PhöQ Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I am a total noob to woodworking but I am slowly getting my saws and tools and skills together, I am about 5.7 in wood skills but know something sweet when I see it. On a forum called Sawmill creek I found a thread on a crazy amazing piece of wood, disegarding the ethical implications, the story and finished products are pretty amazing and a definite stoke for me: o.k. the story goes that in 1965 a group of loggers in hondurras' chicibul jungle came upon a gaint mahogany tree- it was 10ft. through at the base and 50ft. up to the first branch,they could tell by the spiraled bark that the wood would be highly figured-they camped out and cut it down with axes but when it fell it twisted around on the way down and landed in a steep ravine-even two D7 tractors couldn't pull it out,so they left it there and there it lay for the next 18 years. in 1971 robert novak was running a sawmill back in the jungle when he first heard rumors of a gaint figured mahogany tree stuck in a ravine -in 1983 bob went to look for it and found it, he cut the log in half then quartered the two halfs-then the eight pieces were dragged,trucked and floated over 200 hundred miles to an old steam-powered bandsaw mill,a vestige of logging years before. well as they say the rest is history-the fine woodworking article tells of a desk in that mill that was cut from the only other fully quilted mahogany that is on record of being cut down it was felled in 1890 but bob told me it wasn't a desk but a cut off from the 1890 tree he said it was a foot thick and over fourteen foot across. a couple of side notes- about ten are so years back a sculptor from canada found the stump-dug it up and has never been heard from again. then there is the guitars made from this tree-this one was made by breed love guitars and belonged to jay howlett singer songwriter from the w. coast-a few months back jay e-mailed me and told me he had left his guitar with breed love to display in there showroom-in comes mark knoffer he picks up jays guitar picks it then says this is the one i want-well he was told it belonged to jay but he insisted, i don't know what jay got-he didn't say just said they made it wort his while,anyway that's the story and this is now mark knoffers guitar. More of the same tree. lee hingle asked asked how i got hold of this board and what i paid - in 1995 r. novak ,who was the man who dragged the log out of the jungle in 1983 called me -this lawyer in miami had bought a few board from the tree ten years before and was ready to sell it-i paid ten grand for the big board and twenty thousand more for the rest of it - i was flush at the time-last year i sold some of what i had-pictured below- robert novak in 83-when he still had some hair. jason scott asked what i plan to ask for this table-that's being debated now-the board itself is worth $30000 -according to the only person i know who has the biggest stash ( over a dozen boards) of this wood the price he puts on it is $600 a bd ft-so i don't know- you guys tell me what you think-over $50000 for sure -but will the person that pays 50 pay 75 -give me some help here- i have to put a price on it by oct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Good lord that's stunningly beautiful. You should show Sheri this, she's a woodworker and makes some great art pieces, she'd most likely pass out when she see those pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Thunk! I'm okay now.... OMG, that wood is so beautiful you could just stand up against the wall and you'd have fine art. Absolutely gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Thunk! I'm okay now.... OMG, that wood is so beautiful you could just stand up against the wall and you'd have fine art. Absolutely gorgeous! I'll try to get some pics of the window in my house I framed with figured guitar wood in the next day or so. Wish I had more skill, I'm not even 5.7 on woodworking. Can't say why as I keep that old woodworkers mantra inside my head at all times:...measure once, cut twice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 If you've never heard of it and are in the Seattle area I really recommend visiting Urban Hardwoods. Urban Hardwoods Here's one of many pictures of the stuff they have. Walnut Table [img:center]http://www.urbanhardwoods.com/dbImages/lg555-0.jpg[/img] All the wood comes from trees removed in the Seattle area. I've done the cuts on a couple picks the owner Jim lifted with a crane. The one I remember best was a large black walnut tree in Madison Park we removed for a client. The owner Jim is a great guy. He is not a logger or work with loggers, so he's not out roaming the city looking for trees to kill or soliciting that kind of work. Typically trees come down due to assessed tree risk, plans for site development, or inappropriate species in a location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMcJizzy Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Here is a KD (knock-down) bookcase I built from arboreally harvested walnut and madrone in 2003. The walnut had been cut into rough planks, and I needed to re-surface it. The madrone needed to be re-sawn, and in some cases laminated and/or glued-up. Madrone is a very fine wood, extremely close grained in some cases, and highly figured in others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 That's some good lookin' stuff there Mark. Real classic lines. Need more pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Do you know if urban hardwoods will just sell wood? Their site is full way expensive furniture. I build a couple of tables and an entertainment center, mission style, and I'm working on a design for an office desk. I'd like to check out their stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Yes I believe they do sell lumber. You can contact Jim and ask him to confirm that. If for some reason he says no I have a friend in the Maple Vally area who has a variety of species of trees cut as lumber. He doesn't mill them as nice as Urban Hardwoods does, but you can go look at what he has to see if it fits with what you want. Send me a PM and I can get you contact info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMcJizzy Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Do you know if urban hardwoods will just sell wood? Their site is full way expensive furniture. I build a couple of tables and an entertainment center, mission style, and I'm working on a design for an office desk. I'd like to check out their stock. I have bought wood several times at Urban Hardwoods. It is just like buying from Crosscut or Compton, the wood is non-dimensional, not S2S. It has been thru a planer, and a kiln. In fact, it is I who informed our own arboreal consultant about Urban Hardwoods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 That's a beautiful bookcase, Mark. I love those sturdy joints. What did you finish it with? Looks like you could see your reflection in it. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMcJizzy Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks, I used Dalys Pro-fin. Probably the gloss finish, rubbed on several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhöQ Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 Yall have some nice skills! I re-perused sherri's gallery as well and am suitably motivated, aka stoked to get my "wood on". It's been so long since jr high woodshop I think I need to find a basic course at TCC or some voc school for a refresher in technique and such. Thanks for the images, hopefully I can aspire to the same quality eventually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Here's a couple new ones to fuel the creative fire(not that you need it with that beautiful wood in your arsenal...gonna be some amazing projects to come out of that, for sure...keep us posted!): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhöQ Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thats so beautiful!! Awesome piece and grats on the job Sherri! What is that technically called..inlay something or is there a specific term? And probably alot of bandsaw work for that? My wife is big on cross stich and she might be tempted to dabble a bit in that wood work too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thank you,PhoQ. I create my own patterns and incorporate other elements and techniques, but If you Google "intarsia," there's tons of websites w/patterns and instructions to get your wife started. It would appeal to anyone who enjoys a mosaic-style of work. (Funny, you bring that up. I used to do cross-stitch, too, and often wondered what those patterns would look like if I substituted wood for thread....) Many intarsians get by w/just a scrollsaw, but a bandsaw comes in handy if you're doing bigger pieces on a regular basis. Also need a couple of inflatable sanders. Good luck to her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobo Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 OMFG Sherri, that is so far beyond awesome, that I cannot find the appropriate words to describe it! I am left totally speechless... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Kidd Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Anyone interested in beautiful custom furniture should walk through "The Joint" here in Vancouver. http://www.thejoint.ca/ The website doesn't do the work justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 OMFG Sherri, that is so far beyond awesome, that I cannot find the appropriate words to describe it! I am left totally speechless... Awww...you're just too sweet. My partner was jazzed about that frog mural, as well--so much so that she wouldn't let it leave the house(I was supposed to deliver it to a gallery for consignment--she threatened to go there and buy it back if I took it ). Had to whip up another one to replace it ASAP... here's the redux: Next up, a massive panaroma of Red Rocks...stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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