Going to Texas

[Danny in Houston]

Here's a pecan table I made from one of Troy's slabs. He's a great guy, retired plant manager of a jet engine turbine blade manufacturing plant, so he understands how to dry wood correctly LOL.

[Danny in Houston]

If you are driving down from the north, stop in Waco and visit Homestead Heritage where Paul Sellers used to teach.  It's a wonderful place to spend a few hours, your wife will also enjoy.  You can observes many different classes in session (numerous including blacksmithing, woodworking, etc) and has awesome food in the small cafe.  I took several classes there when Paul was there, maybe the best woodworking classes in the USA.  Their teachers regularly win state contests on fine furniture making.

[Bill Holt]

Ditto on Homestead Heritage.  I've taken classes there.  My wife is a quilter and enjoys the place almost as much as I.  It is a working village a few miles out of Waco.  Their Thanksgiving Festivel draws several thousand people each year.

[tablesawtom]

THE BEST Texas lumber slab location is Swift River Pecans near San Marcos, TX.  Pecan, cypress, mesquite, walnut and more.  You can also pick up some of the best pecans in the world while you are there.  That's Troy the owner in the photo.

Troy also has a giant 15kW router to flatten a large slab, check out this video when he flattened one of mine:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uDomWygpqE

Thank you for the tip. Been busy around here and I got a look at the web page yesterday and my wife and I looked again this morning and she put it in our schedule so it looks as though we have an other place to stop.
I did mention shipping as another option and she thought is was worth a look see. She is thinking about what would go good in the house so I guess it is back to ash for the Moravian bench. I can get that kind of slab form the local saw mill, but I will probably go with a glued up top. Getting a slab that size would probably take a couple of years.

Tom

[Danny in Houston]

Thank you for the tip. Been busy around here and I got a look at the web page yesterday and my wife and I looked again this morning and she put it in our schedule so it looks as though we have an other place to stop.
I did mention shipping as another option and she thought is was worth a look see. She is thinking about what would go good in the house so I guess it is back to ash for the Moravian bench. I can get that kind of slab form the local saw mill, but I will probably go with a glued up top. Getting a slab that size would probably take a couple of years.

Tom

Give Troy a call at Swift River Pecans, he used to be OK with shipping but I have not been there for e few years.  He can probably give you a better estimate of the costs.

[tablesawtom]

I am here in San Antonio at the present. I did buy a nice of pecan from a sawmill near Austin. I have another stop to make Monday when we start for home tomorrow.

I picked out a nice piece and about crapped my pants when I heard the price, but bought it anyway because I can't get pecan back home. I quess I am to used to prices at the local saw mill back in Iowa.

Tom

[Martin S.]

I hope you had time to stop and visit the Alamo.

[tablesawtom]

We visited the Alamo a couple of times. Yesterday was an in depth tour. Being a Viet Nam vet I can appreciate all that went on there and the sacrifice that was made.

Tom

[tablesawtom]

We got home about 10:30 last night. As we traveled back we stopped at Swift River Pecan in Fentress Texas. The owner, Troy was wonderful and gave us a great our of the saw mill We even ended up out in the pecan groves down by the river. We got some nice pictures of us standing next to some really huge pecan trees.

I bough some more pecan live edge 8/4th lumber and he cut it so I could get it in the SUV. I guess once I got used to around $7 a BF for lumber it wasn't so bad after all. Now I am not a fan of epoxy for filling in holed and splits and things but I have a board with a wonderful hole that just cries to be filled so I guess I will need to do some research. I think clear would look beautiful.

Anyway if you ever get a chance to visit Berdal saw mill or Swift River Pecans don't hesitate  to go had a great time at both.

Tom

[AHill]

My father retired from the Air Force and moved to McAllen in the Texas Rio Grande Valley in 1978. Back then, it was a boom town. They were clearing ranch land like crazy. Mesquite was all over the place. Old growth mesquite. They considered it a nuisance tree. My father was looking for firewood and asked some of the builders if he could remove some of those trees. They gladly obliged because they had to pay to have it hauled offsite. Dad discovered mesquite isn't kind of residential fireplaces (burns too hot), but oh, I wish I had been into woodworking then. Mesquite is stable as it comes when milled, turns great, and golden mesquite is beautiful. Make a mistake, and it's one of the more desirable woods for smoking or grilling meats.

Mom and Dad eventually moved up to Austin. There's a park close to their house that must have about 50 native pecan trees. If you can beat the squirrels, you can gather enough nuts to last 6 months. Less meat than the cultivated pecans, but huge trees. Dad planted one at the house, but cut it down because they are really messy when they bear fruit. Pecans don't bear every year. It's kind of random when they do or don't. Pecan is related to hickory, so imagine hickory to visualize the end result when milled and finished, but with darker, more golden tones.