Bradford peartree logs question
 

I have 6 logs that are 10" across and 12" long. I was wondering what you
think of these loges for turning bowls.
Thanks for your opinions.

Bradford peartree logs question
 

Will wrote:
I have 6 logs that are 10" across and 12" long. I was wondering what you
think of these loges for turning bowls.
Thanks for your opinions.



Seal the ends fast. I have had great success turning bowls
from Bradford Pear. It is a rather featureless wood but
turns and sands very well and makes a glass-like finish.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

Show me a good loser and I'll show you
a loser.

Bradford peartree logs question
 

Bradford Pear is very fine grained, almost like Boxwood. It is a rather
bland tan color with little grain figure. It warps quite a bit when turned
wet. Dry, you get these wispy fine shavings and a very smooth surface. Or,
at least that's my experience.

Barry


"Will" wrote in message
m...
I have 6 logs that are 10" across and 12" long. I was wondering what you
think of these loges for turning bowls.
Thanks for your opinions.

Bradford peartree logs question
 

Will wrote:
I have 6 logs that are 10" across and 12" long. I was wondering what you
think of these loges for turning bowls.
Thanks for your opinions.



Aha! I've been waiting months to say this! Go to my website
http://nmwoodworks.com/gallery . The poster child is a pear wood
kaleidoscope hanging from a walnut stand. You'll find a fuller set of
pics in the "Adult Toys" section. I turned at the boundary between sap
and heartwood and found very nice shadings. Not sure if it's a Bradford
pear or not, but the logs were distinctly darker in the center,

(Search in Google Earth for 12500 West Outer Dr., Detroit, MI to see the
tree while still standing. It's the one off by itself on the right near
the road. You can angle Google Earth enough to maybe be able to make a
better identification of the exact species.)


Bill


--
I am disillusioned enough to know that no man's opinion on any subject
is worth a **** unless backed up with enough genuine information to make
him really know what he's talking about.

H. P. Lovecraft


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Bradford peartree logs question
 

Bill in Detroit wrote:
Will wrote:
I have 6 logs that are 10" across and 12" long. I was wondering what you
think of these loges for turning bowls.
Thanks for your opinions.



Aha! I've been waiting months to say this! Go to my website
http://nmwoodworks.com/gallery . The poster child is a pear wood
kaleidoscope hanging from a walnut stand. You'll find a fuller set of
pics in the "Adult Toys" section. I turned at the boundary between sap
and heartwood and found very nice shadings. Not sure if it's a Bradford
pear or not, but the logs were distinctly darker in the center,

(Search in Google Earth for 12500 West Outer Dr., Detroit, MI to see the
tree while still standing. It's the one off by itself on the right near
the road. You can angle Google Earth enough to maybe be able to make a
better identification of the exact species.)


Bill


That doesn't look like Bradford Pear. I will try to put a
picture of a bradford pear bowl on ABPW today if I can get
to it.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

Show me a good loser and I'll show you
a loser.

Bradford peartree logs question
 

Will wrote:

I have 6 logs that are 10" across and 12" long. I was wondering what you
think of these loges for turning bowls.
Thanks for your opinions.


My woodturning club (Alabama Woodturners) got a load of Bradford Pear when
one of the suburbs of Birmingham decided to remove the Bradford Pears from
the median of US 31 as it goes through their town. I got in on the end of
the pile and got two pieces. One I split down the middle and got two
shallow bowls out of. The other was an odd piece. Picture a tree that has
been pruned to a single trunk to height of about 6' and then allowed to
develop a crown of branches. The piece was about 10" in diameter and so I
figured I would turn a pedestal bowl (champaign bucket) from it, turning
down the log. I made the end the bottom, figuring the pedestal would
remove the problem areas where the branches came in. Plan worked great,
besides jumping off the chuck about a half a dozen times, that is. I left
the walls about 1" thick and set it aside to dry. A couple of days later I
went out to the shed and "Lo and Behold!!!!" The sides of the bucket has
cracked all the way through. This proves the old adage, "Woodworkers have
the most unusual firewood.

The shallow bowls are fine, so far. But after about three weeks, if they
were going to crack, I imagine they would have.

Deb