Fresh Hornbeam logs, what to do with it?

[rickwhite]

Hi All

A biig hornbeam tree was chopped down last week by the river where I live and I grabbed a good few chunks of it before they dissapeared. I really wish I'd got a tall chopping block's worth off the main trunk but I had work to go to so didn't catch the guys before they took the rest away
Anyway, I've got about 9 logs of various lengths and widths, widest about 12 inches by 12 inches or so, longest about 36 inches by 3-4 inches.

When I get my garage sorted out as a usable workshop again, I'd like to do something useful with this lot so looking for suggestions.
I'll perhaps make a mallet head as I reckon it's more than hard enough for that and maybe make a new handle for my plastic Mora but what else woudl be good?

Also, is it worth splitting any of it down to dry out a bit before use?

 

[bobnewboy]

Its a shame the pieces are short, otherwise you could have had a bow out of them. It is possible to splice the shorter 36" pieces together, but not a job for a simple life I haven't made a bow out it myself, but would like to have a try one day. I have heard that it is tough stuff.

 

[tombear]

It has a bad rep for cracking on drying out. Traditionally it's used for shoe lasts, tool handles, mallet heads, parts of mill gears and bushings for rollers. If you have access to a lathe a set of skittles would be easy enough to make.

Im quite jealous as it would make a great pestle head to go with the giant mortar we dug up in the top back garden.

atb

Tom

 

[rickwhite]

I'd love to make a bow but i think its a bit out of my skillset just now, even if i did have a long enough piece.

Tombear, how much would you need? I'm about the same distance south of Manchester as you are north of it but I can save you a piece in case I'm ever over that way.

 

[Toddy]

Wax the ends, and set it someplace cold and dry, out of the sunshine or changing temps if possible. It is lovely stuff to turn says a woodturning friend
Hard as a hard thing though when carving.

Might be worth having a general idea of what you're likely to make and cutting it into good sized blanks.


"Hornbeam is heavy, 830 kg/m3 (average dried weight), close grained and hard. It is prone to fungal attack, warping and checking. Shrinkage is T: 11,5% R: 6,8% V: 19,7%. It has pronounced ray cells, so it is beautiful if quarter-sawn." according to a woodturner's site.

I know of it as used for chopping blocks, ox yokes, milk maid's yokes, and for cogs and gears (seem to mind it was the stuff used for the gears for windmills, iimc) and also for carving that needed really sharp detail. It works for chip carving the way ebony does.

Nice stuff and good find there

M

 

[Adze]

(seem to mind it was the stuff used for the gears for windmills, iimc)

Watermills too... our most local mill is at Gleaston, IIRC the gearwheel was made from hornbeam and the teeth which interlocked were made from apple as they're the bits which break most often the wanted something hard, but also plentiful and relatively easy to work. Since back in the day everyone had apples it was the obvious choice.

 

[Toddy]

I didn't know that

I have a spinning wheel that is with sound evidence dated to 1746. It's distaff is apple wood and it's still a lovely piece. It has a smooth surface and crisp edges, even 270 years later
Most of the wheel, legs, etc., are made of oak, and it has had woodworm in the oak, but not the apple. No idea why, the pieces have never been seperated or replaced as far as we know or can see.
I did hear that hornbeam, though it's susceptible to spalting isn't so to the woodworm either

M

 

[rickwhite]

Thanks, breaking it down into smaller pieces for now is a good idea Toddy!
I was planning on sealing the ends and the garage is a pretty steady temp. so I'll see how well it dries out.

I have no need for any of the usual stuff that was made with this wood sadly, but some tool handles etc might be good. Just need to find a small, cheap lathe now!

 

[Toddy]

Seems to be used for ornamental pieces like vases and pens, might make superb knife scales ?, these days. If it's fresh then you can use PEG on it to stabilise it quickly and let you use it for turning or carving.

M

 

[Robson Valley]

Do consider bartering some of it for woods or goods that you really want. In the meantime, your plan to seal the ends is a good one.

