Working Project

[Dragon]

In keeping with Trent's idea of posting about a project I thought this might be a start. As you all know, I primarily work with large, heavy, logs and stumps. Well, I initially cut this "stump" a little over a year ago and it sat outside through all kinds of weather until a couple weeks ago. I decided it was time to either "cut wood or burn it" and we had a bit of decent weather, so I went for it.

After a little consideration and detailed technical investigation, (finally decided what to do with it), I came upon the idea to turn it into a base for small slab that I've been drying for about the same length of time. Here it sits on the bench this morning getting ready to router-plane the top surface level.


Okay, ya got me, I confess to working on it some last weekend but I didn't take any pics so......that really didn't happen.

And.......here's the top surface after planing to the level point.


Naturally, once ya get one side leveled out, ya gotta turn it over and do the other side. Here's the bottom, or root end, in progress.


After planing to level and initial sanding. The "hole" in the center "happened" last weekend. I discovered that letting it sit out in the open brought on some pretty serious spalting and it was/is decidedly "punky" in the middle. So........a little chainsaw carving, (which is gonna hafta' be done anyway 'cuz it's just too danged heavy to be toting around), to check it out for future reference.


Shame this one wasn't a larger stump or I'd have made it a table by itself. As it is, I'm hoping it's going to be a real nice base for that smaller slab I've been scratching my head about for months.
Don't have any pics of the slab for this one yet as it's still in the pondering phase as to exactly how I want to shape and cut it. The "plan" as it is now is for the slab to be at least as large as the bottom area of the stump so it doesn't look off balance.

When first cut, it was solid wood all the way with no moss or fungus growing on it. There was the usual ambrosia effect that I've come to expect from every Maple I cut down here, and the spalting occurred during it's time out in the weather.

I'm going to attempt to document this one all the way to finish so ya'll help keep me on task, okay?

[Mr. Lahey]

My uncle once took a stump like that, rounded it, and carved a huge hole in the top, turning it into a plant pot holder. its lasted 40 years so far and makes an interesting conversation piece.

[steelwheel1999]

You know Dragon thats no a bad looking stump you got there might look good with a piece Of glass over the root tips be rite purdy ifin u ask me.

Thanks Mark
p.s.
hope to saw up maple soon as I get me a bans saw

[Dragon]

You know Dragon thats no a bad looking stump you got there might look good with a piece Of glass over the root tips be rite purdy ifin u ask me.

Thanks Mark
p.s.
hope to saw up maple soon as I get me a bans saw

Yeah, I thought about that but some of the wood is a little too "punky" to properly finish out and be visible under glass. So.............it gets used as a base for a slab top. I've got one or two drying that I'm hoping will turn out so's I can do that them. Time will tell.