# Working with woodshed wood



## smokeyrojito (May 4, 2016)

So I am lucky enough to have an unbelievable supply of wood for handles. I am only interested in making wa handles. Though I have a ton of material for scales if I ever decide to go that route. The problem is, 50% of it is unfinished turned work from my lady's great grandpa and the other 50% of it is firewood all very well taken care of, dry and seasoned. Almost all of this stuff is crack free for the most part, I think great grandpa took care of it for use on his projects. Some of the stuff at the bottom of the pile is spalted pretty good, there are TONS AND TONS of burls. Mulberry, maple, fig, olive, persimmon, white oak, black oak, red oak, birch, pomegranate, holly, cherry, plum, walnut, citrus galore, redwood burl, clear redwood, quince....I could seriously type for the next 45 minutes and not cover it all. 

How do I square it? Do I need to square it? I have a really crappy table saw, a chop saw. I have a surface plate and a height gage I do not know how to use (lady is a machinist, but a student). I am NOT a very math inclined or capable person. I have worn out like 25 sharpies and a couple of crappy table saw blades trying to square this stuff so I can make decent handles but I am about ready to light it all on fire. 

Is there a simple enough method to get stuff square enough? Besides storming the local community college woodshop class?

Sorry for rant. Just frustrated. I like metal. Not wood.

ETA: I want to send it out to be stabilized, so I want it around the right size for shipping weight reasons, and I would like to minimize eyeballing on center.


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## jessf (May 5, 2016)

Congrats on the wood score. You might want to invest in a moisture meter to test the wood. In general it will help you understand how well things have dried and how it changes when you change the environment. If the wood has been as well kept as you say then some of it may not all need to be stabalized. Burls are particularly sponge-like and will readily accept stabalizing without vacuum pressure. Other dense and oily woods require more attention. You can do a decent job of stabalizing on your own on an as needed basis.


Do you need to square it all at once? You have an interesting predicament as you're after a "production level" of consistency but by your own admission have crappy tools, which doesn't really jive production level activity. 

So, my question to you would be, is it necessary to cut it all up now, what if you want larger chunks in the future? Better blades is the answer to your situation if you must proceed.


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## HHH Knives (May 5, 2016)

A good band saw will help you to get through that pile of wood. Table saws are great.. But not ideal for the job at hand in my opinion.

Good luck and more over. Have fun! 
Randy


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## daveb (May 5, 2016)

Mark at Burl Source has done a great couple of tutorials on taking wood from an unfinished state through initial cutting and all the way to finished blocks. Some time spent perusing his sub-forum would probably be time well spent.


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## smokeyrojito (May 5, 2016)

Thanks a ton guys. And no, I don't need it all done at once, I would just like to get it all square and stored if there is an easy route. If not I am perfectly happy one chunk at a time.


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## jessf (May 6, 2016)

Yeah, cause what if you want to make a matching saya and handle from the same wood and line up the grain? You'll need a big chunk for that.

Consider a moisture meter.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.digital-moisture-meter-with-lcd-display.1000652234.html

It's like you got a bunch of cuban cigars but don't have a humidor to keep them. Could spoil, and that would suck.



smokeyrojito said:


> Thanks a ton guys. And no, I don't need it all done at once, I would just like to get it all square and stored if there is an easy route. If not I am perfectly happy one chunk at a time.


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## jacko9 (May 6, 2016)

My advice is to cut the wood to rough dimensions (large and small sizes) and then stack it in your shop with spacers in between pieces and let it acclimate. The wood moisture will reach equilibrium with your shop moisture and will be stable (in that environment). Leave enough extra stock to finish it up after the wood stops warping from being cut from the large chunks. I leave about 1/8" in each direction when cutting from larger stock to near dimensions. IMHO a moisture meter is not worth the money since the wood will reach equilibrium within a few months cut and stickered. After cutting the stock to rough dimensions coat the ends with some kind of moisture sealer sold at places like Rockler or Woodcraft or just use paint.

Jack


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## Burl Source (May 7, 2016)

Take some photos of a few of the individual pieces that you want to square up and I will walk you through the process.
If you just want someone to tell you how.....
Make one surface flat, with the flat surface down make a side flat, then run through a bandsaw with a flat down against the table and the flat edge against the fence.

There are still a few other things to consider like grain orientation.
Cutting wrong can make a beautiful piece into something ugly and weak.
That is one of the reasons why I suggested the photos.


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## smokeyrojito (May 8, 2016)

Thank you Mark! I will work on getting some pics up soon. Need to buy a bandsaw but need to pay my angry machinist wife back for the anvil first.


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