Nice picture. Yes , it sure does bring out the rays.What I've seen has had a lot of small rays - see photo.
sycamore wood
- Thread starter bullbuck
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
Aren't the cuts on the lower left are quartersawn?
No bottom left is rift.
bullbuck
ArboristSite Guru
took me a minute to wrap my mind around all of that,but i do have a grasp on why,and how,that would make a big difference in exposing the best grain...i will now go into the yard and try to determine if this is indeed a quartersawn board?
Yep - I see it now.
newsawtooth
ArboristSite Operative
If you can make some quartersawn boards you likely won't have to worry about twisting as much. Let us know what you decide to make.
Sycamore is a good wood for turning as well. It doesn't tear out and takes tools really well. I've seen some old carvings in Linden, anyone have any experience working with Linden?
Sycamore is a good wood for turning as well. It doesn't tear out and takes tools really well. I've seen some old carvings in Linden, anyone have any experience working with Linden?
Linden, aka basswood, is very popular for carving. Has a fine grain, carves easily, takes a nice detail. I've carved a lot of it.
I've never carved any but I have used it often times for louvers When Making Plantation Shutters. It's lightweight, very stable, and makes a great louver.View attachment 111293
One nice thing about a Lucas Nill or a Woodmizer is the ease it will produce quarter sawn lumber. Either can produce some beautiful boards.
Yeah, it'd be nice to own one. Right now I end up hauling logs to an Amish owned sawmill. They'll quarter saw if you ask them but they really don't like to.
oxbow
ArboristSite Operative
quartersawn / flatsawn
Bullbuck:
Look at the endgrain.
If you have one, use a block plane on the end of the plank. Or, use a circular saw and make a fresh cut on the end. You will be able to see the growth rings, or grain. They may be straight, or more likely slightly curved, but you will be able to see the general orientation to the plank.
If the "lines" are approximately parallel to the wide faces of the plank, it's flatsawn. If the "lines" are approximately perpendicular to the wide faces of the plank, it's quartersawn.
BTW, I made a coffee table and two end tables from slabs crosscut out of a sycamore tree, I'll try to post some pictures.
Bullbuck:
Look at the endgrain.
If you have one, use a block plane on the end of the plank. Or, use a circular saw and make a fresh cut on the end. You will be able to see the growth rings, or grain. They may be straight, or more likely slightly curved, but you will be able to see the general orientation to the plank.
If the "lines" are approximately parallel to the wide faces of the plank, it's flatsawn. If the "lines" are approximately perpendicular to the wide faces of the plank, it's quartersawn.
BTW, I made a coffee table and two end tables from slabs crosscut out of a sycamore tree, I'll try to post some pictures.
oxbow
ArboristSite Operative
sycamore tables
Pictures of tables made from sycamore slabs. These are about 26" diameter and 5" thick:
The third picture shows the ray fleck figure in the quartersawn section. Also, the fence wire that the tree had grown around (not friendly to saws).
Pictures of tables made from sycamore slabs. These are about 26" diameter and 5" thick:
The third picture shows the ray fleck figure in the quartersawn section. Also, the fence wire that the tree had grown around (not friendly to saws).
Nice work Oxbow. Did you do these green and seal them somehow or dry them first?
bullbuck
ArboristSite Guru
nice tables there ox!i also appreciate the explanation on quartersawn vs.flat,looks like i get to work here at the house tomorrow,ill expose some fresh grain and make a determination.i also am curious as to your treatments on your work there?
oxbow
ArboristSite Operative
Sycamore planks
I don’t want to highjack bullbuck’s thread, yammering about tables I made 30 years ago (yeah, one of my first woodworking projects, I was a lot younger then).
Those slabs actually came from a branch of a huge sycamore that was cut down to widen an intersection in a residential area in River Edge, N.J. (near Hackensack). A buddy and I tried to get slabs from the trunk, but it was too big, and full of metal.
IIRC, I stored the three slabs under my bed in a rented apartment, and once a month or so, flooded them with linseed oil and turpentine mixture. After about a year, I sanded them and sealed them with polyurethane varnish. I was surprised they didn’t split; I just had some radial cracks develop, which I filled with glue mixed with sawdust. Treating them with the oil/turpentine must have worked. Good learning experience, and working with limited tools and funds.
Bullbuck:
I’m curious to hear the results of your end grain examination. Since you said they were walkplanks, I suspect they were quartersawn for structural strength. Without getting too technical, sycamore is a “diffuse-porous” wood, like maple, cherry, and beech. It has large ray cells, which produce nice figure, especially if quartersawn.
Since your planks are 2” thick, if you have access to a jointer and thickness planer, you may be able to flatten the cupped plank and still have it be ¾” – 1” thick. You may have to rip the planks if the jointer/planer can’t accept the 12” width. Run the cupped plank through the jointer with the concave side down, making light passes until the entire surface is flat. Then run the plank through the planer, flat side down until the upper surface is flat. Thickness plane the other plank to the same thickness.
I think you’ll be surprised at how nice they look, even before you finish sand them.
Good luck, and we really need to see some pictures!
I don’t want to highjack bullbuck’s thread, yammering about tables I made 30 years ago (yeah, one of my first woodworking projects, I was a lot younger then).
Those slabs actually came from a branch of a huge sycamore that was cut down to widen an intersection in a residential area in River Edge, N.J. (near Hackensack). A buddy and I tried to get slabs from the trunk, but it was too big, and full of metal.
IIRC, I stored the three slabs under my bed in a rented apartment, and once a month or so, flooded them with linseed oil and turpentine mixture. After about a year, I sanded them and sealed them with polyurethane varnish. I was surprised they didn’t split; I just had some radial cracks develop, which I filled with glue mixed with sawdust. Treating them with the oil/turpentine must have worked. Good learning experience, and working with limited tools and funds.
Bullbuck:
I’m curious to hear the results of your end grain examination. Since you said they were walkplanks, I suspect they were quartersawn for structural strength. Without getting too technical, sycamore is a “diffuse-porous” wood, like maple, cherry, and beech. It has large ray cells, which produce nice figure, especially if quartersawn.
Since your planks are 2” thick, if you have access to a jointer and thickness planer, you may be able to flatten the cupped plank and still have it be ¾” – 1” thick. You may have to rip the planks if the jointer/planer can’t accept the 12” width. Run the cupped plank through the jointer with the concave side down, making light passes until the entire surface is flat. Then run the plank through the planer, flat side down until the upper surface is flat. Thickness plane the other plank to the same thickness.
I think you’ll be surprised at how nice they look, even before you finish sand them.
Good luck, and we really need to see some pictures!
bullbuck
ArboristSite Guru
no worries on the hijacking bit,i am probably one of the worst hijackers on the site,oops,but i made it to the yard and cut a couple inches off the board and it appears to be flatsawn
but no big deal i think it will still clean up real nice!i am gonna attempt posting a pic i hav uploaded some on photobucket but am still in the process of getting them from there to here...electronics and i dont get along real well,but i am determined
but no big deal i think it will still clean up real nice!i am gonna attempt posting a pic i hav uploaded some on photobucket but am still in the process of getting them from there to here...electronics and i dont get along real well,but i am determined
