Well, we used our "downed timber" permit for the first time, on Saturday
morning.. not having a gas chain saw, (yet), we just threw a couple of bow saws
on the truck and hit the forest..

We got pretty lucky. Found a few places where early wood cutters with permits
had been working... they usually cut up the larger truck pieces and leave the
branch wood, which is sort of our target.. (mini lathe)

Came home with a few hundred pounds of pine and tamarack.. diameter of maybe 8"
to 12" or so.. very wet and sappy.. the wife and I had watched Bill Grumbine's
DVD the night before, so I was eager to get going..
( http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/index.html )
Got home, got out the chain saws, put a new blade on the band saw, and started
making sawdust.. I LOVE the smell of pine being cut..

I cut a few "play" blanks and after sharpening the gouges, (after watching bill
work, what other chisel would you need *g*), I just spent Saturday evening
mounting blanks and trying new grinds, methods, etc.. just sort of letting
Bill's DVD and the things that I've read here run through my mind..
Some things worked, some should have been disasters, but the wood was not only
free, it was soft and forgiving.. I filled a plastic trash bag (twice) with
shavings.. my shaving:chip ratio is getting much better in the last few weeks..
mostly from George's "peel/stab" thread here..

On Sunday, we made a quick trip to the traveling Vietnam Wall, and went to
breakfast to plan the day.. I wanna turn, she wants to burn (pyrography), so
it's going to be another fun day..

I roughed out about 8 bowls and a few boxes Sunday, while most of the
neighborhood sat in lawn chairs in the driveway enjoying the shade and each
other.. also, I've been teaching one of the neighbor kids what little I know
about turning, so he and his dad were on the Shopsmith, with a 2' section of 8"
branch wood between centers, taking turns making shaving fly..

Sorry for the LONG post, but it was such a great weekend, I had to share it with
other turners... non-wood types would think it was a weekend of hard work and
messing up the garage, not having a blast collecting free (almost) wood and
making shavings...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
Well, we used our "downed timber" permit for the first time, on Saturday
Came home with a few hundred pounds of pine and tamarack.. diameter of
maybe 8"
to 12" or so.. very wet and sappy..

Keep your mineral spirits handy with that tamarack. You can burn a gouge by
heating the resin, and there's more than enough of that! With conifers, the
light touch means even more than with hardwoods, because you can crush so
easily when transitioning from late to early wood. Don't despair, though.
It's a bit more friendly when cured than green.

On Mon, 16 May 2005 12:41:54 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .
Well, we used our "downed timber" permit for the first time, on Saturday
Came home with a few hundred pounds of pine and tamarack.. diameter of
maybe 8"
to 12" or so.. very wet and sappy..

Keep your mineral spirits handy with that tamarack. You can burn a gouge by
heating the resin, and there's more than enough of that! With conifers, the
light touch means even more than with hardwoods, because you can crush so
easily when transitioning from late to early wood. Don't despair, though.
It's a bit more friendly when cured than green.

mineral spirits?? as in paint thinner, or what, George?? ya have to remember
that I'm a learner here.. *g*

I had an interesting conversation with a neighbor who's a contractor last
night... he was over for coffee and we were sitting around the
shop/garage/pub/sports bar and I mentioned that I had been getting a strange
taste in my mouth when I was working these logs..
I thought it was my imagination, or something else... maybe something that I was
eating or drinking, but 3 days in a row was quite a coincidence..
He said that it was from the tamarack.. asked me if my fingers or hands were
numb or tingling!! (not yet)

According to him, it's the natural insecticide in the tamarack that we smell
(now that we know what it is) and that when working with kiln dried tamarack
2x4's your hands can get numb?????



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
Keep your mineral spirits handy with that tamarack. You can burn a gouge
by
heating the resin, and there's more than enough of that! With conifers,
the
light touch means even more than with hardwoods, because you can crush so
easily when transitioning from late to early wood. Don't despair,
though.
It's a bit more friendly when cured than green.

mineral spirits?? as in paint thinner, or what, George?? ya have to
remember
that I'm a learner here.. *g*


SHEESH, that's what's written on the container!


