To my delight, the Hard Maple tree that I had cut down several years ago had done what I wanted.
It had started to decay, producing some beautiful Spalted Maple boards.
At the time I had no idea how I would use these boards
Fifteen months later I decided to dig into the pile of lumber we had milled and pull some of the Spalted Maple boards from the stack that had been air drying over that time.
Thank goodness the lumber I was after was near the top of the pile of the neatly stickered wood! 😁
The raw material needed to be processed into finished lumber. Since I was headed to New Jersey for a doctor's visit for my upcoming knee replacement surgery, I decided to go back to our old stomping ground a few days earlier. The family wood working shop comes in real handy when raw material needs to be made ready for different projects.
Besides processing the wood I would be using to finish the windows in the Sunroom, I also wanted to pick out some slab wood that I planned for some counter tops in the room.
I don't know what I was thinking. The pine slabs that I had intended to process were too big for me to handle by myself. I could barley move them around to see which one I would choose. Each piece had to go at least 300 pounds.
I changed gears.
We have many slabs in stock.
I chose a Red Oak slab that was half the weight of the pine.
My back thanked me for that decision.
The planner is used to create a smooth surface on the face of the wood. Depending on how many times you send the wood through the planner, you can vary the thickness to suit the application.
Our planner can handle wood up to 32 inches wide, which is ideal for planning wide slabs.
This is considered a cabinet saw, with a side sliding table for crosscutting.
Most times the window jams are installed one piece at a time. By using a Craig Jig you are able to fasten the four window jams together and install them as one piece. This method is a real time saver when you go to put them in!
The last step to finishing the wood I had fabricated for the Sunroom was to round the edges of many of the pieces with a router. After the second day at the shop I had completed everything that I had set out to do.
- Craft two counter tops
- Craft two saddles
- Craft 18 pieces for trimming out the windows
- Craft 1 piece of cherry for backsplash for large counter top
- Craft all additional moldings necessary to finish Sunroom.
It's quite a feeling of accomplishment to take a standing tree and end up with all of the finished lumber needed for a project. It's also a wonderful feeling knowing that you have not been ripped of by the prices that lumber yards are currently getting for wood!
We made my doctor's appointment in the nick of time and then headed back home to Upstate New York. As we traveled this familiar route, flashing signs were alerting us to an upcoming snow event. About 50 miles from home it started to snow and didn't stop until the storm had dumped another 16 inches of snow in the area.
Little did we know that this storm would bring down more trees than any storm in the past.
By 11:00 PM Monday night the electric went out. After five days the power was back on at 5:00PM on Friday. We managed to weather the storm, but I must admit that I almost called the LINEMAN @splatts after the 3rd day to see if he could travel across the country to do his thing. 😁
Damn you’ve got an awesome setup my friend! I would love to have something like that one day! Have you considered a solar kiln or something to speed up the drying a little bit?
I think I showed this to you last year or something but I’m eager to turn these slabs into something! We are buying a house this year, hopefully in a few weeks, so I’ll finally have a bit of a workshop to do these little projects lol
They’ve been drying now for about 18 months inside so I think they should be good to use in a few months!
Those slabs on the right are beautiful man. What species? Those would make very nice side tables or small coffee table. I'd put some turquoise or gemstone inlays in them for a a but more eye candy, but beautiful just as they are with some danish oil on them!
Thanks! They are some iteration of maple though I don’t remember the specifics sadly. They had quite a few of them and we even got some ends and pieces so that we could play around with that first instead of having to test it on the important pieces.
It’s definitely going to be something like that! We are hoping to adorn our living room with them, I just need to figure out a cool way to give them legs. We are going to be moving to another state that doesn’t have maple trees to my knowledge so I’m not sure if I want to find some maple limbs now and let them dry or what.
Isn't that always the problem, what kinds of legs to put them on. In Japan we have these cool folding steel legs for small tables so you can store them. I still haven't pulled the trigger on one of mine, but I do like the black, steel legs.
What's awesome is you have several of the round slabs so you could make several side tables for your house. Have fun with them!
Here’s a better view of what we’ve got. Lots of options!
Yeah I know the metal legs would be interesting but I don’t know how it would look, if it would take away from the wood look or not.
As I was reading the replies, when legs were mentioned, I also thought of steel legs. I used black rod iron legs on a few end tables I made and the combination of wood and iron looks pretty cool.
The setup is pretty cool. The lumber that I cut at home is airdried, but the lumber we mill back in NJ is kiln dried. The kiln can handle 4000 board feet at a time. It's a Nyle Kiln system. Drying wood in the kiln is very much like a science project. Different woods dry at different rates and temperatures. To kiln dry a load of oak takes about 35 days while a batch of pine only takes 21 days. Dry the wood to fast and the wood tends to bow and twist.
I do remember those slabs that you purchased, they should be fun to work with. When it comes to constructing something from wood, being creative when designing something can produce a one of a kind piece.
Purchasing a house in the near future, congratulations, that's a big deal.
Having an area that is dedicated to wood working, [wood shop] makes it possible to just drop the tool belt and clean up the mess whenever you want. 😁
That slab of Black Walnut is beautiful and I'm sure that you will fashion a spectacular piece from it.
Good luck with your closing.
Not so limber after lugging around heavy lumber, great decision to go with lighter model.
Working with wood gives a warm inner glow, the smell the feel I am quite envious of you now, Robin will be sure to enjoy once all is said and done.
