Shopsmith Forums

Text from Rick in another thread.

I guess to steer this thread in a slightly different direction.. About a year ago or so, I posted a few messages on my local Craigslist asking for people that had old (dead) or dying fruit trees that they were looking to get chopped up (and in this case sans any pesticides).. I was using them as a source of smoke for smoking meats -- fruit wood is good (as are many other species of wood) for that -- abeit mild compared to something like Hickory..

Anyway, I found someone that had a yard full of dead trees due to termites et-al.. Needless to say I cut down only one tree and filled up the back end of my pickup with cut Nectarine logs (w/ holes and bugs too).. Anyway, I quaranteened them into a 50G drum (and put the leftovers in garbage bags closed up tightly) with tight sealing lid to ensure no bugs got away and setup shop in my rafters.. Anyway, In cutting some of that wood, I was surprised to find out just how hard fruit wood actually is.. It (to me anyway) seems almost as hard a wood as Oak -- it's certainly not soft line pine or Fir from what I've seen.. A very dense wood from what I can tell..

So -- do any of you use fruit wood on the lathe or use it for making smaller projects? It would seem like another easy source for wood that can be had for very cheap (assuming you've got a chainsaw handy)..
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Rick
S/W of Los Angeles, CA

Rick,

Two years ago, I found some wild cherry in a friend's firewood pile. It's beautiful wood and I've turned all sort of things from it. I've saved a piece of crotch wood that I plan to slice into 1/4" boards for box tops.

I also rescued a section of Bradford pear. It's very easy to come by here. It's amazingly easy to turn, but dense as well. In fact, it is dense enough that I made myself a carver's mallet from one piece.

I was able to corner a small piece of peach last year and it's nice as well for small pieces. You just don't find large peach trees.

About 15 years ago, I tried turning some pecan (is that a fruit?). The piece I had had some really squirrelly grain and was a real bear to turn. It was my first attempt at a bowl and ended badly (I turned it rough, let it dry 6 months, put it back on the lathe and it exploded!). I believe it was more a function of my lack of skill at that time that the wood itself. Looking back, I suspect it had cracked during the drying process, I had a catch, and there you go.

I'm in apple country, but haven't been able to come up with any yet. I understand that it's a wonderfull wood for turning.

Thanks Doug!

I've still got some larger pieces of wood that I chopped out of that dead (and well eaten) Nectarine tree -- the largest pieces I've got are probably about 2.5' long and perhaps 10-12" around.. They are not straight though which is probably fine but I'd more consider them to be 'logs' than anything and I'm assuming would be too big to 'turn' on the SS -- correct?

Needless to say, I can hardly wait to get the necessary pieces from Shopsmith so I can align and start using my new machine..

Oh yeah -- regarding Pecan .. Not sure if its fruit technically, but it is another great smoking wood for those of you that like doing that.. Just about any fruit tree, grape, pecan, oak, hickory, alder,etc.. Hmm .. I might have to fire up the smoker this weekend..

In theory the Shopsmith can turn something up to 16" is diameter but I would only attempt something that large with the speed reducer. Since I use the Universal Tool Rest (banjo) I lose a couple of inches but I have never actually done anything over 10".

Rick,

Let's assume you wish to make a bowl out of your 30" x 12" log. Here are the steps:
1. With a chain saw, cut off any "checks", i.e. cracks from the end.
2. Cut the log into 12" lengths.
3. Cut each 12" length lengthwise so you have two bowl blanks, each about 12 x 12 x 5. The reason it's 5 instead of 6 is that the pith (heart) needs to be cut out. One word here, don't try to make this cut into the end grain (end to end). It's much easier to brace the log and cut along the long grain.
4. Paint the ends of pieces you can't turn right away.
5. Cut off the corners on the bandsaw. Get the blank as round as possible.
6. Screw a face plate onto the log. (I use a screw chuck, but I'm assuming you don't have one yet.)
7. Clear the bark off the tailstock end of the piece so you can get a live center to securely seat into the wood. Use the tailstock at this point.
8. Rough out the bowl starting with the slowest speed. If the wood is wet, let it dry. This make take days or months. I weight the bowl. When it stops losing weight, it is dry.

Another tip I picked up on this forum. I keep 2 4x4s handy just to put under the SS legs to raise it up. By itself, the SS is not a good height for lathe work.

A few years ago when I lived in Washington state I had cut down a couple of Thundercloud Plum trees. Non bearing fruit tree. Saved a couple of pieces for the main trunk and it turned out to be some of the best hardwood I have ever seen. The treasures we find in our own yards.

Paul,
Question on loosing a couple of inches using the banjo. I just bought one from the TA I went to last week. Is the lose due to the thickness of the base? If this is true then I guess I need to keep the stock tool rest for the final outside turnings?

I find this thread interesting as I have had little luck in using the wood of fruit trees. I always contributed my lack of luck in this area to the fact that they were fruit trees and had really huge tensions put upon them from the weigth of the fruit they did bear.

I had a nectarine tree that you could visibly see the limbs twisted by the weight of the fruit. The limbs actually took a permanent set and I know when I cut the tree down I had to be real real careful of kickback from the chain saw. It was like cutting into a coiled spring. One set of growth rings wanted to spring one way and another, another way.

I once tried using orange tree wood and it split and splintered as I cut it up. Again you could actually see a twist that formed in the wood from the weight of the fruit.

I did make a mallet from an orange tree trunk once as a learning exercise in turning. I haven't used it in a long while and I don't know if I even still have it. But I do remember I wasn't impressed with the grain or color of the wood.

I have a pear tree that is nearing the end of it's life perhaps I will have better luck with it since it never really beared much fruit.
Ed

Since I have just completed pruning one apple tree, does anyone have a suggestion for limbs about the diameter of your wrist?
BPR

I've used well-dried limb wood for pens, bud vases, and icicle-type Christmas tree ornaments. With that thickness you may also be able to make round lidded boxes, although I haven't tried those yet. As Ed mentioned, there may be a lot of stress in the wood which is released upon turning, so the lid may not wind up fitting the box.... Anybody have more info on problems of this type?

Gary