If you go down to the woods today...

[Lee J]

I went walking through some local woodland around this time last year and as I was strolling down the woodland path I noticed the council had been through trimming the trees back and had left some fine looking lumps of branch laying around. So I help meself to a rather decent looking lump of what I think is birch. So far so good. After leaving it in my wood store for a year I decided yesterday to cut it up and use it. Here is said lump of Birch...

Nothing out of the ordinary really... until I trimmed about half inch slice off the end and...

WHOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHH there! What a fabulous surprise. Spalted and looking really good. So I sliced a few more slabs off and stripped the bark, had a quick sand down to 600 grit and this is what I have...

so I've just cut myself 20x 1 inch think pieces that I am going to make some clocks from. I have ordered some 29mm quartz inserts. Sand down real smooth, wax them up, fit the clock inserts and sell them at a craft fair I am entering in august.

sorted. What a lovely walk.

 

[jackss565]

Lucky you, what a great find

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

+1, looks like great timber. Post some pics of the clocks when you're done

Cheers _Dan.

 

[Melinda_dd]

Why oh why am I not that lucky!!! I never find any free greenwood ever!!

Beautiful find and If I went to the fair... I would be oggling over your clocks!!

 

[myturn]

Beautiful find and If I went to the fair... I would be oggling over your clocks!!

Careful how you say that! :shock:

 

[Melinda_dd]

:lol: :lol: very quick lol

 

[Lee J]

lol I had to read that at least 3 times to make sure you'd typed it correctly.

yeah it was a real good find. There is always this type of wood on the floor in this wood. the authorities are quite keen on chopping back branches etc. so, I often go on a forage in the woods ;-0

 

[Lee J]

I meant to ask do you think finishing with a clear wax wood be sufficient?

 

[Einari Rystykaemmen]

Nice piece of spalted birch. 8)

If I may suggest, finish those pieces with oil based laquer. Spalted birch is tend to get pretty soft in time.

Laquer also highlights grain figure, warms up birch natural color and protects it from fading. :wink:

 

[Lee J]

Nice piece of spalted birch. 8)

If I may suggest, finish those pieces with oil based laquer. Spalted birch is tend to get pretty soft in time.

Laquer also highlights grain figure, warms up birch natural color and protects it from fading. :wink:

you are a star - thank you for that.

 

[SVB]

Great find.

One question - how dry is the wood. If it is still wet be very careful how you allow it to dry as end grain discs have a tendancy to split if they dry too fast.

BRgds
S

 

[Lee J]

Great find.

One question - how dry is the wood. If it is still wet be very careful how you allow it to dry as end grain discs have a tendancy to split if they dry too fast.

BRgds
S

It's been stood in my bone dry wood store for just over a year and when I chopped it i noticed it felt slightly damp, not really damp but just a right little bit so I chopped all the pieces and left them stood in the workshop with plenty of airflow around them and they seem to have dried ok. The bark lifted off them but no cracks or splits yet.

 

[Lee J]

Sorry for the long delay but had all sort on this last few weeks, right, after these slices of spalted birch had dried out a bit longer I drilled a 28mm hole in them...

Here are the lot of 'em...

So now I have inserted the clocks and here is the finished article...

What sort of price would you put on these clocks if I was to put them on a local craft stall? I have about £2.50 per clock invested in them.