Solid plan once you have had successful knee replacement call a son to come help build a sturdy piece of furniture with maple.
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Working with wood is a real passion of mine, and as you say, it truly does give you a sense of peace and warmth.
After I asked Robin if she thought she could help me move the very large slab of pine to the work bench, she just laughed. At that point we went through the slabs we had in stock and she picked out the slab of oak. She still was a little skeptical about being able to handle it, but I knew that I would be able to work this piece by myself. She is one tough cookie, but she does have her limits. 😁
Oak should give a lovely look and feel, sure you will both be happy with end result.
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I just finished the sunroom last night and everything came out pretty good, @farm-mom is thrilled with how everything came out and very happy that we can now put the rest of the house back in order. It's funny how you can work on one room and the rest of the house becomes disheveled.
Thanks for the LUV my friend, always appreciated!
Great to hear the room is completed, now both yourself and Robin can settle once again, after 'decorating' is done and dusted.
Yes we tend to make one addition a tedious task normally 😅
Decorating is done as Robin wasted little time completing that task. 😁
Dust, what dust?
Sure it looks great, you will have to share finished product!
Don't worry about the dust, sure the next task is close to hand....
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A great workshop that you have there Bob.
Whenever one has the correct machinery and tools, the work becomes a pleasure and you are definitely kitted out well.
We have also had a discussion today about my knee replacement, but first I think that the spinal fusion will have to be done, as I am really struggling to walk lately. But such is life and it all depends on the acceptance by our medical aid scheme.
Take care and hope that your knee consultation went well.
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Having the right tool for the job surly makes things so pleasurable. Just the other night, Robin reminded me of just how many different tools I have collected over the years. I did remind her of all of the projects that I've done over the years and without them, many would have been impossible. 😁
Hopefully you have more luck with getting clearance for the back operation than you did with the knee. When you have an ailing back, every move you make has got to be painful.
The knee consultation went fabulous and all things are a go for the replacement on the 3rd of May.
Thanks for the goodies, they are always appreciated.
Take care of yourself my friend!
Now that is my problem. Too many tools that I have carted with us during all 9 of our moves thus far. With the 10th move happening soon. I have always been a bit of a nomad and there will surely be more moves, but dragging the tools along is a growing problem.
You are so right about having the correct tools for a project as it makes things so much easier and one can save a lot of money.
My legs are the big problem as they burn and get stabbing pains when I walk. It is due to the damaged vertebrae's in the spine and the specialist reckons that it will be cured if they fuse the spine.
Apparently they now have modern technology and one doesn't have to spend 6 weeks in bed anymore to recuperate.
Our prayers will be on the hands of doctors on the 3rd of May and with you my friend.
Always a pleasure to be able to give back and blessings to you guys.
Thank you and you also take care big guy.
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Awesome shop. Maple is such a beautiful wood, my saw blades don't like it, but whatever.
Curious about the window jams you built are they the actual sash or jamb extensions? Don't see much, if any, wood sashes out in California anymore. I grew up with my dad installing them then everything went vinyl.
Janka hardness scale, Hard Maple has a 1,450 lbf, while Red Oak has a rating of 1,280 lbf. The hardest domestic wood in the states is Hickory with a rating of 1,820. All of these species have a very hard rating and cutting them can be challenging. Your saw blades better be very sharp or your shop will be filled with smoke after the first cut. 😥
The four pieces that I Craig jigged together are the jam extensions. When I framed out the sunroom I used rough sawn lumber. I used 2x6 wall studs which measured a true 2 inches thick and 6 inches wide. The extension james need to be fabricated at 2.5 inches.
Everything is vinyl these days. 😥
Maravilloso, sencillamente maravilloso
Thanks, working with wood is so much fun.
Are you set up to live well without the electric? I often wonder how people survive for days without it, as few plan for it to happen.
We did make it through the five days without electric. Food was not a problem and either was keeping the house warm. Water was an issue, but melting the snow on top of the stove worked out alright.
This experience showed us where we need to make some improvements in order to handle an even longer event.
I must admit that if the electric did not come back on after 5 days, Robin was talking about going to a hotel.
And I forgot to say that I can't wait to see this beautiful wood installed in the sun room! Impressive work!
Robin is also excited to see the project come to a finish. She is headed to Pennsylvania today to see our daughter and will be returning Monday evening. If everything goes as planned, I hope to be done with the sunroom when she returns!
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Your workshop is any man's dream @thebigsweed, sure you spend many pleasurable hours there, especially in wintertime!
The wood you have over there is just amazing, we pay the earth over here for any wood.
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The workshop is something I've always wanted and to have the tools needed to make so many different projects is surely a dream come true. Most of the wood that we use for different projects comes from our property, that is also a great feeling. With the present prices of wood here in the states, it's wonderful to be able to avoid paying these inflated prices.
Thank you for such a nice comment.
After all of the stuff Mother Nature has thrown at you guys lately, I hope things are settling down!
My GOD in HEAVEN! What a set up you have there, and all those resources as well!
You sound like me, trying to move something too big! In my mind, I'm thinking I'm still using the body of a 30 yr old, but not so!
Getting older is not fun, but the alternative is unacceptable.
Great stuff Bob, say hi to Robin for me.
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Thanks for the wonderful comment and your continued support!
Things seem to be getting heavier everyday. 😁
Things seem to be getting heavier everyday. 😁
Boy howdy, you just said a mouthful ha ha ha