I had an interesting conversation with a neighbor who's a contractor last
night... he was over for coffee and we were sitting around the
shop/garage/pub/sports bar and I mentioned that I had been getting a
strange
taste in my mouth when I was working these logs..
I thought it was my imagination, or something else... maybe something that
I was
eating or drinking, but 3 days in a row was quite a coincidence..
He said that it was from the tamarack.. asked me if my fingers or hands
were
numb or tingling!! (not yet)

According to him, it's the natural insecticide in the tamarack that we
smell
(now that we know what it is) and that when working with kiln dried
tamarack
2x4's your hands can get numb?????


Well, tamarack's not as bad as the more durable woods as far as natural
insecti/fungicides go, but there's enough terpenes to leave an aftertaste,
that's for sure. Never heard of neuropathy, and I've done some multi-hour
sessions dogging and/or bearing tamarack off the saw without experiencing
it. Makes you wonder. If cedars weren't "natural," would they ever make it
to market with all the chemicals in 'em? Much less some of the tropical
durables?

Just spun a 16x5 out of some cherry that was marinating in the sun, and the
smell of almond - hydrocyanic acid - was pretty strong. They used to make
spring tonics and cough syrup out of both cherry and tamarack.

On Tue, 17 May 2005 13:41:51 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .
Keep your mineral spirits handy with that tamarack. You can burn a gouge
by
heating the resin, and there's more than enough of that! With conifers,
the
light touch means even more than with hardwoods, because you can crush so
easily when transitioning from late to early wood. Don't despair,
though.
It's a bit more friendly when cured than green.

mineral spirits?? as in paint thinner, or what, George?? ya have to
remember
that I'm a learner here.. *g*


SHEESH, that's what's written on the container!

ok, that's what I thought, but what I was asking is "what for?"

It's not sappy, like the pine we got, more like just wet.. (get a combination of
shavings and water flying off them), so I don't think you mean to clean the
chisels, right?




mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...

mineral spirits?? as in paint thinner, or what, George?? ya have to
remember
that I'm a learner here.. *g*


SHEESH, that's what's written on the container!

ok, that's what I thought, but what I was asking is "what for?"

It's not sappy, like the pine we got, more like just wet.. (get a
combination of
shavings and water flying off them), so I don't think you mean to clean
the
chisels, right?

We are talking tamarack - Larix laricina? Renowned for its resin content,
and feared for the heat of its combustion, which is said to be capable of
warping iron stoves?

Unless you've got stuff down a bit, or some other tree referred to as
tamarack, you'll need to clean those tools, and everything that touches the
hairs on your left arm will adhere unless you bathe in the stuff.

On Wed, 18 May 2005 06:10:53 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .

mineral spirits?? as in paint thinner, or what, George?? ya have to
remember
that I'm a learner here.. *g*


SHEESH, that's what's written on the container!

ok, that's what I thought, but what I was asking is "what for?"

It's not sappy, like the pine we got, more like just wet.. (get a
combination of
shavings and water flying off them), so I don't think you mean to clean
the
chisels, right?

We are talking tamarack - Larix laricina? Renowned for its resin content,
and feared for the heat of its combustion, which is said to be capable of
warping iron stoves?

Unless you've got stuff down a bit, or some other tree referred to as
tamarack, you'll need to clean those tools, and everything that touches the
hairs on your left arm will adhere unless you bathe in the stuff.

hmm.. I'll have to take some pictures this afternoon... it doesn't seem to be
leaking resin/sap very much... not nearly as bad as pine, which requires hand
cleaner later to get the sap off your hands..

This has a fairly thin, kind of waxy feeling bark and pretty tight grain...
BTW: probably no real relevance, but we got it off of Tamarack Summit.. lol



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
hmm.. I'll have to take some pictures this afternoon... it doesn't seem to
be
leaking resin/sap very much... not nearly as bad as pine, which requires
hand
cleaner later to get the sap off your hands..

