then plow back into my business. The better looking burl pieces sell themselves, but the off cut, second rate, crap burl I cut up and stitch into some sort of useful design, in this case a table. When people call me the wizard of crap, they aren't kidding,

!

Nebraska · April 21, 2021, 08:10:41 PM

Thanks for showing your work WOC... Can't wait to see them finished.

Resonator · April 21, 2021, 08:14:39 PM

How to square a cant without opening the log. ;D

tule peak timber · April 21, 2021, 08:24:10 PM

Yes, I look at that 100 pound hunk of walnut heartwood and just shake my head. It will find a home with TAV ( turn around for vets program), or any other person that needs it. ;D

doc henderson · April 21, 2021, 08:26:09 PM

that is a neat way to get two major projects out of one chunk-o-wood. ;)

tule peak timber · April 21, 2021, 08:42:12 PM

Doc,
A couple of years ago I morphed into a business philosophy of making a profit from what I bring in the door, log wise and the rest can go at great discount or for free. I know as a dyed in the wool capitalist that I should squeeze every last drop from every last penny, but I just don't do that. If the money has been made, the church groups, boy scouts, veterans groups, schools and guys trying hard to get started in the woodworking business get to shop at a 100% discount. It sounds crazy, but it works out.
There is a method to my madness; after doing this for a couple of years, untold hours 365 days/year, I am going to start cleaning the slate to load my inventory with walnut, redwood and cedar, which is wood per lift, per cut, per storage sq. ft. makes a lot more $ than perhaps other woods. The trucks are lining up.
Cheers!

doc henderson · April 21, 2021, 08:46:13 PM

I am all in with helping out the next generation, and glad that you well enough with you day job, to help others when you can or it is needed. God bless sir... or should I say, Wizard of Crap!

I also hate to waste good wood. You have seen my shop, I waste very little as well.

tule peak timber · April 21, 2021, 09:06:51 PM

Good on Ya' Doc...
A magazine article from a couple years back...

tule peak timber · April 23, 2021, 05:30:24 PM

The second gate goes vertical today. Next week the metal work starts.

tule peak timber · May 05, 2021, 09:47:26 PM

Just got a progress pic from Sacramento on the install.198 feet wide, curved walnut, NNRH job.Mingei museum shipped today and there will be pics to follow soon.Got back from Kodiak island on Monday and I'm going back in September----I want a piece of the "rock".....

newoodguy78 · May 05, 2021, 10:29:30 PM

Gotta ask... were they biting up there?

tule peak timber · May 05, 2021, 10:40:53 PM

Wind and rain were very biting indeed.......Kodiak is having a very late Spring- so no fish in shallow water at all. I surf fished REALLY hard for 6 days and ended up with about 50 pounds of Yellow Fin Sole. ;D

Nebraska · May 05, 2021, 11:07:52 PM

Ok, that's just a fish story if there are no pictures.... ;)

tule peak timber · May 06, 2021, 12:09:26 AM

Sorry no fish pics but there wasn't that much in fish anyways

. Mostly I took real estate videos because that was my other mission. Below is an example of the beautiful coastline along with a house I definitely could not afford. I'm already booked for another trip in September.
Cliff Point AK 4 27 2021 - YouTube

tule peak timber · May 06, 2021, 10:25:41 AM

A view of Anton Larson Bay where I was able to hit 75ft of water depth from the shore. Quiet with only the sound of a thundering waterfall across the bay from me. I had a short period of sun then back to rain, I also noted the number of dead or sick bald eagles. Quite a large bird and up close the skeletal remains of the beak and skull are bigger than my outstretched hand. The poor guy in the photo just standing on the roadside waiting to die.
Anton Larson Bay AK 4 28 2021 - YouTube

JJ · May 06, 2021, 10:52:02 AM

Thanks for sharing WOC!
Do you know what was killing the Bald Eagles?

JJ

tule peak timber · May 06, 2021, 11:21:56 AM

JJ, I have no idea, but it could be that there are so many of them on the island that the natural attrition just seems skewed to my observation.The other odd issue is PSP (paralytic shellfish poisoning) that has become prevalent ,more so , in recent years.Animals that eat PSP tissue suffer from mild to death symptoms within hours.Talk about "bad clams",,Yikes. >:(

tule peak timber · May 06, 2021, 10:11:44 PM

Some pics passed along by my customer this morning of the Mingei Museum install, which began yesterday. This top was an "in the ground" growing walnut tree in 2019 and is now a 30' wide, 5' deep, 2-1/4" precision countertop. The design was by committee and we performed on time, on budget. There will be more pics of the museum library and a video celebrating their re-opening this fall. I was very honored to partake in this project, considering the other artists featured in this museum.
8)

Walnut Beast · May 06, 2021, 10:14:26 PM

Great work 👍

Walnut Beast · May 06, 2021, 10:16:44 PM

Quote from: tule peak timber on May 06, 2021, 10:25:41 AM
A view of Anton Larson Bay where I was able to hit 75ft of water depth from the shore. Quiet with only the sound of a thundering waterfall across the bay from me. I had a short period of sun then back to rain, I also noted the number of dead or sick bald eagles. Quite a large bird and up close the skeletal remains of the beak and skull are bigger than my outstretched hand. The poor guy in the photo just standing on the roadside waiting to die.
Anton Larson Bay AK 4 28 2021 - YouTube

What's the problems with the Eagles