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I like it for some projects but I've had no success dying it and little staining it except with gel stain. I did my bathroom vanity with veneer I sawed from some nice rift sawn boards and used a shellac toner to get the color I was after, and like it at. The rift and QS stuff looks really nice to me just finished with clear coat, especially for modern designs; plain sawn leaves me sort of blah.
A few of the local parks departments have been taking down quite a few ash trees. Around my own property I haven't seen any evidence of them yet, which pleases me because I think that are beautiful. I think I read somewhere that the survival rate is much higher for white ash than green, but I can't remember for sure if that's correct. I sawed a couple of nice white ash trees from my neighbor's property in the past two years and there was no evidence of them. I have my fingers crossed because ash and walnut are the two dominate trees around my property. And did I mention lately that walnut trees make beautiful lumber - and are a PITA in all other regards.
John
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The only upside to the whole EAB thing is that they don't harm the wood itself, so no holes riddling the wood or rotten centers like you get with other bugs. They do their damage between the wood and the bark, destroying the trees ability to get water and nutrients. If one has ash trees on their lot that are infested, they can still be suitable for milling, so at least all the wood doesn't have to go to waste.
If you are going down a river at 2 mph and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to shingle your roof?
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One thing I really liked when I lived in the Midwest was how cheap ash was. It is splintery and has fairly open pores, but it makes for great secondary wood where structural strength is needed. Bob Lang made a workbench out of ash and it was one of the feature articles in Popular Woodworking several years ago. It's an inexpensive alternative to maple.
Bob's workbench had a trough that you could store tools in while working. Bob told me that one day, Chris Schwarz was giving him grief about his messy workbench. Chris is very fastidious about using a tool, then putting it away. Bob's work habits were different. He would take all the tools he needed for a project so they were close by, then put them away at the end of a project. Both methods work! My work habits tend more toward Bob's method.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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We did a harvest on my families land about 4 years ago. The forester said we might as well take every ash tree of harvest-able size since once the EAB shows up then quarantines are put in place. They cut almost 500 down. Sad to see it but it is a fact. Sis lost a tree in their yard this year.
I sure hope that the 1000 cankers does not do the same to walnut. I read it had jumped the Mississippi not long ago.
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Some of the best WW projects I have made are ash. The local hardwood supplier has a source of wide stock that is a pleasure to work with.
It's a little hard to see, but the door and sides of that cabinet contain a plant on panel. Inside the cabinet and the barrel is everything that my dog, Lady, loves and everything that we need to take care of her. I built this when she was 5 years old and now she's 13.6.
Rip to width. Plane to thickness. Cut to length. Join.
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Edwin, did you make the barrel, too? Very cool. If so, did you make a solid bottom that sits in a groove on the inside like a real barrel? That would be impressive. And what's the banding made of?
John
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Yah it is Iowa now. I really like the wood and it turn well too.
Arlin
As of this time I am not teaching vets to turn. Also please do not send any items to me without prior notification. Thank You Everyone.
It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
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jteneyck said:
Edwin, did you make the barrel, too? Very cool. If so, did you make a solid bottom that sits in a groove on the inside like a real barrel? That would be impressive. And what's the banding made of?
John
Yes, the banding is walnut as I am sure you expected. The bottom is solid and sits in a groove. Not easy, because the groove for the bottom had to be cut in each stave before being glued up. For that matter, so did the shallow grooves in each stave that holds the walnut bands.
Barrels are a bear to make. I made two of them, this one and a larger one that has walnut staves all the way around, surrounded by hickory straps. The straps have to be soaked for days until they can be bent to surround the staves. Then they have to be dried until joined to the barrel. It takes some patience.
Rip to width. Plane to thickness. Cut to length. Join.
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Not that the ash borer isn't a concern, but what gets me is that many areas have been cutting down ash trees that are known to not be infected - to cut them down before or in case they would get infected.
I heard that in Ohio the infestation was no where near what they said it was and that the quarantine practices have been lifted.
All those healthy trees cut down for nothing except to provide a days work for those who did the cutting.
Ray
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Interesting! How'd you shape the staves, Edwin? I'd like to make a replica of the
coopered wooden box from the Oseburg find for my daughter and could use some guidance. I'm thinking of binding it with willow withes.