This has a fairly thin, kind of waxy feeling bark and pretty tight
grain...
BTW: probably no real relevance, but we got it off of Tamarack Summit..
lol


Just thinking ...SHUT UP ARCH... if you're collecting only softwoods, you're
not collecting the Tamarack we know and love. Perhaps they call western
larch tamarack as well. You're out to the left?

Our eastern variety is as dense as cherry, loaded with resin, and while not
tolerating wet feet, doesn't mind a bit of casual water here and there. If
you were in an area with L laricina, hardwoods wouldn't be too far away.
Mine give a run for the sun with maple and cherry where they have sprouted
on upslopes.

Was the preferred timber for mine lagging in the hard rock days.
http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature.../larixlar.html

On Wed, 18 May 2005 11:47:22 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .
hmm.. I'll have to take some pictures this afternoon... it doesn't seem to
be
leaking resin/sap very much... not nearly as bad as pine, which requires
hand
cleaner later to get the sap off your hands..

This has a fairly thin, kind of waxy feeling bark and pretty tight
grain...
BTW: probably no real relevance, but we got it off of Tamarack Summit..
lol


Just thinking ...SHUT UP ARCH... if you're collecting only softwoods, you're
not collecting the Tamarack we know and love. Perhaps they call western
larch tamarack as well. You're out to the left?

Our eastern variety is as dense as cherry, loaded with resin, and while not
tolerating wet feet, doesn't mind a bit of casual water here and there. If
you were in an area with L laricina, hardwoods wouldn't be too far away.
Mine give a run for the sun with maple and cherry where they have sprouted
on upslopes.

Was the preferred timber for mine lagging in the hard rock days.
http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature.../larixlar.html

thanks for the link George.. looks kinda like it..
we're on the left, for sure..... central Calif.....

This wood was at about 7,000 feet... most hardwood (what little there is in our
area) stops at about 3,000 to 5,000' and mostly pine, fir, etc. above that..

I turned a 9" bowl last night and hit the first sap, but only in a few places on
the outside bark.. probably where branches were trimmed..

LOTS of water, though.. I took the walls down to about 3/8" at 840 rpm and was
getting soaked... not just the tools, but my arm, shirt and wife, who was wood
burning at the bench..
Before I bagged it, I took it up to 1,200 rpm for about 20 minutes and it was
SPRAYING water out of the end grain! Left a line on the floor mats for about 3'
on each side of the lathe..

I posted some pics on ABPW..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 18 May 2005 11:47:22 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:
I posted some pics on ABPW..


Sad to say, my ISP doesn't get a tenth of the binary on that group. Saw the
text message.

As to water, after the new lathe arrived, stand built and located, I wanted
to do was swing some big wet stuff. Last thing I thought of was rust on my
tablesaw, which was now in "the zone," rather than the cleverly covered
belt/disc sander. I now have a purpose-built cover for both, though I
haven't turned on Blue for almost two months.

On Thu, 19 May 2005 12:44:20 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 18 May 2005 11:47:22 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:
I posted some pics on ABPW..


Sad to say, my ISP doesn't get a tenth of the binary on that group. Saw the
text message.

As to water, after the new lathe arrived, stand built and located, I wanted
to do was swing some big wet stuff. Last thing I thought of was rust on my
tablesaw, which was now in "the zone," rather than the cleverly covered
belt/disc sander. I now have a purpose-built cover for both, though I
haven't turned on Blue for almost two months.

I'll try to get some time together tomorrow and post the pics on a page with
link..



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

In article ,
mac davis wrote:

thanks for the link George.. looks kinda like it..
we're on the left, for sure..... central Calif.....

This wood was at about 7,000 feet... most hardwood (what little there is in
our
area) stops at about 3,000 to 5,000' and mostly pine, fir, etc. above that..

SNIP
I posted some pics on ABPW..

