I just finished making a couple of small objects out of apple, and
it is really nifty stuff. Beautiful color, and the wood polishes
by itself. Anyway, I have an apple I was going to cut for firewood, but
part of the trunk is quite straight (i.e., you could saw it). However,
there is noticeable spiral grain, probably because the tree leaned for
most of its life. Would it be hopeless to try to cut boards out of it?
My suspicion is that the boards would come off the saw like potato
chips. What do you all think?

It smells good too. I have turned apple but have not done any other
woodwork with it. It turns well and some of the stock near the roots and
crotches can be quite pretty. I suspect it is a little soft for some
woodworking projects other than decorative.

After saying that it is probably blasphemous to suggest that it makes good
firewood. It lights easily, burns kind of fast but leaves a great aroma.

"RonB" wrote in message

After saying that it is probably blasphemous to suggest that it makes good
firewood. It lights easily, burns kind of fast but leaves a great aroma.

Think barbecue, smoked ribs or chicken, bacon, etc.

--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

" writes:
I would expect the boards to twist. If I remember my reading right, one
way to put it is that the grain lines try to straighten themselves out.
That's one reason quartersawn wood is stable; the lines of the grain
are pretty straight to begin with.

But I bet you could minimize it by drying it with a lot of weight on it
so it didn't have a chance to twist, and by cutting it thick enough
that you could flatten it without making it paper thin. And by cutting
it into shorter boards.

I'd go for it, just to see what happened. :-)


Do be careful to wax or paint the ends, apple tends to check
when dried.

scott

In article , Scott
Lurndal wrote:

Do be careful to wax or paint the ends, apple tends to check
when dried.

Apple starts to check pretty much the moment it's cut, and it twists
like a greased squid on glass.

It makes GREAT smoking wood (cf "firewood") too.

And applewood is well known for use as the backs (fronts?) for
fiddles.

My counsel:

1. Keep the trunk, dry it out, hope for the best. What you got to
lose?

2. Dry out the branches, &tc. Cut them into "chunks" and use them to
bbq (check out the barbeque newsgroup, they'll know what to do, eh'
Edwin?).

-Zz

On Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:09:10 -0500, "RonB" wrote:

It smells good too. I have turned apple but have not done any other
woodwork with it. It turns well and some of the stock near the roots and
crotches can be quite pretty. I suspect it is a little soft for some
woodworking projects other than decorative.

After saying that it is probably blasphemous to suggest that it makes good
firewood. It lights easily, burns kind of fast but leaves a great aroma.

Dave Balderstone wrote:

Apple starts to check pretty much the moment it's cut, and it twists
like a greased squid on glass.

Is that a Dan Ratherism?

Squid - I can visualize that.
Greased - also familiar.
Everyone knows what glass looks like.

Greased squid on glass?

I have a head ache.

But back to apple wood - makes great carver's mallets
and probably nice handles for chisels and turning tools.

Definitely keep it, burn the scraps, but keep it.

charlie b