I was just going through some of my lumber stacks looking for some cherry for a project that I have coming up. Most of the cherry that I have is not dry enough to use yet, although I have a good bit of 12/4 which I sawed in 04 from a fairly crooked tree. I was thinking I might use it for chairs where the back leg needs a good bend for the legs and back to tilt.
Do any of you look for wood which has grown-in crook for this purpose? I would think this may be a little hard to find on the market, because it just doesn’t make for a very pretty stack, and would probably get knocked down into the lowest grade.
Since I am only needing really small parts for this current project, I feel nuts for even thinking about cutting any of this up for tiny parts.
If any of you have used grown crooked wood for this kind of project, I would like to hear from you as to whether there have been issues with the parts changing shape more than normal straight grained wood.
Also, What about value? If you were going to make some chairs where you needed a good bit of sweep for the grain to follow the leg into the back. I know how much work is involved in steam bending, then waiting for it to dry, so do you pay more for wood like this, or just feel luck when it is sold in the cheap pile.
Replies
Keith,
I don't go looking for it, but if I certainly use it to advantage if I have it. I do have some locally sawn wood that has "character" and choosing the pieces that have grain that is less than straight for chair legs ought to work. If it is well seasoned it ought to stay flat. I'd be looking at the grain in the other direction (the edge of the plank), though-- you don't want a lot of cross-grain runout, if the legs are straight when you lok at them from the front...
Ray
Keith
I was able to make an entire set (8 chairs) of rear legs out of self-sawn cherry stock that had a natural bend to it when I originally milled it. It was 8/4 stock, and had a wicked bend in the wood. It was a large log, and I got 5 consecutive boards from it. The grain followed the bend that I designed into the rear legs very well, and I had no short grain at the bottom of the legs when done.
I bandsawed the stock into rough shape, and let it set to see if it would move alot. It took 20 leg stocks to get 16 finished pieces. I would say that it worked out very well for me, since the log came off my neighbors property. (FREE $$$)
Jeff
Thanks Jeff, and Ray. I posted this on another forum also, and didn't get a very favorable response to the likelyhood of success, but then maybe the other fellow didn't really understand what I had. I just followed with this. I guess I didn't do a very good job of describing the wood. It is really quite nice and clear of knots. It was not just a limb, but was about 24" D at this point. And I have enough of it to make a set I believe. It has about 2" of bow in about 4 feet, which to my eye would be about right for a lot of chairs. There are 5 boards 3" x 10" x 8' with the bend, the a lot more from the log under that.I might not have even bothered with sawing the tree if I could have seen it good enough. There were so many vines covering this second log up that I couldn't even see it until I had it down. Since it was just down the street, and I could just drive my tractor down and grab it with the bucket, it was too tempting not to give a try.I have decided not to cut it into little pieces. I found some Pear up in the loft which was from a short log that is drier and really nice. It will be about what I need for this project.However, what I was hoping to find out from some of you guys who do more chairs than I is. If you have cut any parts out of wood like this, then set them aside to acclimate or even to dry on down some more, have you noticed much change in the curve.I have steam bent some thick parts before, that I measured the chord after it was steamed, and found that the chord was shorter after drying than when it was still up around 18º after steaming. I supposed that the across the grain shrinkage through the bend would cause the piece to bend more as it dried on down.I guess what I will do is make a pattern, and cut out a couple of blanks, then put them up in the attic for the next month or two to take the MC on down, then put the pattern back on them to compare.
Keith,
I'm sure I'm echoing the rest and although I have a couple multiple chair projects in the works, I'm not a chair maker.
It's a strong idea.
In old tall ship days, shipwrights would spent a great deal of time in the woods looking for knees. (crotch of tree and limb joint) They would use them for the right angle supports from the frame to the decks above.
Very strong.
BB
Yea, that is true about the boats. I have a W Oak tree on some woodland that they would have liked. I have been contemplating taking this tree down. It was laid down in an ice storm when it was young. It then turned back up toward the sky about 10' over. It looks like a giant N, and may become a big bench. It is about the right size now, which is about 24" diameter. I will have to do all of the sawing with the chain-saw. I think that would be easier than trying to alter my woodmizer, which probably doesn't cut wide enough to make the turns anyway. I think I might build scaffolding so I could rip it up while it is standing. It is just too hard to push and control a big chain saw flat or horizontal. That is the kind of projects that I would rather be doing than making chairs which have lines that "Normal people" would expect to see. But this is my livelihood, and I have to do projects that people buy or usually commission me to make.
Keith,"I think I might build scaffolding so I could rip it up while it is standing."That gives me chills just thinking about it.Maybe you need one of those new DYI Cool Tool "N"saws :)Best
BB
Keith,
I'm no chairmaker, but boiler brought up a good point about shipwrights using crooks of the tree to their advantage. Gun makers used wood like this for gun stocks - in fact, some of the best stocks came from a board with a crook right at the transition from rear stock to forearm. These made stronger stocks than those cut from straight-grained planks.
Best of luck, and let's see some photos when the chairs are done.
Lee
Yes I know I have another log out there which I need to cut up for that purpose for a fellow. The trouble with it though is that it was from a yard tree, near a house, and the grain is spiraling around it at about 45º, so I don't think it would be any good for that. I should just get back to doing some turnings and use it for that. It is about 36" at the base, and 50 ~ 60" through the crotch and about 8' long. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to saw it into lumber with that much grain runout.
Kieth,
Sounds like you have some nice logs. Do you sell lumber as well or just "roll your own"?
Lee
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