 

[Stew]

Visually the grain likely won't be too exciting on smaller handles so if you have bigger possible projects I would go for that.

From the sound of it, you need to get a lathe and turn some good sized bowls from it!

Just remember that for any projects that need the wood to be fully dry that it takes roughly a year to dry per inch of thickness.

 

[tombear]

I'd love to make a bow but i think its a bit out of my skillset just now, even if i did have a long enough piece.

Tombear, how much would you need? I'm about the same distance south of Manchester as you are north of it but I can save you a piece in case I'm ever over that way.

Hi Rick
thats a very kind offer. We occaisionally get down to Stockport where we used to live 12 or so years back and of course use the M6 whenever we visit the inlaws. We're about 10 mile south of Burnley, middle of nowhere really so not many pass by ( the Forest of Rossendale was pretty much waste until the industrial revolution, the Romans didn't bother with it, nor did the Saxons or Vikings. Well into the medieval period it was used for cattle ranching! Just a few farms but I digress ) unless you have a burning urge to go to Rochdale the long way from Bury! Probably why I like it...

The finished piece is basically a 6 inch diameter wooden ball with a one or one and a half inch protrusion on one axis that a 4 foot long ash handle will mate with. So I'm really looking for a bit that's a bit bigger than that to allow for the bits the lathe whatsits dig into to spin the thing.

ATB

Tom

 

[Pioneer72]

I would try to split them along the length at least once, then seal the endgrain as half-rounds.
(or saw if knotty)

If left in the round log, hornbeam shrinks in circumference quite a bit during drying so will likely split with star shakes reducing how useful it might be.

It's tough stuff, good for tools and hardworking items etc. If you want to carve it, do it while its green unless you like carving tough wood

 

[rickwhite]

Some of the big pieces have already started splitting in the centres so I'll try and get them sealed tonight. I'll probably split some down as Pioneer72 suggests too as I don't think I'll be able to make much large stuff, not for a while at least.

Tom, let me know if you're heading South on the M6 anytime, Congleton's only 10 minutes from J17. I'll keep a piece big enough for you on one side for now and start using the smaller stuff first. I don't have much time to play with this sort of thing anyway so it'll probably sit there for a long time!

 

[tombear]

Cheers! No major hurry here, probably best to see how it cracks first anyway. If it were a thin walled job I'm after doing it would be worth trying to get it sooner to get most of the unwanted bits cut out so it will warp rather than crack, and finish it once it's seasoned. Not for a big round club head.

The wife and I know the Congleton/ Stoke area pretty well, we did our degrees at Keele and I spent a couple of years living on the top end of Tunstall.

ATB

Tom

 

[y0dsa]

Hi Rickwhite, how's the hornbeam been getting on? It would be interesting to know how it's been getting on and how you've used it. I made cooking spatula today from green hornbeam, and hope it won't be cracking any time soon!

 

[rickwhite]

I'll have to take a look tonight. I originally left it in my garage which doesn't change temp much and is dry but due to needing to knock a door through from the house, I had to move a load of stuff out so it ended up in the shed, which is obviously like an oven now! The big piece split but i've not looked closely at it. The longer 3-4 inch piece wasn't too bad I think. I haven't any plans to do anything with it yet as I need to sort the garage out first, which needs walls boarding out and a complete re-organisation.

On a side note, I also had some big pieces of Sycamore in the garage which has proceeded to spalt nicely. I say spalt, it ended up being covered in a huge amount of black dust which originated from a gap or split in the bark which slowly spread out under the bark and has only stopped now I've removed the bark and split the log down.
My research suggests this is a harmless black residue which is a result of the spalting process. It didn't half make a mess when I removed it!! It was like Laser Printer toner. Again, no plans for the wood just yet, will have to wait and see.

 

[demographic]

Get something painted on the ends to lessen the splitting. After that you can take your time with everything else.