I'm betting it's either an immature White Fir or Subalpine Fir. White's
generally have needles in the 1.5" to 2.5" range, but could be as short
as 1" - so I'd tend to lean more toward Subalpine.

(You didn't venture into the Santa Lucia Mts. / Los Padres NF by any
chance?)

On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:54:43 -0700, mac davis
wrote:

ok, replying to my own post, so I'll top post.. *g*

for the news feed impaired, the pictures are available at:
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_id.htm


On Thu, 19 May 2005 12:44:20 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 18 May 2005 11:47:22 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:
I posted some pics on ABPW..


Sad to say, my ISP doesn't get a tenth of the binary on that group. Saw the
text message.

As to water, after the new lathe arrived, stand built and located, I wanted
to do was swing some big wet stuff. Last thing I thought of was rust on my
tablesaw, which was now in "the zone," rather than the cleverly covered
belt/disc sander. I now have a purpose-built cover for both, though I
haven't turned on Blue for almost two months.

I'll try to get some time together tomorrow and post the pics on a page with
link..



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:54:43 -0700, mac davis

wrote:

ok, replying to my own post, so I'll top post.. *g*

for the news feed impaired, the pictures are available at:
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_id.htm

Thanks Mac.

Certainly not Tamarack as we know it. Rounded needles and smooth bark say
spruce to me. Firs have flattened needles.

On Sat, 21 May 2005 07:21:59 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:54:43 -0700, mac davis

wrote:

ok, replying to my own post, so I'll top post.. *g*

for the news feed impaired, the pictures are available at:
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_id.htm

Thanks Mac.

Certainly not Tamarack as we know it. Rounded needles and smooth bark say
spruce to me. Firs have flattened needles.


hmm.. I don't know if we have spruce here, but we must... ol' howard hughes
built the "spruce goose" in Calif...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Hi Mack

I have been away for a few days and only now skimmed through the latest
posts

Read your ? about the wood and had a look at the pic. you put up, the
wood is definitely not tamarack/larch, the needle pic. is the real give
away on that, I am not sure what it is, to hard to tell from the
picture, for me it is often hard enough when able to look at the trees
in real life, in this case it could be a number of trees, like whitebark
pine or one of the Firs that grow in the western mountains.

The Tamarack and Thuja, Junipers etc. do all have a natural decay
resistance build in, but not many people have problems with the natural
chemicals when just handling the wood, but breathing the dust apparently
can be a real problem.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

mac davis wrote:

I had an interesting conversation with a neighbor who's a contractor last
night... he was over for coffee and we were sitting around the
shop/garage/pub/sports bar and I mentioned that I had been getting a strange
taste in my mouth when I was working these logs..
I thought it was my imagination, or something else... maybe something that I was
eating or drinking, but 3 days in a row was quite a coincidence..
He said that it was from the tamarack.. asked me if my fingers or hands were
numb or tingling!! (not yet)

According to him, it's the natural insecticide in the tamarack that we smell
(now that we know what it is) and that when working with kiln dried tamarack
2x4's your hands can get numb?????

On Mon, 23 May 2005 01:16:53 -0400, Leo Van Der Loo
wrote:

Hi Mack

I have been away for a few days and only now skimmed through the latest
posts

Read your ? about the wood and had a look at the pic. you put up, the
wood is definitely not tamarack/larch, the needle pic. is the real give
away on that, I am not sure what it is, to hard to tell from the
picture, for me it is often hard enough when able to look at the trees
in real life, in this case it could be a number of trees, like whitebark
pine or one of the Firs that grow in the western mountains.

The Tamarack and Thuja, Junipers etc. do all have a natural decay
resistance build in, but not many people have problems with the natural
chemicals when just handling the wood, but breathing the dust apparently
can be a real problem.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Leo...
My wife received the book she ordered, ("trees of the western forests, or
something like that) and is pretty sure that it's "baltic fir"...




mac

Please remove splinters before emailing